s^. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


^O 


v-fc. 


^ 


^ 


* 


f/. 


.^■«- 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


|50     '""^ 


III  2.5 

1.8 


M    ill  1.6 


vj 


vl 


7 


<?^ 


# 


y 


PhotDgi'aphic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


^v 


N? 


:\ 


'^q 


,v 


\ 


^> 


<b 


\ 


% 


6^ 


V 


23  WESr  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  )4S80 

(716)  872-4503 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductlons  historiques 


\ 


^. 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  bu  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


n 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      j    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagde 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurie  et/ou  pelliculie 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  g^ogrnphiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  mate/ial/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autrns  documents 


0    Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liure  serrde  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distorsior  le  long  de  la  marge  intdrieure 

□    Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajoutdes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  4tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  film^es. 


The 
tot 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
nu'il  lui  a  M  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 


j      I   Coloured  pages/ 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagdes 

Pages  restored  and/ci 

Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pelliculdes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxei 
Pages  ddcolor^cis,  tacheties  ou  piquies 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ddtach^es 

Showtn'oughy 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prin 

Quality  indgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materit 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppl^mentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


I      I  Pages  damaged/ 

I      I  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

r^  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

I      I  Pages  detached/ 

r^  Showth-ough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I      I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

rn  Only  edition  available/ 


The 
pos 
oft 
film 


Ori( 
beg 
the 
sior 
oth< 
first 
slor 
or  il 


The 
shai 
TIN! 
whli 

MsF 
diffi 
entii 
begi 
righ 
requ 
met! 


D 


Pages  wholly  or  partiailv  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  it6  film^es  d  nouveau  de  facon  it 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


r~^    Additional  comments:/ 


Various  pagings. 


Commentaires  suppldmentaires; 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


J 


26X 


30X 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Bibliotheque  nationaie  du  Qu6bec 


L'exemplaire  fiimd  fut  reproduit  grdce  A  la 
g6nArosit6  de: 

BIbiiothdque  nationaie  du  Quebec 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  iceeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  —»•  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6t4  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
dn  la  netteti  de  l'exemplaire  fiim«,  et  ah 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprim^e  sont  film6s  en  commen^ant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  f ilmfo  en  commenpant  pt  r  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboies  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ►  signif le  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
film6s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  11  est  film6  d  partir 
de  Tangle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

THE  DOROTHEA  AND  TRENT  AMONG  THE  ICEBERGS. 


THE   MARVELOUS 


Wonders  of  the  Polar  World. 


BEING  A 


COMPLETE  SND  ilUTHENTIC  HISTORY 


OF 


FOTAGEC  AND  DISCOVERIES  \l  THE  POLAR  REGIONS, 

INCLUDING   THE  EXPEDITIONS    OF    SIR   JOHN    FKANKIIN,    LIEUT.    DEHAVEN     DR. 
KANE,    DR.    HAYES,    ADMIRAL    ROGERS,    CAPT.    HALL;    LIEITT.    SCHWATKA's 
THREE-THOUSAND-MILE    SLEDGE    JOURNEY;    THE  CRUISE    AND    LOSS  OF 
THE  JEANNETTE,   THE  FATE  OF  DELONG,   AND  RESCUE  OF  DANFx^- 
HOWER  AND  MELVILLE;  CLOSING  WITH  A  FULL  HISTORY  OP 
THE  GREKLY  EXPEDITION,  BEING  A  RECORD  OF  UNPAR- 
ALLELED   ADVENTURE,   SUFFERING   AND   DEATH. 

FROM  THE  NARRATIVES  OF 

LIEUT.  ffREELY,  mmm  SCHLEY,  LIEUT.  DANENHOWER, 

OD  THE  OTHER  GALLANT  HEROES  WHO  FACED  DEATH  THAT  THE  WORT  D 
MIGHT  KNOW  THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  POLaFeEgIoNS 

TO   WHICH    IS  ADDED  A 

^liY^(^(^^^^  OF  THAT  APPALLING  HORROR,  CANNIBALISM  A  9  TA  JTITM 
FROM  Tim  DIARIES  OF  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  GRlELvfAPEinioI 


•'  Men  under  such  awful  circumstances  lose  all  control  over  their 
bptifit  'natuTeo,  iiOd;  l?ecomei^(;v^n.  x^annibals." 


■'    -   '  •  ■  ■■   t  - .     .   ; . . 


.41        1         i.   ) 


Ti:ll  ^ WtlOI/E'  OA^EPULlY-  HOITI^B  BY 

HERMAN    DIEdK,    A.M., 

THE  WELL-KNOWN  AUTHOR. 


PROFUSELY  ILLUSTRATED  WITH  SCENES  AND  INCIDENTS  IN  THE  POIAR 
.       REGIONS  AND  PORTRAITS  OF  ARCTIC  HEROES  FRoioRm- 
INAL  SKETCHES  AND    PHOTOGRAPHS. 


PUBLISHED  hV 

THE  NATIONAL  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 

.       PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  CHICAGO,  ILL.,  AND  ST.  LOUIS,  MO. 


I"  I'. 


Entered  accordiug  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1885,  by 

J.  R.  JONES. 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  o»  Congress,  at  Wasnington,  D.  C 


I  - 


*  •    • 
•  •  •    • 

«  •    • 


»-  • 


.«■  • 


•    *•''••• 


• . »    • 

.  •  •  • J" 


•  •    •  .   . 


•  •  •  < 
«  *  »    • 


•  •  •  •  »    •. 


Preface. 

Nearly  three  thousand  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ 
the  Tyrians  and  Phoenicians  left  their  homes  and  firesides  to 
explore  new  realms,  and  to  obtain  from  the  then  unknown 
land  of  Spain  the  means  of  augmented  wealth  and  luxury. 
From  that  period  down  through  succeeding  ages  until  the 
present  time,  enterprising  men  have  found  a  congenial  field 
of  labor  and   adventure   in  unknown  regions  in  search  of 
riches,  celebrity  and  conquest.     This  spirit  has  given  birth 
to  many  great  states  and  empires.     It  was  this  spirit  which 
made  England  pass  successively  under  the  sway  of  Gallic, 
Roman,  Saxon,  Danish  and  Norman  conquerors.     More  es- 
pecially still  was  it  this  resdess   spirit  of  adventure  which 
created  the  greatness  of  the  maritime  cities  of  Genoa  and 
Venice,  as  well  as  that  of  the  kingdoms  of  Portugal  and  Spain. 
After  the  discovery  of  the  American  continent  and  after 
the  thorough  exploration  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans, 
there  was   a   field   left   which    demanded  greater   heroism] 
greater  endurance  and  was  fraught  with  greater  perils  than 
any  other  part  of  the  globe.     This  region  lay  far  up  toward 
the  North  Pole.     It  was  the  land  of  everlasting  snow-fields, 
of  stupendous  icebergs,  of  terrible  storms,  the  land  of  the  mid- 
night sun.     To  navigate  and  explore  these  realms,  men  of 
extreme  daring,  of  sublime  heroism,  and  of  great  persever- 
ance were  indispensable.     These  men  possessed  one  great 
element  of  distinguishing  greatness,  of  which  the  explorers 
of  more  congenial  and  inviting  climates  were  destitute.   Their 
mvestigations  were  made  without  the  prospect  of  rich  reward 
and  chiefly  for  the  advancement  of  science.     The  discovery 
of  a  northwestern  passage  was  kept  in  view,  but  other  less 

(0 


6"^  ,***■  ^~^ 


*:> 


PREFACE. 


mercenary  and  more  philanthropic   motives  brought  about 
the  larger  portion  of  the  expeditions,  which,  especially  during 
the  nineteenth  century,  invaded  the  cheerless  solitudes  ot 
that  dangerous  and  repulsive  portion  of  the  globe. 

The  recent  terrible  experiences  of  the  DeLong  and  Greely 
expeditions  have  awakened  intense  interest  in  the  region 
towards  which  the  world  still  looks,  with  unsatisfied  inquiry. 
The  object  of  this  book  is  to  present,  in  one  volume,  an 
authentic  record  of  all  that  can  interest  the  general  reader  in 
connection  with  the  efforts  put  forth  by  Arctic  explorers  to 
solve  the  problems  presented  in  the  Polar  regions. 

Nothing  in  the  whole  range  of  literature  can  be  more  enter- 
taining than  the  accounts  of  the  various  expeditions  to  the 
frozen  North — that  in  search  of  a  northwest  passage  under 
Sir  John  Franklin,  the  voyages  of  Lieut.  DeHaven,  Dr.  Kane 
and  Dr.  Hayes,  the  three  expeditions  of  Charles  Francis  Hall, 
the  remarkable  sledge  journey  of  three  thousand  miles,  by 
Lieut.  Schwatka,  U.  S.  A.,  the  cruise  and  loss  of  the  Jeannette, 
and  the  relief  expeditions  sent  out  for  DeLong,  closing  with 
the  account  of  the  Greely  expedition  and  the  rescue  of  L  ieut. 
Greely  and  the  survivors  of  his  party — thus  covering  the 
whole  field  of  Arctic  explorations. 

No  better  example  of  the  influence  of  lofty  motives  in  the 
conduct  of  life  can  be  found  than  is  seen  in  the  case  of  these 
brave  adventurers  and  martyrs  in  the  cause  of  science.  The 
youth  of  our  country  will  draw  many  ennobling  lessons  from 
the  patriotic  self-sacrifice  of  Franklin,  Kane,  Hayes,  Hall,  De- 
Long  and  Greely,  in  the  perusal  of  this  work.  There  always 
will  be  a  great  interest  among  the  pe'  ^le  in  books  relating^ 
to  voyages  of  discovery,  adventure,  suffering  and  death. 

The  taste  of  the  artist  and  the  skill  of  the  engraver  have 
been  brought  into  requisition  to  illustrate  the  information 
conveyed,  thus  adding  a  charm  and  value  to  the  work  that 
will  be  readily  appreciated  by  every  reader. 

The  Author. 


CONTENTS. 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

iHTHopucTOiiY  REMARKS— The  Progress  of  Arctic  Discovery-Comparatively  little  known  of  the  Arctic 
Regions- 1  he  Northmen— John  and  Sebastian  Cabot-Martin  Frobisher-Davis-Henry  HiicUon- 
Baffin— Captain  Phipps— Captain  Cook— Mackenzie-Deshnew—Behring— Sir  John  Rosa' } 

CHAPTER  n. 
Arctic  Exi-BDiTiONS  OF  the  Ninotbeoth  CHNTURv-Sir  John  Rois-Captain  Parry-Sir  John  Frank- 
P  7,i„^"?'!k^''  '»"'  "n<J"yon  Wrangell  and  Anjou-Captain  Beechey-Captain  Ross  fixes  the 
Position  of  the  true  Magnetic  Pole-Back  and  Dr.  King-Dease  and  Simpson-t>r.  Rae  finishes  the 
Geographical  Exploration  of  the  North  Coast  of  the  American  Continent-Sir  John  Franklin's  last  Ex- 
pediiioti— Numerous  Expeditions  sent  out  in  Search  of  him— Captain  McClintock  finds  Proof  of  Frank- 
lin s  Uealh-Commander  Inglewood's  Expedition— Sir  John  Franklin  the  Discoverer  of  the  North- 
western I'assage 

• • <•••    a** 

CHAPTER  HI. 
The  First  American  Arctic  Ex^BDIT^ONS-The  first  Grinnell  Expedition  under  Command  of  Lieu- 
tenant  De  Haven— After  wintering  near  Beechey  Island  it  returns  safely  to  New  York— Traces  of  Sir 
John  franklins  Expedition  found_An  Arctic  Winter  and  iu  Horrori-Scurvy— The  Expedition  ot 
Commander  Inglefield,  of  the  British  Navy-He  reaches  Latitude  78°  28'  ai",  about  140  miles  farther 
north  than  had  been  previously  attained— Lieutenant  Osborn's  Expedition 33. 

CHAPTER    IV. 

The  Second  Grinnbll  Expedition,  Commanded  by  Dr.  E.  K.  Kane— Two  Winters  in  the  Arctic 

a.*5'a°^'  ConsUtairoi^/i'"w   'h    I?''  ^?"«'S"'l'=  ^5>°  1->'tA  Sxdge  Expedltijn^from  here  pushes  arfar 

Ir,^K..„3r„i     Vw'"  Washington  Land.  Latitude  81°  27-,  and  finds  Kennedy  Channel  free  from 

in  i8V5  '  '•  ^"^  "P""'"*  '"  "  «""'  ^°'"  Sea-Safe  Return  to  the  United  StttS 

44 

CHAPTER   V. 

■^2riKL»^S!ir*£.??™r"7^S"J^^'"^  ?^*M  United  Sutes  Ship  Vlncennes  under  Commander 
John  Rodgers— Petropaulovski— Behring  Strait— Wrangell  Land .„..„..!!7..."    60 

CHAPTER  VI. 

*dSS^b3lHigL«"po^t*i^'d."d.!"*-"=  '""'  ^""'"=  Bay-Winte„  at  Port  Foulk^ArcUc  Night 

74 

CHAPTER  VII. 
^^L^H^"*n°'?^  °l  ^«^--  H*«-«--Liniited  Resources-Generwus  aid  by  Messrs.  Grinnell,  WiHiams 
SS.  &^?.j:S"l{rJ!ll.^"i'l?  Companion  Kud^a-go-Holsteinborg-Destruction  of  the  Resct^e  and 
s2£SrSM^u^wSi'??°"^^'°y"K\S"^"  °'  Bay-Hall's  Second  Aretic  Expedltion- 
<iniiBg  af  thcM<nideeUo-WiMer.Qiuutm  at  Fort  Hope— King  William's  Land 8* 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

^and^DrifLs'so'f.^h' xri*!?'  ^^P-^'^  "">  ?"S?'  of  Captoin  Hall-The  Polaris  Leaves  the  HaAot 
Party^Sr  thl  RavlJcrai?.^*."^^^^^^  °"        Floe-Rescue  by  the  Tigress-Rescue  of  the  Polaris 

CHAPTER    IX. 

^IHan^^w"  J''?^?"^''  ""«'»". KoLDBWBY-Departure  from  Bremerhayen-Separation  fi«m  the 
Haasa-Wreck  of  the  Hansa-Adnft  on  the  Ice-Danger  of  Starvation-Return  to  FreXrickstluU...™  114 

CHAPTER   X. 

^rf  A'uwl"ip]!'"'"?"'°ur^'y?'«St'  »?•*  Payer  set  out  in  the  TegetthoflP-GMat  DIscoyeries-FdB 
rf  th«  af^itSw  -^      P    •  Land-March  to  the  Sea-Rescued  by  a  Russian  Whaler-The  Results 

'"4 

13) 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

ExpiDiTiON  OF  Captain  Gborgi  Narbs— The  ships  Alert  and  Diico'.ery— Death  from  Exposure— 
Markham's  Sledge  Journey — Ho  reaches  the  Highest  Point  attained  thus  far — Lieutenant  Schwatka'i         ■ 
Expiuii'.ion — In  King  William's    Land — Relics  of  Sir  John  Franklin  Discovered — The   Records  of 
McClintock  Found — Safe  Return i}5 

CHAPTER   Xn. 

Nordbnskjold's  Numbrous  PouiR  VovAGBS— The  Vega— An  Old  Problem  Solved— The  Northern, 
most  Point  of  Asia— A  Winter  in  the  Land  of  the  Tchuktchi— A  Trip  around  the  World— Magnificent 
Festivities  in  Honor  of  Nordenskjiild  and  his  party 149 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

LiBUTBNANT  DrLong's  Expbdition  sbts  OUT  FROM  San  Francisco  IN  THB  Jbannbttb — He  reaches 
St.  Lawrence  Bay,  East  Siberia,  where  he  learns  that  the  Vega  had  gone  South — Lieutenant  Danen- 
hower  in  Danger  of  losing  the  Sight  of  his  li:ft  Eye — An  Operation  Performed — Two  Winters  in  the 
Pack — The  Je.innette  Crushed  by  the  Ice — Retreat  Southward — Discovery  of  Henrietta  anu  Bennett 
Island — Melville  and  his  Party  Saved— DeLong  and  his  Men  die  of  Starvation,  and  Chipp's  Boat 
Swamped  by  the  Sea — DeLong's  Last  Records — How  Noros  and  Nindemann  were  Saved — Search  for 
DeLong  and  Chipps — Return  of  the  Survivors 16a 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

Tub  Events  of  thb  Jbannrttb  Expedition  Dbscribrd  by  Chikf-Enginbbr  Mblvillb — A  Drift  ot 
Twenty-two  Months  in  the  Ice-Pack — The  Melville  Canal — Three  New  Islands  discovered — Henrietta 
Island — The  Destruction  of  the  Jeannette — Tl.e  Dogs  Abandoned — The  Retreat — Drifted  ;o  the  North- 
west— Bennett  Island — The  Lena  River  Reached — Nearing  the  Siberian  Coast — Without  Drinking- 
Water  for  Five  D-iys — .\t  the  Delta  of  the  Lena — Mount.nins  In  Sight — Mr.  Melville  Effects  a  Land- 
ing— Frozen  Legs  and  Feet — On  Half-Rations — The  First  Yakut  Seen — Speaking  by  Signs — Bulung?.  1 
Bulunga  I — Jamavialock — Putrid  Goose  as  a  Delicacy — The  Hut  of  the  Stavosta  at  Jamavialock — 
Kusma — First  News  of  DeLong  and  His  Party — Melville  in  Search  of  DeLong — Noros  and  Nindemann 
Found — Their  Story — Melville  starts  from  Bunilak— On  the  Trail  of  the  Seamen— On  the  West  Bank 
of  the  Lena 187 

CHAPTER    XV. 

Mblville's  NAKnArivn  (Continued)— In  the  Lena  Delta— A  Y.nkut  Yourt  in  Winter— DeLong's  Records 
Found — Following  up  DeLong's  Irail — Recovery  of  the  Records  of  the  Jeannette — Retreat  to  North 
Bulun — Journeying  during  a  Siberian  Winter — More  'X'races  of  DeLong's  Party — Retreat  Toward 
Bulun— On  the  Lena  Delta ai8 

■  CHAPTER    XVI. 

The  Jbannbttb  Expedition,  as  Described  by  Lieutenant  Danenhower — Leaving  San  Francisco^ 
East  Cape  Rounded — Herald  Island — Wrangell  Land— Frozen  in — Cold  Weather — 58  degrees  Fahren- 
heit— Aurora  Borealis — Sufficient  Game — Ice  Bears  Killed — Melville's  Canal — ^Jeannette  Island  and 
Henrietta  Island ,  334 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Thb  Ship  Drifting  to  thb  Northwest — The  Final  Moments  in  the  Life  of  the  Jeannette — Abandon- 
ing the  Jeannette — The  Ship  Fills  with  Water  and  Sinks — Encamped  on  the  Ice — Preparing  for  the 
Travel  Southward — Bennett  Island 355 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Rblibp  Expeditions  for  the  Jeannette — First  Cruise  of  the  Corwin,  1880 — Search  for  missing 
Whalers  and  the  Jeannette — Kings  Island — Wrangell  and  Herald  Land  in  Sight — Second  Cruise  of  the 
Convin,  1881 — Plover  Bay — Exi>loring  Wrangell  Land — Search-Expedition  of  the  Rodgers — The  Ship 
Burned — Expedition  of  the  United  States  Steamer  Alliance  to  Hammerfest  and  Spltzbergen — No 
Tidings  of  the  Jeannette 303 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

Mbtborological  Stations  in  thb  Polar  Regions — An  International  Congress — Stations  Recom- 
mended by  the  Polar  Commission — The  Instructions  of  the  Officers  in  Command  of  these  Expeditions — 
Preliminary  Expedition  of  the  Schooner  Florence — V.iluable  Scientific  Observations 313 

CHAPTER    XX.  .     . 

Lady  Franklin  Bay— The  Greely  Expedition— The  Names  of  the  Members  of  the  Party— The  Instruc- 
tions of  the  Chief  Signal-Officer — "The  Proteus  sets  out  to  convey  the  Party  to  Franklin  Bay — Establish- 
ing Fort  Conger — Attempted  Reliefs  in  1882  and  1883— Expeditions  of  the  Neptune  and  the  Proteus — 
The  Latter  Crushed — Lieutenant  Colwell's  Boat-Journey  South — Return  of  the  Relief  Expedition — 
Spicy  Letter  of  Mr.  Linden  Kent  to  General  W.  B.  Hazen 317 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

Thb  Expedition  op  Lieutenant  P.  H.  Ray  to  Point  Barrow— His  Letter  to  General  Hazen — Re- 
turn of  Lieutenant  Ray— The  Greely  Party  left  at  J^  "y  Franklin  Bay  by  the  Proteus— Relief  Expedi- 
tions sent  out  in  r88a  and  1883— "They  do  not  find  the  Colonists— "rwo  Years  on  the  Shore  of  Lady 
Franklin  Bay— All  in  fair  health— Lieutenant  Greely's  Instructions  to  the  Relief  Vessels— The  Provi- 
sions should  be  Cached  near  Cape  Sabine  and  at  other  Places  on  the  East  Coast  of  Grinnell  Land — The 
Instructions  not  heeded— Lieutenant  Garlington's  Orders 334 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   XXII, 
Thi  Lipb  or  THE  Colonists  at  Fort  Conobr— In  Camp— Erectlna  n  Koiinr— Scientifir  n>».»..i».._ 
Sergean     ^ralnard  E.tabliHhc,  a  Depot  „f  Provl,ion,  STcapSi  B^echi^TAn  A  "  c  wVntr^^^^^^ 

Hoei-Difficult  l ravelling  over  Hummocks  and  on  tb  Frojen  Sua-Ur  Paw  Serircint  Rl,,*  »n5 
E.q.>>m«u  Jen,  Edward.  Undertake  a  Sledge  Journey  on  the  Fro«n  A7ctic-A  WoXful  E,caw- 
Oraphic  Description  of  Serseant  Rice-Lieutenant  Lockwood'i  Journey  to  the  Higheit  Po^^t^« 
Reached-Along  thcCoast  of  Greenland-Lockwood  Uland-Iucredible  Hardihips".*"!.....:.?."!!'.?.!  340 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 
NnAR  THE  North  POLB-Animal  Life  and  Vegetation  of  Grinnell  Land-Mai,  r  Greely's  loumevi  into 
the  Interior  of. Grinnell  Land- Wonderful  Natural  Phenomena-A  Glacier  Bur.t/-JournaTm  Nea? 
the  North  Pole— The  Arctic  Moon-Amusements  and  Pastimes  of  the  Exploren«. .1... ....... ..™..„*"  ,« 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 
Preparing  for  RETREAT-Crossing  Grinnell  I,and-The  Last  Exploring  Trlp.-The  Retreat-Leavine 
many  Provision,  and  the  Do^s  behind-Abandoning  the  Steam  Launcli-A  terrific  Gale-On  The  Ice' 
Floe-Gaining  Lana  at  Esquimau  Point-Rations  found  at  Cape  Isabella  and  Cai«  Sabin-   ^-" 
lUring  in  thefr  Face-In  Winter  Quartcrs-lhe  First  Deaih-Scurvy  the  CaSse        ^ 


Death 


379 


CHAPTER    XXV. 


The  RESCUB-The  Voyage  of  the  Relief  Ships  Thetis,  Bear,  and  Alert  to  Lady  Franklin  Bav— Battlinir 

Thi  Suffere?r^,°n'?^°'"  ^V^'  ^"'^I  S'^'^-KV"^''"^  'H.'  S"rvivors-A  lerriWe  S^ghriRelkvinf 
the  bufferers— Ten  Graves— Homewarcl  Bojiid— Meet  n^  ihr  Alpi-t_n^n.K  „«•  t.-i:.„_     i_.!^_  _.   '*, 


Graves 
Frederick  Christiansen 


Homewarcl  Boand- Meeting  the  Alert— Death  of  Elison-Interment  of 
CHAPTER    XXVI. 


391 


The  Rescue  {f '"'""< f'^)-Oflic,a.\  ReporU  of  the  Rescue  of  ihe  Survivors  of  the  Greely  Par  y-Terrible 
SufTerings-The  Rescued  Men  frantic  with  joy-Narratives  of  Lieutenant  Greely  and  Wivate  Connell- 
Devotion  and  Heroism  of  the  Men-How  Greely  was  Rescued,  as  narrated  by  a  Naval  OffictV.  ...  ...  404 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 
Cannibalism  IN  ITS  Worst  FoRM-Private  Henry  Shot  from  Behind  and  his  Flesh  Eaten-Lieutenant 
h^T^.Xth^'^''  °^  '^  Execution-Henry  Accused  of  having  Stolen  Rations-Sergeant  EUsSn  on 
his  Death-bed  declares  the  Shooting  of  Henry  Unjustifiable- Who  is  to  Blame  for  the  Sufferings  of 


Greely's  Men?-The  Relief  Squadron  Arrives  at  Portsmouth  Harbor-Naval  Welcomes  for  the  Thetis 
Arri';eriA'Thrmfnnrii;.:'.!.!.!:r.'!.^^^^^^^ 


4aS 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 
HoWTHB  B01.IM  OP  THE  VICTIMS  WERE  INTERRED-Proofs  of  Cannibalism-The  Flesh  of  Li. 
K^lingbury  s  Body  cut  off  with  Knives-The  Carte-de-visite  of  a  Surgeon-The  Greely  Su 
IheirThjrsical  Condition  when  Rescued-Surgeon  Green's  Report-What  Lieutenant  Greely  savs'c^n^ 
cerning  dann.baljsm-Lieutenant  Greely  on  Dissensions  in  the  Camp-Dr.  Pavy  takes  his  own  IJf^ 
WelcomeVood        ='«'»^''-A  Story  full  of  Horror-The  first  Taste  If  Human  Kesh-P   vare  He^ 


cutenant 
Survivors — 


446 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 
The  Greely  RscORDS-His  Official  Report  Sent  In-Views  of  Prominent  Officers  and  Scientists  Re- 
garding the  Greely  hxpedition-Dr.  Emil  Bessels,  General  Bennet,  Mr.  George  Keen.inLieutena^ 
Danenliowe.- and  ^indemann  Denying  Sensationaf  Reports-The  Condition  of  Greely"  Men  when 
tound-An  Unofficial  Report  of  Lieutenant  Greely-Some  Blame  for  Greely-Ser^eant  Bralnard-lS 

teth  ^h.7?nHT™%^,'{,""r°"  °^  c'  ^S''y-  °"  Arrival  of  the  Relief  Ships-Zerrible  SuSg  ^nd 
Death-The  Condition  of  the  Camp-Six  Bodies  had  been  Cut  and  the  Ffeshy  Parts  Removed  to  a 
greater  oriess  Extent-General  Hazen  on  Garlington's  Failure-(^ongressional  I  nvestigatioS  Suggested    47, 

CHAPTER   XXX 
Future  Expeditions-How  Lieutenant  Lockwood  and  Lieutenant  Greely  Spent  Christmas  in  the  Arc 

Cao^'lih^^TrJf  ff°^  """Pi??/'  'i?  ^°"^T  O.^"'-  "»'°  Lost  his  L^ife  Among ^  ceber^  of 
Cape  Sab ine-The  Sufferings  of  Holiday  Wcek-The  Fiend  of  Hunger-New  Year,  1884-A  Chris Wim 
C.2jTt  h"*^'  '•f  °r"i^l  ^^  I.  eutenant  Greelv-The  Work^Done  by  Gree  y-LockwooTs^S 
Phe'^ReM?!*  n7  ^hTl?'"'  !)v  "''^^"'  ^T^"!^-  .L^'itucfe  Ever  Seen  by  Man-The  Secretary  of  War  on 
Uie  Result  of  the  Expedition-  Future  Expeditions  to  the  Poe— Lieutenant  Greelv  Suvs  that  the  Reit 
Route  IS  Via  Fran^  Josef  Land-When  .0*^  Start-How  the  Crew  shouU  be  Sdectedtnd  Equipped^!  500 


CONTENTS. 


ANTARCTIC     EXPLORATIONS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

ExrsoiTlONS  TO  THB  ANTARCTIC  RiGiuNS — The  South  Polar  Regioim  even  more  Inhoipitable  than  the 
Arctic — An  Antarctic  Summer— Search  for  Terra  Australis— Fint  Voyage  Around  Cape  Horn — Cap- 
lain  Cook's  Expedition  to  Discover  the  Northwest  Parage — His  Arrival  at  ihe  Sandwich  Islands — 
Muidered — Captain  Gierke  takes  Charge  of  the  Kxpedition— The  New  Shetland  If.lands— The  Russian 
Sea  Captain  Uellinghausen  Reaches  a  very  Southern  Point— Expeditions  of  Captain  D'Urville  of  the 
French  and  Lieutenant  Wilkes  of  the  United  Stales  Navy— Victoria  Land i 

CHAI'TER    II. 

Thb  LtFB  OF  CAnAiM  Famm  Cook — The  Parents  of  Captain  Jamet  Cook— Apprenticed  to  a  Haber- 
dasher—On Board  of  trie  Ship  Free-Love~A  Common  Sailor— Later  a  Mate— He  enters  the  Royal 
British  Navy — Master  of  the  Garlard  ar.d  the  Mercury — Taking  Soundinp  of  the  Channel  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  River  and  Surveying  it — Master  of  the  Man-of-War  Northumberland — Married — Marine  Sur- 
veyor of  Newfoundland  and  Labrador — Expedition  sent  out  under  Lieutenant  Cook  to  Observe  the 
Transit  of  Venus — Madeira — Rio  Janeiro— Cape  Horn — Otaheite— Taking  Observations — Leaving 
Otaheite < ij 

CHAPTER  III. 

Captain  Cook's  Vovacbs— HicUs  Bay— Hostility  of  the  Inhabitant— The  Transit  o.  Mercury— Nearly 
Shipwrecked — South  Cape — Botany  Bay — In  great  Danger-  Ship  Aleak — Refitting  the  Ship  for  Sea — 
Attempts  to  put  to  Sea — The  Pumps  decayed— New  South  Walus— New  Guinea — An  Aurora  Borealis — 
A  Dutch  Setdement— Disease  on  Board— Loss  of  thirty  Men  by  Death- Home  again  from  a  Foreign 
Shore J9 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Cook's  SacoND  Expedition  in  thb  Ships  Rrsolutton  and  Advsntuke- -Reaching  Table  Bay— Fields 
of  !ie— Aurora  Australis — Dusky  B>y — Queen  Charlotte's  Sound — Cook  Visits  Queen  Cnnrlotte's 
5ound— Scurvy  on  Board — Pitcairn  island — Soc.ety  Islands — Return  to  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound — 
i^.arquesas  Islands— Shepherd's  Isles— The  New  Hebrides— Third  Visit  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound.... 


39 


CHAPTER    V. 


Captain  Cook's  Pbpabturb  from  New  Zealand — Terra  del  Fuego— Possession  Bay — Isle  of  Georgia 
— Returning  to  England- Appointed  a  Captain  in  Greenwich  Hospital — An  Exped:tion  to  find  a  North- 
western Passage — Captain  Cook  in  Command — Captain  Cook  sails  on  the  gth  of  July,  1776 — Teneriffe — 
Crossing  the  Equator— Arrival  at  Cape  ot  Good  Hope — Prince  Edward's  Island — Kerguelen  and  Van 
Diemen's  Land — Again  at  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound — Ten  Men  eaten  up  by  the  New  Zealandets— > 
Otaheite— Omai  returned  to  nis  Native  Isle — The  Coast  of  New  Albion — Prince  William's  Island — 
Ooiialaska — The  Land  of  the  Tschuktchi — Return  to  Oonalaska — Meeting  Russian  Seamen — Return  to 
the  Sandwich  Islands— Owhyhee — Krakatoa  Bay — The  Death  of  Captain  Cook  as  related  by  an  Eye- 
witness— Murdered  by  the  Savages— His  Body  "Terribly  Mutilated — An  Interesting  Document  from  the 
hands  of  Dr.  Bcnjamui  Franklin- Captain  Gierke,  the  Successor  of  Captain  Cook,  visits  Kamschatka — 
He  returns  Southward  and  dies — Captain  Gore  succeeds  in  command , 8tt 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  United  States  Antarctic  Exploring  Expedition  under  the  Command  of  Lieutenant 
Charles  Wilkrs,  U.  S.  N. — Instructions  of  the  Navy  Department  to  Lieutenant  Wilkes — Departure 
from  the  United  States— Arrival  at  Funchal,  on  the  Isle  of  Madeira— The  Squadron  Sails  from  Madeira 
—Arrival  at  St.  Ja^o- Porto  Praya— Arrival  at  Rio  Janeiro — The  City  of  Rio  Janeiro— Passing  Cape 
Horn— Anchoring  in  Orange  Harbor— Preparations  for  a  Short  Cruise  to  the  Antarctic  Sea laS 

CHAPTER   VII. 

Departure  of  the  Antarctic  Expedition  from  Orange  Harbor— The  Porpoise  and  the  Sea-Gull 
Separate  during  a  Gale — Elephant  Island — Expedition  of  the  Peacock  and  Flying  Fish — A  Terrible 
Gale  and  ..n  Aurora  Australis — Turning  the  Vessels'  Heads  Northward — The  Peacock  Arrives  at  Val- 
paraiso—The Relief  in  a  Gale  near  Noir  Island — Losing  Her  Anchors — Departure  from  Valparaiso — 
Arrival  at  Callao— A  Jaunt  into  the  Interior  of  Peru— Store-Ship  Relief  Ordered  Home— Minerva  Isl- 
and— Arrival  at  Tahiti — The  Porpoise  Sails  for  the  Samoan  Group,  and  the  Vincennes  to  Papieti — As- 
cending Mount  Aorai— The  Harbor  of  Pago-Pago — The  Vincennes  Sails  from  Tuila— A  Narrow  Escape 
— Tuvai  Tried  for  Murder— In  the  Harbor  of  Apia — Apollma— Sailing  for  New  South  Wales— Arrival 
at  Sydney — Departure  of  the  Squadron  for  an  Antarctic  Cruise — The  Flying  Fish  and  Peacock  Sep- 
arated from  the  Vincennes  and  Porpoise  During  a  Gale — The  Peacock  Discovers  a  Guano  Island — 1» 
there  an  Antarctic  Continent? — Return  of  the  Vincennes  Northward — Proceeding  of  the  Porpoise — 
French  Squadron  Seen— Its  Commander  Refuses  to  Speak  the  Porpoise 147 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Thb  Vincennes- Departure  from  Sydney— New  Zealand— The  Bay  of  Islands— Tongataboo— The 
Feejee  Group— Rewa— Cannibalism  at  Somu-Somu— Death  of  Lieutenant  Underwood  and  Midshipman 
Wjikes  Henry— The  Squadron  parts  Company— Passage  of  the  Vincennes  to  the  Island  of  Oahu— 
M'Kean's  Island — Arrival  at  Oanu — Arrival  of  the  Peacock  and  Porpoise  at  Oahu — Vatoa,  or  Turtle 
Island — Visiting  the  Hawaiian  Islands — Departure  from  Oahu — Expedition  up  the  Columbia  River, 
Oregon— NisquMly— Loss  of  the  Peacock — San  Francisco  and  Manilla— Singapore — Table  Bay tSa 


THE 

MARVELLOUS  ^A/'ONDERS 

t 

OF  THE 

POLAR  WORLD. 


CHAPTER  I. 


INTRODUCTORY   REMARKS. 

Tlie  Progress  of  Arctic  Discovery — Comparatively  little  known  of  the  Arctic  Region*-^ 
The  Northmen — John  and  Sebastian  Cabot — Martin  Frolnsher — Davis — Henry  Hudson- 
Baffin — Captain  Phipps — Captain  Cook — Mackenzie — Deshnew — Behring — Sir  John 
Ross. 

If  you  examine  a  map  of  the  Arctic  regions,  showing  what 
was  known  of  the  countries  around  the  North  Pole  in  the 
<:ommencement  of  the  present  century,  you  will  fine'  that 
nearly  all  within  the  Arctic  Circle  was  a  blank.  The  Ice- 
landers and  Northmen  were  the  first  Arctic  explorers,  but 
nothing  is  known  of  their  discoveries  except  that  they  had 
found  a  land  which  they  called  Greenland.  In  1497  John  and 
Sebastian  Cabot  landed  in  Labrador,  and  afterward  went  as 
far  north  as  67°  30'  in  search  of  a  northwest  passage  to  India. 
In  1576-78  Martin  Frobisher  made  three  voyages,  discovering 
the  entrance  to  Hudson  and  Frobisher  Straits,  leading  into 
Hudson  Bay. 

About  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  several  learned 
men,  including  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  employed  their  pens 
in  arguing  the  practicability  of  a  Northwestern  Passage.  In 
his  defence  of  such  an  attempt  he  spoke  of  a  friar  of  Mexico 
who  had  actually  performed  the  journey,  but  who,  on  telling 
it  to  the  king  of  Portugal,  had  been  forbidden  to  make  it 
known  lest  it  should  reach  the  world.  Whatever  the  facts  of 
this  case,  some  enthusiasm  on  the  subject  was  the  result,  and 
Martin  Frobisher  spoke  of  it  as  the  one  thing  •'  left  undone." 

(7) 


m 


w 


8 


INTRODUCTORY    REMARKS. 


But  althoiicrh  he  also  persisted  in  his  advocacy,  it  took  fifteen 
"~^  years  of  perseverance  and 

constant  effort  before  he 
could  find  any  one  who 
would  give  him  the  assist- 
ance he  needed.  At  last, 
when  hope  was  nearly 
dead  within  him,  Dudley, 
Earl  of  Warwick,  came  to 
the  rescue,  and  aided  him 
to  fit  out  two  small  bar- 
ques, thirty-five  and  thirty 
^  tons  burden  rccpectively. 
With  these  small  craft,  for 
such  a  voyage,  he  left  tne 
Thames.  As  he  passed 
Greenwich  Palace,  on  the 
8th  of  June,  1576,  Queen 
Elizabeth  waved  her  fare- 
well from  a  window.  Briefly^ 

NORSE  SEA-KING.  ^^^^  '^^'^^^^^^  '^^^^  ^^  Re- 

lieved to  have  been 
the  southern  part  of 
Greenland  and  Lab- 
rador, where  J:hey 
could  not  land  he- 
cause  of  the  icy  field 
surrounding  the 
coast.  Sailing  to  the 
northward,  Frobish- 
er  met  with  a  gigan- 
tic iceberg,  which 
lell  in  pieces  within 
their  .sight,  making 
as  much  noise  as 
though  a  high  cliff 
liad  fallen  into  the 
sea.  They  saw  a 
number  of  Esaui- 
maux,  and  perhaps 
the  description  given  Christopher  columbus. 


INTRODUCTORY   REMARKS. 

of  them  by  the  commander  is  as  P-ood  as  anv  ^v^r     • 
few  words:  "They  be  like  to  TaSrU  thTonJ  blaTw 
broad  faces,  and  flatte  nos-.s,  and  taunie'in  cofour  wearing 
seale  skmnes;  and  so  doe  the  women,  not  differing  ^  hi 


SIR  MARTIN  FROl.ISHER. 

fashion,  but  the  women  are  marked  in  the  lace  with  W~..e 
^treckes  Jowne  ti;e  cheekes  and  round  about  the"  eves^ 
They  came  near  the  ship  timidly,  and  after  a  while  o/e  of 
them  ventured  mto  the  ship's  boaj,  when  Frobisher  presented 


lO 


INTRODUCTORY    REMARKS. 


him  with  a  bell  and  a  knife,  and  sent  him  back  with  five  of 
the  crew.  They  were  directed  to  land  him  apart  from  the 
spot  where  a  number  of  his  countrymen  were  assembled,  but 
they  disobeyed  his  orders,  and  were  seized  by  the  natives,  to- 
crether  with  the  boat,  and  none  of  them  were  heard  of  more. 
Returning  to  the  same  spot  a  few  days  afterwards,  one  of  the 
jiatives  was  enticed  alongside  the  vessel,  when  Frobisher,  a 
very  powerful  man,  caught  him  fast,  "and  plucked  him  with 
maine  force,  boate  and  all,  into  his  barke  out  of  the  sea. 
Whereupon,  when  he  found  himself  in  captivity,  for  very 
choler  and  disdaine  he  bit  his  tongue  in  twaine  within  his 
mouth ;  notwithstanding  he  died  not  thereof,  but  lived  until 
he  came  to  England,  and  then  he  died  of  cold  which  he  had 
taken  at  sea."  "With  this  "  strange  infidele  "  Frobisher  set  sail 
for  home,  arriving  at  Harwich  on  October  2d. 

The  next  voyage  of  P'robisher  was  instigated  purely  for  the 
further  discovery  of  the  precious  metal,  reported  by  him  to 
exist  in  large  quantities  on  the  east  coast  of  Greenland.  He 
was  furnished  with  "one  tall  ship,"  of  iSo  tons  or  so,  and  two 
barques  of  about  thirty  tons  each.  On  the  way  north  they 
observed  some  enormous  icebergs,  more  than  half  a  mile 
in  circuit,  and  seventy  to  eighty  fathoms  (210  to  240  yards) 
under  water.  The  ice  being  perfectly  fresh,  Frobisher  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  they  "  must  be  bredde  in  the  sounds,  or 
in  some  land  neere  the  Pole."  Tliey  loaded  up  with  the  ore 
from  Hall's  greater  island,  and  on  a  small  island  in  Frobisher 
Strait.  "All  the  sands  and  cliffs  did  so  glister,  and  had  so 
bright  a  marquesite,  that  it  seemed  all  to  be  gold,  but  upon 
tryall  made  it  prooved  no  better  than  black-lead." 

On  this  expedition  they  had  several  altercations  with  the 
natives,  and  in  one  skirmish  in  York  Sound  killed  five  or  six 
of  them.  It  is  s?id  that  they  found  here  some  of  the  apparel 
of  their  f!ve  unfortunate  companions,  who  had  been  seized  the 
previous  year  by  the  natives.  By  means  of  two  captives  they 
brought  about  some  degree  of  intercourse  with  the  Esqui- 
maux, and  left  a  letter,  understanding  that  their  own  sailors 
were  still  alive,  but  they  were  never  more  seen.  Having 
loaded  with  about  two  hundred  tons  of  the  supposed  gold  ore, 
they  set  sail  for  home,  where  they  arrived  safely,  to  the  great 
delight  of  all.  A  "gold  fever"  spread,  the  cupidity  of  the 
heart  was  awakened  ;  a  dishonest  man,  who  was  an  authority 
in  such  matters,  and  who.  therefore,  knew  better,  pronounced 


INTRODUCTORY    REMARKS. 


I  I 


the  mica  to  be  gold:  tlie  court,  nobles,  and  merchants  went 
crazy  on  the  subject.  It  was  determined  that  a  third  expedi- 
tion should  be  despatched  the  following  year  (1578) 

The  rteet  on  this  occasion  consisted  of  no  less  than  fifteen 
vessels.  One  hundred  persons  were  taken  to  form  a  setde- 
tnent,  and  remam  there  the  complete  year.  Frobisher  was 
appomted  admiral  and  general.     From 'first  to  last  the  voy- 


I'ROBISHER   PASSING  GREENWICH. 

aire  was  disastrous.  In  the  straits  named  after  Frobisher,  one 
of  their  larger  barques  struck  so  violendy  on  a  mass  of  ice 
that  she  sank  in  sight  of  the  whole  fleet,  and  although  all  the 
people  on  board  were  saved,  a  part  of  the  house  intended  for 
the  setders  went  down  with  the  wreck.  A  violent  storm  next 
ensued,  which  dispersed  the  fleet,  some  of  the  vessels  being 
fixed  in  die  ice  of  the  strait,  others  being  swent  away  to  sen. 


12 


INTRODUCTORY    REMARKS. 


11 


It  was  a  severe  season,  and  they  were  bewildered  by  fogs, 
snow,  and  mist.  After  many  perils  and  mucii  hardship,  it  was 
at  length  decided  that  each  captain  should  load  his  ship  with 
ore  and  set  homewards.  The  fleet  arrived  in  England  on  or 
about  October  ist,  having  lost  some  forty  persons.  The  ore 
being  now  carefully  examined  proved  worthless  pyrites ;  and 
the  Arctic  gold-mines  seemed  to  have  proved  a  "  fizzle  "  as 
great  as  any  of  the  worst  which  have  succeeded  them. 

On  the  7th  of  June,  1585,  two  vessels  left  Dartmouth  in 
command  of  John  Davis,  and  on  the  19th  of  July  were  off  the 
west  coast  of  Greenland.  As  they  proceeded  northward, 
they  observed  "  a  rocky  and  mountainous  land,"  its  summit 
covered  with  snow,  Davis  naming  it  "  The  Land  of  Desola- 
tion." He  could  not  land  there,  owing  to  the  coast-ice,  and 
after  sundry  explorations  to  the  southward,  and  again  to  the 
northwestward,  discovered  an  archipelago  of  islands,  to  which 
he  gave  the  title  of  Gilbert  Sound.  After  other  explorations 
they  reached  a  fine  open  passage  (Cumberland  Strait)  be- 
tween Frobisher's  Archipelago  and  the  island  now  called 
Cumberland  Island.  After  a  week's  further  stay  they  deter- 
mined to  sail  for  England,  where  they  arrived  safely  on  Sep- 
tember 30th. 

The  second  voyage  of  Davis  had  not  been  particularly 
prosperous  either  as  regards  commerce  or  discovery,  but  his 
persistency  and  perseverance  induced  the  merchants  to  de- 
spatch a  third  expedition  in  1587.  On  this  voyage  he  pro- 
ceeded as  far  north  as  yT)°,  and  discovered  the  strait  which 
now  bears  his  name.  Davis  made  no  more  Arctic  voyages. 
He  was  afterwards  employed  in  the  East  Indian  service. 

In  the  year  1594  the  United  Provinces  determined  to  send 
out  an  expedition  in  the  hopes  of  finding  a  northern  route  to 
China  and  India.  The  city  of  Amsterdam  contributed  two 
vessels:  Zeelandt  and  Enkhuysrn  one  each.  Willem  Barentz, 
"a  notable,  skillfull,  and  wise  pilote,"  represented  Amsterdam, 
while  the  other  vessels  werc^  respectively  commanded  by  Cor- 
nelis  Cornelison  and  Brand  Ysbrants.  The  vessels  left  the 
Texel  on  June  5th,  and  soon  afrcr  separated.  F'ollowing  first 
the  fortunes  of  Cornelison  and  Ysbrants,  wc.  find  that  they 
reach.ed  Lapland  on  the  23d,  and  proceeded  eastward  and 
reached  Waigatz  Island.  Sailing  through  Waigatz  Strait,  they 
found  and  were  impeded  much  by  large  quantities  of  floating 
ice  ;  later  they  reached  an  open  sea  perfectly  clear  of  it.     The 


INTRODUCTORY    REMARKS.  j, 

land  to  the  southward  was  in  sight,  and  trended  apparendy  to 
the  southeast.  Without  more  ado  they  concluded  that  they  had 
discovered  an  open  passage  round  Northern  Asia  to  China 
and    turned    their   vessels'    bows    homewards.       MeanwlUe' 
Barentz  crossed  the  White  Sea  inrl  ^.u^nM.^ii  ^^^li'vviiuc, 

rnacjf  nf  Movo  7      ui  ^^^  anU  eventually  made  the  west 

coast  oi  NovaZembla;  proceeding  thence  northwards  nam 
ing  several   headlands  and  islands.     About  lat  tude  77°  2=;' 
they  encountered  an  immense  field  of  ice.  of  which  the/Ud 


MOCK  SUNS,  SEEN  ON  FOURTH  OK  JUNE,  1596,  BY  BARENTZ. 


see  no  end  from  the  mast-head,  and  they  had  to  turn  back 
After  becoming  entangled  in  drift-ice.  and  experiencing  misty* 
cold,  and  tempestuous  weather,  the  crew  began  to  murmu^' 
and  then  refused  positively  to  proceed.  On  the  homeward 
yoyage/after  tney  k  d  arrived  at  Maltfloe  and  Delgoy  Islands 
feL"^"^^^^.^;  "^l^r  ''T'  't  ^^"^"^-nders  of  whi?h  were  j,  : 

iC.'J     A^^l     ""  '^'  '^7i^"^  discovered  the  Northeast 
i  assnge.     At  all  events,  on  their  return,  the  reports  given  by 


H 


INTKOUUCTORY    REMARKS. 


them  were  so  favorably  considered,  that  preparations  were 
immediately  made  for  a  second  expedition.  • 

The  second  expedition  consisted  of  seven  vessels :  six  laden 
with  wares,  merchandise,  and  money,  and  factors  to  act  as 
traders ;  the  seventh,  a  small  pinnace,  was  to  accompany  the 
rest  for  part  of  the  voyage,  and  bring  back  news  of  the  pro- 
ceedings.     These    extensive    preparations    were    rendered 


!i 


NOVA  ZEMBLA-ROUTE  TAKEM  BY  BARENTZ, 

nearly  useless  by  the  dilatoriness  of  those  who  had  the 
matter  in  hand.  The  vessels  did  not  leave  the  Texel  til!  July 
2d,  1595,  nor  reach  Nova  ZembU  before  the  middle  of  Au- 
gust. The  coasts  of  that  island  were  found  to  be  unapproach- 
able on  account  of  the  ice.  In  few  words,  they  returned  to 
Holland,  having  accomplished  little  or  nothing. 

Again,  in  May,  1596.  Barentz  sailed  from  Amsterdam,  and 


INTRODUCIXiKY    REMAkKS. 


15 


on  July  i7tli  reached  Nova  Zembla.     Arrived  home  in  the 
following  year,  after  a  voyage  of  many  hardships  and  trials 

In  1607  renewed  the  search  for  a  northern  route  to  China 
and  Japan.     Hitherto  neither  the  northeast  nor  norchwest  had 
held  out  much  hopes  of  success,  and  they  now  determined  on 
a  bola  and  novel  attempt  at  sailing  over  the  Pole  itself     For 
this  expedition  Henry  Hudson— already  known  as  an' expe- 
rienced and  intrepid  seaman,  and  well  skilled  in  nautical  science 
—was  chosen  commander.     This  adventurous  navicrator  left 
Gravesend  on  May  ist  in  a  small  barque,  with  only^en  men 
and  a  boy.     Ihe 
ver)'    name     and 
tonnage    of    the 
vessel  have  been 
forgotten,   but    it 
is  known  to  have 
been  of  the  tiniest 
description.        In 
the  second  week 
of  June    Hudson 
fell  in  with  land — 
a  headland  of  East 
Greenland  —  the 
weather    at    the 
time  being  foggy, 
and  the  sails  and 
shrouds      frozen. 
He    examined 
other  parts  of  this 
coast,      feeling 
doubtful   whether 
he  might  not  reach 

round  Greenland.  Later  he  reached  Spitzberc^en,  where  the 
ice  to  the  north  utterly  baffled  all  his  efforts^to  force  a  pas- 
sage, and  being  short  of  supplies  he  set  sail  for  England. 

Two  years  later,  1609,  we  find  Hudson  on  a  third  voyage 
of  discovery.  His  movements  were  very  erratic,  and  the 
only  record  left  us  does  not  explain  them.  He  first  doubled 
the  North  Cape,  as  though  again  in  quest  of  the  Northeast 
Passage;  then  turned  westward  to  Newfoundland;  thence 
again  south  as  far  as  Charleston,  South  Carolina;  then  north 
to  Cape    Cod,   soon   after  which   he   discovered   the   beau- 


SlR  HENRY  HUDSON. 

open  water  to  the  northward,  and  sail 


i6 


INTRODUCTORY   REMARKS. 


tiful  Hudson  River,  at  the  mouth  of  which  New  York  is 
now  situated.  Hudson's  fourth  and  last  voyage  is  that 
most  intimately  associated  with  his  name  on  account  of  the 
cruel  tragedy  which  terminated  his  life. 

Several  gentlemen  of  influence,  among  them  Sir  John 
Wolstenholnie  and  Sir  Dudley  Digges,  were  so  satisfied  of 
the  feasibility  of  making  the  Northwest  Passage,  that  they 
fitted  out  a  vessel  at  their  own  expense,  and  gave  the  com- 
mand to  Henry  Hudson.  The  accounts  of  the  voyage  itself 
are  meagre.  We  know,  however,  that  he  discovered  the 
Strait  and  "  Mediterranean  "  Sea.  The  vessel  appropriated 
for  this  service  was  of  fifty-five  tons  burden,  victualled  only,  as 


DEATH  OF  BEHRINO. 


it  seems,  for  six  months.  She  left  the  Thames  on  April  17th, 
1 610,  and  on  June  9th  she  was  off  the  entrance  of  Fro- 
bisher  Strait,  where  Hudson  was  compelled  to  ply  to  the 
westward  on  account  of  the  ice  and  contrary  winds.  During 
July  and  the  latter  part  of  August  several  islands  and  head- 
lands were  sighted  and  named,  and  at  length  they  discovered 
a  great  strait  formed  by  the  northwest  point  of  Labrador, 
and  a  cluster  of  islands,  which  led  them  into  an  extensive  sea. 
Here  Hudson's  own  testimony  ends. 

In  1 61 6  Baffin  explored  the  bay  called  after  him,  even 
entering  the  mouth  of  Lancaster  Sound.  For  more  than 
fifty  years  after  his  explorations  no  navigator  penetrated  be- 


INTKODUCIORY    KEMiVKKS. 


'7 


yorid  tlie  spot  reached  by  him.  In  1743  the  British  Parlia- 
nient  offered  a  reward  of  ^20,000  to  the  crew  who  should 
etiect  a  nortliwest  passage  through  Hudson  Bay,  and  subse- 
quently the  conditions  were  extended  so  as  to  include  any 
northern  passage  for  ships,  and  an  additional  reward  of  £k  000 
was  offered  to  the  crew,  that  should  penetrate  to  within  one 
degree  of  the  North  Pole.  In  1773  Captain  Phipps,  after- 
ward Lord  Mulgrave,  under  instructions  to  reach  the  North 
Pole,  sailed  along  the  shores  of  Spitzbergen  to  latitude  80° 
48',  and  in  1776  Captain  Cook,  sailing  for  the  polar  sea  by 
way  of  Behring  Strait,  penetrated  to  latitude  70°  45'.  In 
1789  Mackenzie,  in  a  land  expedition,  discovered  and  traced 
to  Its  mouth  the  river  called  after  him. 

In  spite  of  all  these  discoveries  not  a  sincrle  line  of  the 
coast  from  Icy  Cape  to  Bafifin  Bay  was  tra?ed  and  thor- 
oughly known.  The  eastern  and  western  shores  of  Green- 
land to  about  75°  latitude  were  tolerably  well  defined  from 
the  visits  of  whaling  vessels ;  Hudson  Bay  and  Strait  were 
partially  known ;  but  Baffin  Bay,  according  to  the  statement 
of  the  discoverer,  was  bounded  by  land  on  the  west,  running 
parallel  with  the  90th  meridian,  and  across  what  is  now  known 
as  Barrow's  Strait. 

As  early  as  the  year  1527  the  idea  of  a  passage  to  the  East 
Indies  by  the  North  Pole  was  suggested  by  a  Bristol  mer- 
chant to  Henry  VIII.  of  England,  but  no  voyage  seems  to 
have  been  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  navigating  the 
Arctic  Seas  till  the  commencement  of  the  following  century, 
when  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  at  the  expense  of  several 
merchants  of  London.  This  attempt  was  succeeded  by  others 
at  different  periods,  and  all  of  them  were  projected  and  car- 
ried out  by  private  individuals.  While  the  adventurers  did' 
not  reach  India  by  a  nearer  route  than  doubling  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  they  evinced  a  fortitude,  perseverance,  and  skill 
which  deserve  the  adnfiration  of  the  civilized  world. 

At  length,  after  the  lapse  of  above  a  century  and  a  half, 
this  interesting  question  became  an  object  of  royal  patronage, 
and  the  expedidon  which  was  commanded  by  Captain  Phipps 
was  fitted  out  at  the  expense  of  the  government.  Captain 
Phipps,  however,  found  it  impossible  to  penetrate  the  wall  ot 
ice  which  extended  for  many  degrees  between  the  ladtude  of  . 
So  and  81°  to  the  north  of  Spitzbergen.  His  vessels  were 
the  Racehorse  and  Carcass:    Captain    Lutwidge  being   his 


a. 


M 


U 


n 


M 


(/) 


u 


en 


(18) 


INTRODUCTORY    REMARKS. 


<9 


second  in  command,  in  the  latter  vessel,  and  having  with  him, 
then  a  mere  boy,  Nelson,  the  future  hero  of  England. 

From  the  year  1648,  when  the  famous  Russian  navigator, 
Deshnew,  penetrated  from  the  river  Kolyma  through  the 
Polar  into  the  Pacific  Ocean,  the  Russians  have  been  as  ar- 
duous in  their  attempts  to  discover  a  northeast  passage  to  the 
north  of  Cape  Shelatskoi,  as  the  English  have  been  to  sail  to 
the  northwest  of  the  American  continent,  through  Baffin 
Bay  and  Lancaster  Sound.  On  the  side  of  the  Pacific  many 
efforts  have,  within  the  last  century,  been  made  to  further  this 
object.  In  1741  the  celebrated  Captain  Behring  discovered 
the  straits  which  bear  his  name.  From  the  period  when 
Deshnew  sailed  on  his  expedition  to  the  year  1 764,  when 
Admiral  Tchitschagoff,  an  indefatigable  and  active  officer,  en- 
deavored to  force  a  passage  round  Spitzbergen,  and  thence 
to  the  present  times,  including  the  arduous  efforts  of  Captain 
Billings  and  Vancouver,  and  the  more  recent  one  of  M.  Von 
Wrangell,  the  Russians  have  been  untiring  in  their  attempts 
to  discover  a  passage  eastward  to  the  north  of  Cape  Taimur 
and  Cape  Shelatskoi.  And  certainly,  if  skill,  perseverance, 
and  courage  could  have  opened  this  passage,  it  would  have 
been  accomplished. 

An  expedition  was  despatched  under  the  command  of  Sir 
John  Ross  in  order  to  explore  the  scene  of  the  former  labors 
of  Frobisher  and  Baffin.  Still  haunted  with  the  golden 
dreams  of  a  northwest  passage,  which  Barrington  and 
Beaufoy  had  in  the  last  age  so  enthusiastically  advocated,  our 
nautical  adventurers  by  no  means  relinquished  the  long-cher- 
ished chimera. 

A  thorough  knowledge  of  the  relative  boundaries  of  land 
and  ocean  on  our  globe  has  in  all  ages  and  by  all  countries 
been  considered  one  of  the  most  important  features  of  pop- 
ular information.  But  to  no  country  is  this  knowledge  of 
such  practical  utility  and  such  importance  as  to  a  maritime 
nation  like  Great  Britain,  whose  merchant  marine  visits  every 
port  which  is  dependent  upon  distant  quarters  for  the  greater 
part  of  her  necessary  supplies,  whether  of  food  or  of  luxuries, 
which  her  population  consume,  and  which  her  arts  and  manu- 
factures require. 


CMAITKR  II. 

ARCTIC   EXPEDITIONS   OF   THE    NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

Sir  John  Ross — Captftin  I'arry — Sir  John  Franklin — Russian  Expeditions  under  Von 
Wrangell  and  Anjou — Captain  Jiecchey — Captain  Ross  fixes  the  Position  of  the  true  Mag- 
netic Pole — Hack  and  Dr.  King — Dease  and  Simpson — Dr.  Rae  finishes  the  (Jeographical 
Exploration  of  the  North  Coast  of  the  American  Continent— Sir  John  Franklin's  last 
Expedition — Numerous  Expeditions  sent  out  in  Search  of  him — Capiain  McClintock  finds 
Proof  of  Franklin's  Death — Commander  Inglewood's  Expedition — Sir  John  Franklin  the 
Discoverer  of  the  Northwestern  Passage. 

In  the  year  1818  two  vessels  were  fitted  out  by  the  British 
government  to  proceed  toward  the  North  Pole.  Captain  Sir 
John  Ross  and  Lieutenant  Parry  were  appointed  command- 
ers. No  former  expedition  had  been  fitted  out  on  so 
extensive  a  scale,  or  so  completely  equipped  in  every  respect 
as  this  one.  The  circumstance  which  stimulated  the  send- 
ing out  of  these  vessels  was  the  open  character  of  the  bays 
and  seas  in  those  regions,  very  large  quantities  of  the  polar 
ice  having  floated  down  into  the  Atlantic  for  the  previous 
three  years.  This  expedition  had  instructions  to  discover  the 
northwest  passage.  Another,  under  Captain  Beechey  and 
Lieutenant  Franklin,  afterward  Sir  John  Franklin,  was  to 
penetrate  to  the  North  Pole.  The  objects  of  the  latter  expe- 
dition were  entirely  scientific.  It  passed  north  between 
Greenland  and  Spitzbergen,  but  did  not  go  farther  than  lati- 
tude 80°  34'.  Captain  Ross  sailed  about  sixty  miles  up 
Lancaster  Sound,  and  returned  with  the  report  that  it  was  a 
bay,  through  which  there  was  no  outlet  to  the  ocean  beyond, 
A  year  later  another  expedition  under  Lieutenant  Parry 
passed  through  Lancaster  and  Melville  Sounds  beyond  the 
110th  meridian,  wintered  at  Melville  Island,  and  returned  to 
Great  Britain  the  next  summer.  From  York  Factory  an  over- 
land expedition  under  Lieutenant  Franklin  was  sent  out  the 
same  yc.  u  with  instructions  to  explore  the  north  coast  of 
Amey.'.  L,  Tom  the  mouth  of  the  Coppermine  River  eastward. 
He  pr  jccvded  550  miles  t-ast  of  the  Coppermine  to  Point 
Turn-again,  and  then,  having  suffered 


(ao) 


great 


ships 


ARCTIC    EXI'EDITIONS    OF    MNLTEKNIII    CKN    'IRY. 


21 


turned  to  York  Factor)'  In  1822  without  accomplishing  the 
object. 

I'Vanklin,  in  descending  the  Coppermine  River,  was  accom- 
panied by  as  heroic  a  set  of  officers  and  men  as  ever  trod  a 
deck;amon^  the  former  were  Dr.  Richardson,  Lieutenant 
l)ack  and  Lieutenant  Hood,  and  among  the  latter  a  faithful 


LIEUTENANT  BACK'S  START— A  JOURNEY  OF  600  MILES  FOR  FOOD. 


seaman  named  Hepburn.  The  Coppermine  River  had  never 
been  thoroughly  exolored.  and  the  enterprise  was  one  of  great 
danjrer.  Ascending  the  Hayes  River  on  their  inland  route  to 
the  Coppermine,  they  accomplished  700  miles  of  river  jour- 
ney, over  rapids  and  falls  and  obstacles  and  difficulties  innu- 
merable.    From  the  gth  of  September  to  the  end  of  October 


22 


ARCTIC    EXPr,OU'TION.« 


they  were  engaged  in  this  task,  and  thvjn  the  setting  in  of  the 
ice  compelled  them  to  relinquish  tlieir  laijors  in  thar  direction 
for  the  present.     Franklin,  however,  wus  not  idle — it  was  not 
in  thr  nature  of  the  man  to  be  so — and  therefore  he,  Back 
and  Hepburn  started  off  in  January  westward,  working  up 
850  miles,  until  in  March  they  reached  Fort  Chipewyan,  where 
many  important  observations  were  made.     In  July  he  was 
joined  by  Richardson  and  Hood,  and  hpped  to  winter  that 
year  at  the  mouth  of  the  Coppermine.     A  large  party  was 
made  up,  consisting  of  Franklin  and  his  friends,  seventeen 
French-Canadian  voyageurs,   three  interpreters,  and  a  con- 
siderable number  of  Indians  who  were  to  act  as  guides  and 
hunters  under  the  leadership  of  one  Akaitcho.     The  start  was 
all  that  could  be  desired,  game  plentiful,  and  everything  prom- 
ised well.     But  as  they  advanced  to  the  north  a  change  came 
over  the  spirit  of  their  dream ;  food  grew  scarce,  the  diffi- 
culty of  transit  increased,  and  at  last  Akaitcho  declared  that 
to  advance  farther  meant  for  the  whole  party  to  perish  miser- 
ably.    Franklin  persisted,  however,  and  would  have  braved 
all  the  prophesied  risks,  till  Akaitcho  said :  "  I  will  send  some 
of  my  young  men  with  you  if  you  persist  in  going  forward, 
but  from  the  moment  they  set  foot  in  your  canoes  I  and  my 
relatives  shall  mourn  for  them  as  dead."     Discretion  being 
the  better  part  of  valor,  Franklin  reluctantly  determined  to 
settle  in  winter  quarters  and  continue  the  exploration  in  the 
summer.     The  place  chosen  for  wintering  was  at  Fort  Enter- 
prise, near  the  head  of  the  Coppermine,  and  between  500 
and  600  miles  from  Fort  Chipev/yan,  the  distance  traversed 
by  the  gallant  company  in  the  course  of  the  ^ear  1820  having 
been  1,520  miles. 

During  the  winter  food  grew  scarcer  and  scarcer,  until  at 
last  starvation  was  threatened.  In  addition  to  their  own 
party,  the  Indians  had  to  be  provided  for,  and  this  gready  im- 
poverished their  resources.  The  Indians  knew  this,  and,  with 
a  generosity  which  Christian  men  might  sometimes  imitate, 
gave  their  own  food  to  the  strangers  who  seemed  more  to 
need  it.  "  We  are  used  to  starvation,  you  are  not,"  they  said. 
By-and-hy  a  time  came  when  the  situation  was  gloomy  in  the 
extreme,  ammunition  and  other  articles,  indispensable  to  the 
progress  of  the  expedition,  and  food  were  fast  failing.  What 
was  to  be  done  }  There  was  only  one  course  optm,  and  that 
was  to  iournev  on  foot  a  distance  of  ov  "  '^ 


journey 


500 


ARCTIC    rXPEPITIONS   OF   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 


23 


Chipewyan,  in  die  depth  of  an  Arctic  winter,  for  supplies.  A 
volunteer  was  soon  lound.  Lieutenant  Back  was  not  a  man 
to  allow  his  comrades  to  perish  while  he  had  strength  and 
vigor  to  save  them,  and  he  undertook  U.  perform  the  journ*^ 


DR.  RICHARDSON,  OF  SIR  JOHN   I'RANKLIN'S   EXPEDniON,  SAVING 
HIS   COMPANION   HEPBURN. 

and  obtain  the  needful  supplies.  Day  after  day  he  and  his 
companions  toiled  on  over  ice  and  snow,  and  night  after 
night  braved  tlie  inclemency  of  the  weather  by  camping  out 
of  doors.     With  snow-shoes  galling  their  feet* and  ankles  till 


:n 


24 


AliCTIC    KXI'LOKATK  )NS. 


they  bled  profusely;  with  only  sufficient  food  to  keep  them 
from  starving,  and,  therefore,  rendering  them  all  the  more 
susceptible  to  cold ;  with  weather  unusual  in  the  severe  re- 
gion for  its  severity,  on  they  went,  until  at  last  they  reached 
the  station,  procured  four  sledges,  laden  to  the  full  with  need- 
ful things,  and  the  promise  of  more  to  follow,  and  then,  after 
a  brief  rest,  set  off  again  for  Fort  Enterprise. 

During  the  journey  Back  travelled  1,104  miles,  and  when 
he  rejoined  his  companions  it  v;as  to  find  that  his  unprece- 
dented journey  was  a  success  in  every  respect,  for  they  had 
arrived  at  a  stage  in  their  experience  when  the  aid  he  brought 
was  indispensable. 

In    1820    twenty-three    Russian    sledge    expeditions    were 
made  by  Von  Wrangell  and  Anjou,  who  penetrated  to  lati- 
tude 70°  51'  and  longitude   157°  25'  west,  and  reported  an 
open  sea  in  the  distant  north,  which  precluded  further  opera- 
tions with  sledges.     In  1821  Captain  Parry  started  on  another 
expedition,  and  after  proceeding  through  Hudson  Strait  and 
Fox  Channel  as  far  as  Hekla  and  Fury  Strait,  returned  in 
1823.     Two  years  later  Franklin  descended  the  Mackenzie 
River  to  the  sea,  and  traced  the  coast  for  374  miles.     His 
voyage  extended  over  2,000  miles.     About  the  same  time 
Captain  Beecliey  had  sailed  around  Cape  Horn,  and  through 
Behring  Strait  into  Kotzebue  Sound,  but  faih-d  to  meet  Frank- 
lin.    Captain  Barry,  in  1827,  set  out  for  the  North  Pole  with 
sledge  boats,  which  had  been  landed  upon  the  northern  sliore 
of  Spitzbergen,  but  soon  returned,  after  reaching  latitude  82^^ 
45'.     An  expedition  was  fitted  out  in  1829  by  Sir  Felix  Booth, 
and  set  out  under  the  roiumand  of  Captain  Ross  and  Com- 
mander  (afterward  Sir  James)   Ross,  in  search  of  a  north- 
western   passage    by  some   opening  leading   out  of   Prince 
Regent    Inlet.      In    183 1,    while    on    a    sledging   expedidon, 
Captain  Ross  for  the  first  time  reached  and  fixed  the  position 
of  the   true  magnedc  pole,  in  ladtude  70°  5'  17"  and  longi- 
tude 96°  46'  45".     After  many  hardships.  Captain  Ross  re- 
turned in  the  autumn  of  1833.     In  the  meandme.  Bark  and 
Dr.  King  had  set  out  on  an  overland  expedition  in  search  of 
Captain  Ross  and  his  party.     They  navigated  the  great  ImsIi 
(Fhleivee-choh)  River,  afterward  called  Back  River,  reached 
the  ocean   at   latitude   67°   u',  longitude  94°  30',  and   after 
pushing  forward  to  latitude  68"  13',  returned.     The  1  iudson 
Bay    Company    then    sent   out    Dease    and    Simpson,    who 


KiCHARDiSON'S  ADVENTURK  WITH   WOLVKJj. 


I 


ar 
pa 
tic 
D( 
Tc 
Vi 


ARCTIC   EXPEDITIONS   OF   x>imETEEWTH   CENTURY.  25 

descended  the  Mackenzie  River  to  the  sea.  and  then  followed 
the  coast  to   the  west  as  lar  as   Point  liarrow.     liiey  dfs 
covered  two  large  rivers,  which  they  called  Garry  and  Col- 
ville.     1  hey  remained  during  the  winter  on  Great  Lar  Lal^e 
and  in  June.  1838.  started  on  another  expedition  to  the  east-^ 
ward.     Ihey  reached  the  coast  by  wa^  of  the  Coppermme 


BACK  AVD  HIS   ATTENDANTS   RF.JOININT.  HIS   FRIENDS. 


t^on^  P.  •  T?"  Tr  1^"!  expedition  in  an  easterly  dlrec- 
Dease  sS"Ld";  v"^  Turn-again,  they  discovered  the 
ToXTorVh  .h^^       Its  eastern  extremity  a  large  headland. 

wLLand  ^^tU^^";:  ""'J"^^  Iand.^.'hich  they  called 
V  ictona  Land.     The  sea  beyond  was  entirely  free  of  ice.     In 


26 


ARCTIC    EXPLOKATUiNS. 


T839  they  sailed  through  Dease  Strait,  and  reached  the  spot 
which  had  been  visited  by  Back  five  years  previous.  The 
entire  American  coast  Une  had  now  been  explored,  except 
that  i.-rtion  lying  between  Dease  and  Simpson's  extreme 
point  on  the  west  and  Felix  Harbor  on  the  east,  and  that  por- 
tion lyincr  between  Felix  Harbor  and  that  pomt  reached  by 
Parry  in^i822,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Strait  of  Hekla  and 

Fury.  .  , 

-  To  setde  the  question  whether  it  was  possible  to  pass  with 
ships  between  Bothnia  and  the  American  mainland,  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company,  in  1846,  sent  out  Dr.  John  Rae,  who 
proved  that  there  is  no  outlet  toward  the  west  through  Prince 
Reo^ent  Inlet.  Dr.  Rae  explored  Committee  Bay,  and  reached 
a  point  from  which  he  saw  a  headland,  which  he  called  Cape 
EUice,  within  ten  miles  of  Fury  and  Hekla  Strait.  Thus  was 
finished,  with  the  exception  of  Fury  and  Hekla  Stratt,  a  geo- 
graphical exploration  of  the  north  coast  of  the  American 
continent  on  May  2  7th,  1847. 

Sir  John  Franklin,  with  the  Erebus  and  1  error,  each 
fitted  out  with  a  small  steam-engine  and  a  screw-propeller, 
and  the  two  carrying  1 29  men  and  provisions  for  three  years, 
in  May,  1845.  mailed  on  his  last  expedition  to  discover  the 
northwestern  passage.  His  instructions  were  to  pass  through 
Baffin  Bay  and  Lancaster  Sound,  then  west  in  about  latitude 
74'>  15'  to  about  longitude  98°,  thence  to  penetrate  south  and 
west  toward  Behring  Strait.  The  vessels  were  last  seen 
about  the  centre  of  Baffin  Bay.  ^    n    1 

The  Terror  is  the  vessel  in  which  Captain  Sir  G.  Back 
made  his  perilous  attempt  to  reach  Repulse  Bay,  in  1836. 

The  Erebus  and  Terror  were  not  expected  home,  un- 
less success  had  early  rewarded  their  efforts,  or  some  casualty 
hastened  their  return,  before  the  close  of  1847,  nor  were  any 
tidings  anticipated  from  them  in  the  interval ;  but  when  the 
autumn  of  1847  arrived  without  any  intelligence  of  the  ships, 
the  attention  of  the  British  Government  was  directed  to  the 
necessity  of  searching  for  and  conveying  relief  to  them  in 
case  of  their  being  imprisoned  in  the  ice  or  wrecked,  and  in 
want  of  provisions  and  means  of  transport.  _  _ 

For  this  purpose  a  searching  expedition  in  three  divisions 
was  fitted  out  by  the  government  in  the  early  part  of  1848. 
The  investigation  was  directed  to  three  different  quarters  si- 
multaneously, viz. :   1.    To  that  by  which,  in  case  of  success, 


'}W«>«;«<»Trf«p-««r«' 


ARCTIC    KXPEDITIONS   OK    NINETEENTH    CEN  lURY. 


27 


the  ships  would  come  out  of  the  Polar  Sea  to  the  westward, 
or  Behring  Strait.  This  consisted  of  a  single  ship,  the 
Plover,  commanded  by  Captain  Moore,  which  Teft  England 
in  the  latter  end  of  January  for  the  purpose  of  entering 
Behring  Strait.     It  was  intended  that  she  should  arrive  there 


SIR  JOHN    FRANKLIN. 


in  the  month  of  July,  and  having  looked  out  for  a  winter  har- 
bor .she^might  send  out  her  boats  northward  and  eastward,  in 
which  directions  the  discovery  ships,  if  successful,  would  be 
met  with.      The   Plover,  however,  in  her  first  season,  never 


38 


ARCTIC   EXPLOKA'llONS. 


even  approached  the  place  of  her  destination,  owing  to  her 
setting  off  too  late,  and  to  her  bad  sailin<;  properties. 

The  second  division  of  the  expedition  was  one  of  boats,  to 
explore  the  coast  of  the  Arctic  Sea  between  the  Mackenzie 


THE  EREBUS    AND    TERROR    WINTEUIN(;    AT   THE    HEAD   OF* 
WELLINGTON    CHANNEL. 

and  Coppermine  rivers,  or  from  the  135th  to  the  i  I5tli  degree 
of  west  longitude,  together  with  the  south  coast  of  Wollaston 
Land,  it  being  supposed  that  if  Sir  John  Franklin's  party  had 


ARCTIC    EXPEDITIONS   OF   NINETEKNTI,    CENTURY.  29 

been  compelled  to  leave  the  ships  and  take  to  the  boats  thev 
would  make  for  this  coast,  whence  they  could  reach  the  H ,,7 
son  Bay  Company's  posts  Thi^  ,v,rr,,  ,  "'^.•^^^^j^  the  Hud- 
command  of  the  faithhd  riendo  1  mnk  r  ^^^"^  ""^^''  '^" 
of  his  former  travels  Dr Tr  [ohn  R,  l  /""^  '^l  companion 
New  York  in  Aoril  iS.^'  on  fi  ^'^'^f^'^^o"'  who  landed  at 
ixew  lorK  m  /\pril  1848,  and  hastened  to  join  his  men  anrl 
boats,  which  were  already  in  advance  toward^h"  Arrt"c  shore 
He  was.  however,  unsuccessful  in  his  search  * 

The  rema.nmg  and  most  important  portion  of  this  searrh 
mg  expedmon  consisted  of  two  ships  under  t"ie  command  of 
Sirjames  Ross,  which  sailed  in  May   iS^^   fnr  f K    1       ?• .    • 
which  Franklin's  ships  entered  on^ihistu^'e'oSvLv 
VIZ..  the  eastern  side  of  Davis  Strait.     These  dW  not  hoJ' 

and  returned  home  unsuccessful  ^  ^         ^^' 

In  1850  alone,  eight  expeditions  were  out  ^  ^'^anklin. 

In  1 85 1  Lieutenant  McClintock  reirhe^  ;«  1        •.  j 
.0'  latitude  74".38',  the  'arthest  tsTem  nt  t  e  ^r^trtnld'h^ 
explorers   starting   from  Baffin  Bay      In     xf,  r  ,^ 

Inglewood  sailed  up  Smith    Sound'to    a.i tuJe   fs'   :Tt 

B|f ^rd^'SaTtil  Z^o4",'«^°  i^  f{^ 

fA^/a"te'l^f^an^^4to^,r  S 

dition  sent   out    by  Ladv   FrLi  r  j       ^^^^     A"  expe- 


".y«.h,,s„.is;re,z'r;,r5,A.i 


ition 


30 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


had  passed  die  previous  winter  in  latitude  70°  5',  longitude 
98°  23',  and  that  of  the  previous  year  at  Beechey  Island  after 
ascending^  the  Wellington  Channel  to  latitude  77°,  and  return- 
ing by  the  west   side  of  Cornvvallis   Island.     All   the   party 


i  li 


DR.   RAE  FINDING  THE  MUTILATED  CORPSE  OF  ONE  OF 
SIR  JOHN  FRANKLIN'S  MEN. 

Were  tuen  weh.  kjvi  the  margin  was  anotiicr  recorva  oateu 
April  25th,  1848,  to  the  effect  that  105  men  under  Captain 
Crosier  had    ibandoned  the  two  vessels  on  April  2 2d,  five 


ARCnc    FXrF.niTIONS    OF    NINF.IKKNTFI    CENTORY.  3, 

leagues  N.  N.  W..  and  liacl  land«d  at  that  place  latitude  /;.o 
Sr  42".  longjtudc  98; 4'  .  5" :  that  Sir  John  £ .fkl  n  ad  d^'d 
June  1 1  th.  1847.  and  that  the  total  deaths  were  n.nc  offers  and 
fifteen  men.     Quant.t.es  of  clothing,  were  found  but  no  tAce 

perisned.  l  ^^^f^Jhat  Sir  John  Franklin  passed  up  Lancaster 
Sound,  explored  Wellington  Channel  to  a  point  fanher  no  th 
han  was  reached  by  those  who  were  sent  out  to  search  for 
his  party.  Penny.  De  Haven  and  Belclur.  saHed  around 
Cornwallis  Island,  and  wintered  on  Beechey  Island  In  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1846  he  either  navigated  Bellot  Stra  t 
or  niore  probably  pushed  through  Peel  Sound,  and  finalv 
reached  V^^tona  Strait,  and  //.«.  s^^pp/^e^  the  only  ittk^l 

Tr  //  /  n  ^''^'\  Franklm  is  the  discoverer  of  the 
Northwesteni  Passage.  McClure.  in  1850-53,  had  been  the 
first  to  pass  from  Behring  Strait  to  Baffin  Bay 

It  would  be  ungenerous  in  telling  the  story  of  some  of  th^ 
searches  for  Sir  John  Franklin  to  overlook  The  ser^ces  ren! 
dered  by  Lieutenant  Bellot,  the  representative  of  France 
Bellot.  who  was  of  humble  origin,  rose  to  position  by  his  own 
perseverance  and  industry.  6n  his  first^xpedition  in  the 
Prince  Albert,  his  conduct  was  such  that  he  vvas  received  in 
England  with  enthusiasm ;  the  British  government  made 
known  to  France  how  wdl  satisfied  it  waf  withThe  zealous 
and  intelligent  co-operation  of  the  youn-  officer 

.1,.  P  y^'"'"''^'  ^^P^^^^'°"  y^^  '"  the   Phoenix.  '  Arriving  in 
the  Polar  regions.  ,t  was  important  that  certain  desSes 

RelW  1  '°r'^''^  ?  Sir  Edward  B.lcher  without  delay  7nd 
Bellot  who  knew  that  their  transmission  was  one  of  the 
special  and  urgent  objects  of  the  mission  of  the  Ph4ix  and 
that  It  was  necessary  they  should  be  prompdy  delivered  him 
self  volunteered  to  carry  them,  and  with  four  men.  a  slecoe 
and  an  india-rubber  canoe  started  off.  Bellot  talked  to  his 
men  of  the  danger  of  their  position.  He  went  forth  to  see 
how  the  ice  was  driving,  and  in  a  few  minutes  afterwards  one 
of  his  men  followed  him.  The  wind  was  blowincr  with  a  ^er^ 
rific  fury  Bellot  was  not  to  be  seen.  His' nan  e  was 
shouted,  but^no  answer  came.  On  the  opposite  sMe  o7  . 
wack  aoouc  nve  lathoms  wide  was  his  stick  ~ 

And  that  was  all !     There  could  be  no  doubt  that  when  he 
went  forward  to  see  how  the  ice  was  driving  the  wind  carried 


32 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


him  off  his  feet  and  he  slipped  into  the  crack,  from  which  he 
inever  arose  again.  Never  was  a  young  hero  mourned  more 
<leeply  tiian   he.     All    France   mourned    him,  and  Eni^iand 


I-IEUTENANT  J.   BKLLOT. 

mourned  him,  and  even  the  Esquimaux,  when  they  heard  of 
his  death,  cried  out  with  bitter  weeping:  "Poor  Bellotl 
poor  Bellot!" 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    FIRST   AMERICAN   ARCTIC   EXPEDITIONS. 

The  first  Grinnell  Expedition  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Dc  Haven— After  wintepM 
near  Beechey  Island  it  returns  safely  to  Uew  York— Traces  of  Sir  John  Franklin's  Ex- 
pedition found— An  Arctic  Winter  and  its  Horrors— Scurvy— The  Expedition  of  Com- 
mander Inglefield,  of  the  British  Navy— He  reaches  Latitude  78°  28'  21-'^  about  140 
miles  farther  north  than  had  been  previously  attained— Lieutenant  Osborn's  Expedition. 

In  1850  an  expedition  was  sent  out  by  Mr.  Henry  Grinnell, 
a  merchant  of  New  York,  in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin  and 
his  companions.  Mr.  Grinnell's  expedition  consisted  of  only 
two  small  brigs,  the  Advance  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
tons,  the  Rescue  of  only  ninety  tons.  The  former  had 
been  engaged  in  the  Havana  trade,  the  la^r  was  a  new 
vessel  built  for  the  merchant  service.  Both%ere  strength- 
ened for  the  Arctic  voyage  at  a  heavy  cost.  The  command 
was  given  to  Lieutenant  E.  De  Haven,  a  young  naval  officer, 
who  accompanied  the  United  States  exploring  expedition! 
The  result  has  proved  that  a  better  choice  could  not  have 
been  made.  His  officers  consisted  of  Mr.  Murdoch,  sailing- 
master;  Dr.  E.  K.  Kane,  surgeon  and  naturalist;  and  Mr. 
Lovell,  midshipman.  The  Advance  had  a  crew  of  twelve 
men  when  she  sailed ;  two  of  them  complaining  of  sickness, 
and  expressing  a  desire  to  return  home,  were  left  at  the  Dan- 
ish settlement  at  Disco  Island,  on  the  coast  of  Greenland. 

The  expedition  left  New  York  on  the  23d  of  May,  1850, 
and  was  absent  a  little  more  than  sixteen  months.  They 
passed  the  eastern  extremity  of  Newfoundland  ten  days  after 
leaving  Sandy  Hook,  and  then  sailed  E.  N.  E.,  direcdy  for 
Cape  Comfort,  on  the  coast  of  Greenlana.  The  weather  was 
generally  fine,  and  only  a  single  accident  occurred  on  the 
voyage  to  that  country  of  frost  and  snow.  Off  the  coast  of 
Labrador^  they  met  an  iceberg  making  its  way  toward  the 
tropics.  The  night  was  very  dark,  and  as  the  huge  voyager 
had  no  "  light  out,"  the  Advance  could  not  be  censured  for 
running  foul.    She  was  punished,  however,  by  the  loss  of  her 

3  (33) 


34 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


jib-boom,  as  she  ran  against  the  iceberg  at  the  rate  of  seven 
or  eight  knots  an  hour. 

The  voyagers  sailed  along  the  southwest  coast  of  Green- 
land, sometimes  in  the  midst  of  broad  acres  of  broken  ice, 
as  far  as  Whale  Island. 

From  Whale  Island  a  boat,  with  two  officers  and  four  sea- 
men, was  sent  to  Disco  Island,  a  distance  of  about  twenty-six 
miles,  to  a  Danish  setdement  there,  to  procure  skin  clothing 
and  other  articles  necessary  for  use  during  the  rigors  of  a 
polar  winter. 

When  the  expedition  reached  Melville  Bay,  which,  on  ac- 
count of  its  fearful  character,  is  also  called  the  Devil's  Nip, 
the  voyao-ers  began  to  witness  more  of  the  grandeur  and 
perils  of  Arctic  scenes.  Icebergs  of  all  dimensions  came 
bearing  down  from  the  polar  seas.  They  also  encountered 
immense  floes,  with  only  narrow  channels  between,  and  at 
times  their  situation  was  exceedingly  perilous.  On  one  occa- 
sion, after  heaving  through  fields  of  ice  for  five  consecutive 
weeks,  two  immense  floes,  between  which  they  were  making 
their  way,  gradually  approached  each  other,  and  for  several 
hours  they  exacted  their  vessels  would  be  crushed.  An  im- 
mense cake  of  ice,  six  or  eight  feet  thick,  slid  under  the 
Rescue,  lifting  her  almost  "high  and  dry,"  and  careening 
her  partially  upon  her  beam  ends.  By  means  of  ice-anchors 
(large  iron  hocks)  they  kept  her  from  capsizing.  In  this  po- 
sitio*n  they  remained  about  sixty  hours,  when,  with  saws  and 
axes,  they  succeeded  in  relieving  her.  The  ice  now  opened 
a  litde,  and  they  finally  warped  through  into  clear  water. 
While  they  were  thus  confined,  polar  bears  came  around  them 
in  abundance,  greedy  for  prey,  and  the  seamen  indulged  a 
litde  in  the  perilous  sports  of  the  chase. 

The  open  sea  continued  but  a  short  dme,  when  they  again 
became  entangled  among  bergs,  floes  and  hummocks,  and  en- 
countered the  most  fearful  perils.  Sometimes  they  anchored 
their  vessels  to  icebergs  and  somedmes  to  floes,  or  masses  of 
hummock.  It  was  in  this  fearful  region  that  they  first  encoun- 
tered pack-ice,  and  there  they  were  locked  in  from  the  7th  to 
the  23d  of  July.  During  that  dme  they  were  joined  by  the 
yacht  Prince  Albert,  commanded  by  Captain  Forsyth,  of  the 
Bridsh  Navy,  and  together  the  three  vessels  were  anchored 
for  a  while  to  an  immense  piece  of  ice,  in  sight  of  the  Devil's 
Thumb.     That  high,   rocky   peak,    situated   in    latitude  74° 


FIRST   AMERICAN    ARCTIC    EXPEDITIONS. 


35 


22,  was  about  thirty  miles  distant,  and,  with  the  dark  hills 
adjacent,  presented  a  strange  aspect  where  all  was  white 
and  ghttenng.  From  the  Devil's  Thumb  the  Amer^an  ves! 
sels  passed  onward  through  the  pack  toward  Sabine  Island, 


west 


THE  AUVANCK  AND  THE  RESCUE  IN  A  "LEAD"  OF  ICE. 

while  the   Prince  Albert  essayed  to  mnkp  .   m--  w-'^r-- 
course     They  reached  Cape  York  in  the  beginning  "of  A^i^us^^ 

the  Criron  ri7  ^'^f '  '^7.^^^^  charmed  by  the  sight  o 
the  Crimson  Chfifs.  spoken  of  by  Captain  Parry  and  other 


criy 


36 


ARCllC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Arctic  navigators.  These  are  lofty  cliffs  of  dark  brown  stone 
covered  with  snow  of  a  rich  crimson  color.  This  was  the 
most  northern  point  to  which  the  expedition  penetrated.  The 
whole  coast  which  they  had  passed  from  Disco  to  this  cape  is 
high,  rugged  and  barren,  only  some  of  the  low  points,  stretch- 
ing into  the  sea,  bearing  a  species  of  dwarf  fir.  Northeast 
from  the  cape  rise  the  Arctic  Highlands  to  an  unknown  alti- 
tude ;  and  stretching  away  northward  is  the  unexplored  Smith's 
Sound,  filled  with  impenetrable  ice. 

From  Cape  Dudley  Digges,  the  Advance  and  Rescue  made 
Wolstenholme  Sound,  and  then  changing  their  course  to  the 
southwest,  emerged  from  the  fields  into  the  open  waters  of 
Lancaster  Sound.  Here,  on  the  i8th  of  August,  they  encoun- 
tered a  tremendous  gale,  which  lasted  about  twenty-four  hours. 
The  two  vessels  parted  company  during  the  storm  and  re- 
mained separate  several  days.  Across  Lancaster  Sound  the 
Advance  made  her  way  to  Barrow's  Straits,  and  on  the  2 2d 
discovered  the  Prince  Albert  on  the  southern  shore  of  the 
straits,  near  Leopold  Island,  a  mass  of  lofty,  precipitous  rocks, 
dark  and  barren,  and  hooded  and  draped  with  snow. 

The  two  vessels  remained  together  a  day  or  two,  when  they 
parted  company,  the  Prince  Albert  to  return  home  and  the 
Advance  to  make  further  explorations.  It  was  off  Leopold 
Island,  on  the  2 2d  of  August,  that  the  "mad  Yankee"  took 
the  lead  through  the  vast  masses  of  floating  ice. 

From  Leopold  Island  the  Advance  proceeded  to  the  north- 
west, and  on  the  25th  reached  Cape  Riley,  another  amorphous 
mass,  not  so  regular  and  precipitate  as  Leopold  Island,  but 
more  lofty.  Here  a  strong  tide,  setting  in  to  the  shore,  drifted 
the  Advance  toward  the  beach,  where  she  stranded.  Around 
her  were  small  bergs  and  large  masses  of  floating  ice,  all  under 
the  influence  of  the  strong  current.  It  was  about  tvvo  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  when  she  struck.  By  diligent  labor  in  remov- 
ing everything  from  her  deck  to  a  small  floe,  she  was  so  light- 
ened that  at  four  o'clock  the  next  morning  she  floated,  and 
soon  everything  was  properly  replaced. 

Near  Cape  Riley  the  Americans  fell  in  with  a  portion  of  an 
English  expedition,  and  there  also  the  Rescue,  left  behind  in 
the  gale  in  Lancaster  Sound,  overtook  the  Advance.     There 

*V-.  .      .         T-.  '.1       -i  o  !_•_ IT    _  J..    T7 1.1:...     *.U^ 

was  L^aptam  I'enny  wicn  cnc  ouphia  auu  i^auy  iiaiiivmi,  tin- 
veteran  Sir  John  Ross  with  the  Felix,  and  Commodore  Austin 
with  the  Resolute  steamer.     Together  the  navigators  of  both 


FIRST   AMERICAN    ARCTIC    EXPEDITIONS. 


37 


nations  explored  the  coast  at  and  near  Cape  Riley,  and  on  the 
27th  they  saw  in  a  cove  on  the  shore  of  Beechey  Island,  or 
Beechey  Cape,  on  the  east  side  of  the  entrance  to  Wellington 
Channel,  unmistakable  evidence  that  Sir  John  Franklin  and 
his  companions  were  there  in  April,  1846.  There  they  found 
many  articles  known  to  belong  to  the  British  Navy,  and  some 
that  were  the  property  of  the  Erebus  and  Terror,  the  ships 
under  the  command  of  Sir  John.  There  lay,  bleached  to  the 
whiteness  of  the  surrounding  snow,  a  piece  of  canvas  with  the 
name  of  the  Terror  marked  upon  it  with  indestructible  charcoal. 
It  was  very  faint,  yet  perfectly  legible.  Near  it  was  a  guide-board 
lying  flat  upon  its  face,  having  been  prostrated  by  the  wind. 
It  had  evidendy  been  used  to  direct  exploring  parties  to  the 
vessels,  or,  rather,  to  the  encampment  on  shore.  The  board 
was  pine,  thirteen  inches  in  length  and  six  and  a  half  in  breadth, 
and  nailed  to  a  boarding  pike  eight  feet  in  length.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  the  sudden  opening  of  the  ice  caused  Sir  John  to 
depart  hastily,  and  in  so  doing  this  pike  and  its  board  were 
left  behind.  They  also  found  a  large  number  of  tin  canisters, 
such  as  are  used  for  packing  meats  for  a  sea-voyage;  an  anvil 
block;  remnants  of  clothing,  which  evinced  by  numerous 
patches  and  their  threadbare  character  that  they  had  been 
worn  as  long  as  the  owners  could  keep  them  on;  the  remains 
of  an  India-rubber  glove,  lined  with  wool ;  some  old  sacks ;  a 
cask,  or  tub,  pardy  filled  with  charcoal,  and  an  unfinished  rope- 
mat,  which,  like  other  fibrous  fabrics,  was  bleached  white. 

But  the  most  melancholy  traces  of  the  navigators  were  three 
graves  in  a  litde  sheltered  cove,  each  with  a  board  at  the  head 
bearing  the  nam.e  of  the  sleeper  below.  These  inscripdons 
testify  positively  when  Sir  John  and  his  companions  were 
there.  The  board  at  the  head  of  the  grave  on  the  left  has 
the  following  inscripdon: 

"Sac  id  to  the  memory  of  John  Torrington,  who  departed 
this  life  January  ist,  a.  d.  1846,  on  board  her  Majesty's  ship 
Terror,  aged  20  years." 

On  the  centre  one — "Sacred  to  the  memory  of  John  Hart- 
NELL,  A.  B.,  of  her  Majesty's  ship  Erebus;  died  January  4th, 
1846,  aged  25  years.  'Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  Con- 
sider your  ways  ; '  Haggai,  chap,  i.,  5,  7." 

On  the  right — "  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  W.  Braine,  R.  M., 
of  her  Majesty's  ship  Erebus,  who  died  April  3d,  1846,  aged 
32  years.  '  Choose  you  this  day  whom  you  will  serve  ; '  Joshua, 
chap,  xxiv.,  part  of  the  15th  verse." 


38 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


S'li'l 


How  much  later  than  April  3d  Sir  John  remained  at  Beechey 
cannot  be  determined.  They  saw  evidences  of  his  having 
gone  northward,  for  sledge  tracks  in  that  direction  were  visible. 

Leaving  Beechey  Cape,  the  expedition  forced  its  way 
through  the  ice  to  Barrow's  Inlet,  where  they  narrowly  escaped 
being  frozen  in  for  the  winter.  They  endeavored  to  enter 
the  inlet,  for  the  purpose  of  making  it  their  winter  quarters, 
but  were  prevented  by  the  mass  of  pack-ice  at  its  entrance. 
It  was  on  the  4th  of  September,  1850,  when  they  arrived 
there,  and  after  remaining  seven  or  eight  days,  they  aban- 
doned the  attempt  to  enter.  On  the  right  and  left  are  seen 
the  dark  rocks  at  the  entrance  of  the  inlet,  and  in  the  centre 
of  the  frozen  waters  and  the  range  of  hills  beyond.  There 
was  much  smooth  ice  within  the  inlet,  and  while  the  vessels 
lay  anchored  to  the  "field,"  officers  and  crew  exercised  and 
amused  themselves  by  skating.  On  the  left  of  the  inlet  (in- 
dicated by  the  dark  conical  object),  they  discovered  a  cairn 
(a  heap  of  stones  with  a  cavity),  eight  or  ten  feet  in  height, 
which  was  erected  by  Captain  Ommaney  of  the  English  expe- 
dition then  in  the  polar  waters.  Within  it  he  had  placed  two 
letters,  for  "Whom  it  might  concern."  Commander  De 
Haven  also  deposited  a  letter  there.  The  rocks,  here,  pre- 
sented vast  fissures  made  by  the  frost ;  and  at  the  foot  of  the 
cliff  on  the  right,  that  powerful  agent  had  cast  down  vast 
heaps  of  debris. 

From  Barlow's  Inlet,  our  expedition  moved  slowly  west- 
ward, battling  with  the  ice  every  rood  of  the  way,  until  they 
reached  Griffin's  Island,  at  about  96°  west  longitude  from 
Greenwich,  This  was  attained  on  the  nth,  and  was  the 
extreme  westing  made  by  the  expedition.  All  beyond  seemed 
impenetrable  ice  ;  and,  despairing  of  making  any  further  dis- 
coveries before  the  winter  should  set  in,  they  resolved  to 
return  home.  Turning  eastward,  they  hoped  to  reach  Davis' 
Strait  by  the  southern  route,  before  the  cold  and  darkness 
came  on  ;  but  they  were  doomed  to  disappointment.  Near 
the  entrance  to  Wellington  Channel  they  became  completely 
locked  in  by  hummock-ice,  and  soon  found  themselves  drifting 
with  an  irresistible  tide  up  that  channel  toward  the  pole. 

The  summer  day  was  drawing  to  a  close  ;  the  diurnal  visits 
of  the  Dale  siin  were   rar 


fh( 


anirllv  shortenmcr,  and  sonn  fhe  loner 
polar  night,  with  all  its  darkness  and  horrors,  would  fall  upon 
them.     Slowly  they  drifted  in  those  vast  fields  of  ice,  whither. 


FIRST    AMERICAN    ARCTIC    EXPEDITIONS. 


39 


or  to  what  result,  they  knew  not.  Locked  in  the  moving  yet 
compact  mass ;  liable  at  every  moment  to  be  crushed ;  far 
away  from  land ;  the  mercury  sinking  daily  lower  and  lower 
from  the  zero  figure,  toward  the  point  where  that  metal 
freezes,  they  felt  small  hope  of  ever  reaching  home  again. 
Yet  they  prepared  for  winter  comforts  and  winter  sports,  as 
cheerfully  as  if  lying  safe  in  Barlow's  Inlet     As  the  winter 


LADY  FRANKLIN. 


advanced,  the  crews  of  both  the  vessels  went  on  board  the 
larger  one.  They  unshipped  the  rudders  of  each,  to  prevent 
their  being  injured  by  the  ice,  covered  the  deck  of  the  Ad- 

for  enduring  the  long  winter  now  upon  them.  Physical  and 
mental  activity  being  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  health, 


40 


ARCnC    EXPLORATIONS. 


they  daily  exercised  in  the  open  air  for  several  hours.  They 
built  ice  huts,  hunted  the  huge  white  bears  and  the  little  polar 
foxes,  and  when  the  darkness  of  the  winter  night  had  spread 
over  them  they  arranged  indoor  aniusements  and  employ- 
ments. 

Before  the  end  of  October,  the  sun  made  its  appearance  for 
the  last  time,  and  the  awful  polar  night  closed  in.  Early 
in  November  they  wholly  abandoned  the  Rescue,  and  both 
crews  made  the  Advance  ^h  'r  perni«nent  winter  home. 
The  cold  soon  became  inten^i  ;  mercury  congealed,  and 

the  spirit  thermometer  indicatet;  ^  j°  belov  zero.    Its  average 
range  was  30°  to  35°.     They  had  drifted  helplessly  up  Wel- 
lington Channel,  almost  to  the  latitude  from  whence  Captain 
Penny  saw  an  open  sea.     All  this  while  the  immense  fields 
of  hummock-ice  were  moving,  and  the  vessels  were  In  hourly 
danger  of  being  crushed  and  destroyed.     At  length,  while 
drifting  through  Barrow's  Straits,  the  congealed  mass,  as  if 
crushed  together  by  the  opposite  shores,  became  more  com- 
pact, and  the  Advance  was  elevated  almost  seven  feet  by 
the  stern,  and  keeled  two  feet  eight  inches  starboard.    In  this 
position  she  remained,  with  very  little  alteration,  for  five  con- 
secutive months ;  for,  soon  after  entering   Baffin  Bay  in  the 
midst  of  the  winter,  the  ice  became  frozen  in  one  immense 
tract,  covering  millions  of  acres.     Thus  frozen  in,  sometimes 
more  than  a  hundred  miles  from  land,  they  drifted  slowly 
along  the  southwest  coast  ot  Baffin  Bay,  a  distance  of  more 
than  a  thousand  miles  from  Wellington  Channel.    For  eleven 
weeks  that  dreary  night  continued,  and  during  that  time  the 
disc  of  the  sun  was  never  seen  above  the  horizon.     Yet 
nature  was  not  wholly  forbidding  in  aspect.     Sometimes  the 
Aurora  Borealis  would  flash  up  still  farther  northward ;  and 
sometimes  Aurora  Parhelia — mock  suns  and  mock  moons — 
would  appear  in  varied  beauty  in  the  starry  sky.     Brilliant, 
too,  were  the  northern  constellations ;  and  when  the  moon 
was  at  its  full,  it  made  its  stately  circuit  in  the  heavens,  with- 
out descending  below  the  horizon,  and  lighted  up  the  vast 
piles  of  ice  with  a  pale  lustre,  almost  as  great  as  the  morning 
twilights  of  more  genial  skies. 

Around  the  vessels  the  crews  built  a  wall  of  ice ;  and  in 
ice  iiuts  they  stoweu  away  tueir  cordage  and  stores,  to  rnake 
room  for  exercise  on  the  decks.  They  organized  a  theatrical 
company,  and  amused  themselves  and  the  officers  with  comedy 


M^ 


tnetimes 


)\r^'ys>4^  ••'^^jf 


P-tsuKnt 


r 


:^ 


i 


'i:^-tl^ 


V 


LaMo*^-:  aP  Long  o^?t,i_y 


•     ^aiLu^ 


\4 


Whoever  finds  this  paper  is  requeslod  to  forward  it  to  the  Secretary 
ol  the  Admiralty,  London,  wifA  a  no(e  o/^  the  Jrrne  and  plact  at  ivh\cU  1 1 
was  found,  or,  if  moro  convenient,  to  del'iTer  U  for  thai  purpose  to  tho 
British  Consul  al  the  nearest  Port. 

OoicoNot-E  Irouverace  papjpr  esl4)ri6  d'y  marqner  le  temps  e(  le  lieu 
oil  il  I'aura  Irouvd,  et  dele  faire  pafvenir  au  plus  tol  au  secrdiaire  de  I'A 
mirautd  brilaiiniqiio  h  Londres, 

CuALOtiiEHA  que  hallare  csle  Papol,  so  !o  suplFca  de  enviarlo  al  Secre- 
tario  del  Almiranlazgo,  en  Lendrds,  con  una  nola  del  liempo  y  del  lujrar 
en  donde  so  kaild.  *  ' 

Fen  ieder  die dil Papier  mogl  vrinden,  wordt  hieimede  vervgt,  om  het 
2cJre,  ten  spoedigste.  to  willen  zenden  aan  den  Hcer  Minister  van  de 
Marino  der  Nederlanden  in  's  Gravenhage,  of  wcl  aan  den  Secr«ilaris  deft 
Britsche  Admiraliteit,  te  London,  en  daar  by  le  voegeh  eene  Nota,  in- 
houdende  de  tyd  on  de  plaats  alwaar  dit  Papier  is  gevonden  gewordoo. 

FwoEhEN  af  delte  Papiir  ombedes,  naar  Leilighed  gives,  at  sende  sam- 
tae  lU  Admiraiitets  Seoretaifen  i  London,  eller  noermeste  Embedsmand  i 
Danmark,  Morge,  eller  Sverrig.  Xiden  og  Stoedit  hvor  dello  er  fundel 
flnskes  rCnskabeligl  paalegnet. 

Web  dlesen  Zettel  Cndet,  wird  hier-durch  ersucht  denselben  on  den 
Secretair  des  Admiraiitets  irt  London  einzusenden,  mit  gefaHiffer  nn 
gabe  an  welchen  ort  und  zu  welchei;  zeit  er  gefundet  worden  isl 


u>4^  v<<%-Vi 


k^- 


JVx. 


/^^^fOi 


FAC.«IMILE  OF  RECORD  FOUND  BY  LIEUT.  HOBSON. 


n 


V 

h 
tl 
1 

S( 

ai 
w 
tl- 
w 
T 
si 
tv 
w 
S( 

WJ 

of 
D 

Cl( 

ic( 

se 

th. 

D( 

bo 

mi 

to 

an 

su; 

stc 

in 

ant 

be( 

1 

str 

ing 

pe£ 

glil 

wei 

hig 

ble; 

vas 


FIRST    AMERICAN    ARCTIC    EXPEDITIONS.  41 

weU  performed.     Behind  the  pieces  of  hummock  each  actor 
learned  his  part,  and  by  means  of  calico  they  transformed 
themselves    mto   female    characters,   as   occasion    required 
These   dramas  were   acted   on   the   deck   of  the   Advance' 
sometimes  while  the  thermometer  indicated  30°  below  zero' 
and  actors  and  audiences  highly  enjoyed  the  fun.     They  also 
went  in  parties  during  that  long  night,  fully  armed,  to  hunt 
the  polar  bear,  the  grim  monarch  of  the  frozen  north   on 
which  occasions  they  often  encountered  perilous  adventures 
They  played  at  foot-ball,  and  exercised  themselves  in  drawing 
sledges,  heavily  laden  with  provisions.     Five  hours  of  each 
twenty-four  they  thus  exercised  in  the  open  air,  and  once  a 
week  each  man  washed  his  whole  body  in  cold  snow-water 
Serious  sickness  was  consequently  avoided,  and  the  scurvy 
which  attacked  them,  soon  yielded  to  remedies. 

Often  during  that  fearful  night  they  expected  the  disaster 
of  having  their  vessels  crushed.     All  through  November  and 
December,  before  the  ice  became  fast,  they  slept  in   their 
clothes,  with  knapsacks  on  their  backs,  and  sledges  upon  the 
ice,  laden  with  stores,  not  knowing  at  what  moment  the  ves- 
sels might  be  demolished,  and  themselves'  forced  to  leave 
them,  and  make  their  way  toward  land.     On   the   8th  of 
December  and  the  23d  of  January,  they  actually  lowered  their 
boats  and  stood  upon  the  ice,  for  the  crushing  masses  were 
making  the  timbers  of  the  gallant  vessel  creak  and  its  decks 
to  rise  in  the  centre.     They  were  then  ninety  miles  from  land 
and  hope  hardly  whispered  an  encouraging  idea  of  life  being 
sustained.     On   the  latter  occasion,  when  officers  and  crew 
stood  upon  the  ice,  with  the  ropes  of  their  provision  sledges 
in  their  hands,  a  terrible  snow-drift  came  from  the  northeast 
and  intense  darkness  shrouded  them.     Had  the  vessel  then 
been  crushed,  all  must  have  .perished. 

Early  in  February  the  northern  horizon  began  to  be 
streaked  with  gorgeous  twilight,  the  herald  of  the  approach- 
ing king  of  day ;  and  on  the  i8th  the  disc  of  the  sun  first  ap- 
peared above  the  horizon.  As  its  golden  rim  rose  above  the 
glittering  snow-drifts  and  piles  of  ice,  three  hearty  cheers 
went  up  from  those  hardy  mariners.  Day  after  day  it  rose 
higher  and  higher  and  while  the  pallid  faces  of  the  voyagers, 
....»cnv.a  vidwn^  ^..^l  lung  nignc,  aarKened  by  its  beams,  the 
vast  masses  c^  ice  began  to  yield  to  its  fervid  influence.  The 
wurvy  disappeared,  and  from  that  time  until  their  arrival 


42 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


home  not  a  man  suffered  from  sickness.  As  they  slowly 
drifted  through  Davis'  Straits,  and  the  ice  gave  indications  of 
breaking  up,  the  voyagers  made  preparations  for  sailing. 
The  Rescue  was  reoccupied  (May  13th,  185 1),  and  her 
stone-post,  which  had  been  broken  by  the  ice  in  Bar-ow's 
Straits,  was  repaired.  To  accomplish  this  they  were  obliged 
to  dig  away  the  ice,  which  was  from  twelve  to  fourteen  feet 
thick  around  her.  They  reshipped  their  rudders,  removed 
the  felt  covering,  place-i  their  stores  on  deck,  and  then  pa- 
tiently awaited  the  disruption  of  the  ice.  TJiis  event  was 
very  sudden  and  appalling.  It  began  to  give  way  on  the  5th 
of  June,  and  in  the  space  of  twenty  minutes  the  whole  mass, 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  became  one  vast  field  of  moving 
floes.  On  the  loth  of  June  they  emerged  into  open  water,  a 
litde  south  of  the  Arctic  Circle,  in  latitude  65°  30'.  They 
immediately  repaired  to  Godhaven,  on  the  coast  of  Green- 
land, where  they  refitted,  and,  unappalled  by  the  perils  through 
which  they  had  just  passed,  they  once  more  turned  their 
prows  northward  to  encounter  anew  the  ice  squadrons  of 
Baffin  Bay.  Again  they  traversed  the  coast  of  Greenland 
to  about  the  73d  degree,  when  they  bore  to  the  westward, 
and  on  the  7th  and  8th  of  July  passed  the  English  whaling 
fleet  near  the  Dui:ch  Islands.  Onward  they  pressed  through 
the  accumulating  ice  to  Baffin  Island,  where,  on  the  nth, 
they  were  joined  by  the  Prince  Albert,  then  out  upon 
another  cruise.  They  continued  in  company  until  the  3d  of 
August,  when  the  Albert  departed  for  the  westward,  de- 
termined to  try  the  more  southern  passage.  Here  again  the 
expedition  encounterea  vast  fields  of  hummock-ice,  and  were 
subjected  to  the  most  imminent  perils.  The  floating  ice,  as 
if  moved  by  adverse  currents,  tumblecl  in  huge  masses,  and 
reared  upon  the  sides  of  the  sturdy  little  vessels  like  monbters 
of  the  deep  intent  upon  destruction.  These  masses  broke  in 
the  bulwarks,  and  sometimes  fell  over  upon  the  decks  with 
terrible  force,  like  rocks  rolled  over  a  plain  by  mountain  tor- 
rents. The  noise  was  fearful ;  so  deafening  that  the  mariners 
could  scarcely  hear  each  other's  voices.  The  sounds  of  these 
rolling  masses,  together  with  the  rending  of  the  icebergs 
floating  near,  and  the  vast  floes,  produced  a  din  like  the  dis- 
^Uorrro  f^f  o   t1iniic::inf1  niprpd  nf   ordnance  uoon  a  field  of 

batde. 

Finding  the  north  and  west  closed  against  further  progress 


FIRST  AMERICAN   ARCTIC    EXPEDITIONS. 


43 


by  impenetrable  ice,  the  brave  De  Haven  was  balked,  and 
turning  his  vessels  homeward  they  came  out  into  an  open  oea, 
somewhat  crippled,  but  not  a  plank  seriously  started.  During 
a  storm  off  the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  a  thousand  miles 
from  New  York,  the  vessels  parted  company.  The  Advance 
arrived  safely  at  the  navy  yard  at  Brooklyn  on  the  30th  of 
September,  and  the  Rescue  joined  her  there  a  few  days 
afterward.  Toward  the  close  of  October  the  government 
resigned  the  vessels  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Grinnell  to  be 
used  in  other  sefvice,  but  with  the  stipulation  that  they  vere  to 
be  subject  to  the  order  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  the 
spring  if  required  for  another  expedition  in  search  of  Sir 
John  Fr  ^klin. 

In  1852  Commander  Inglefield  set  out  on  an  expedition  in 
the  Engliish  steamer  Isabel  from  Fair  Island.  On  the  30th 
day  of  July  the  expedition  first  saw  the  snowy  mountains  of 
Greenland.  Several  Danish  settlements  were  visited,  and 
then  it  proceeded  to  Smith's  Sound,  the  upper  or  northern 
continuation  of  Baffin  Bay.  The  western  shore  of  this  body 
of  »vater,  which  forms  a  part  of  the  polar  ocean,  was  composed 
of  a  high  range  of  ice-covered  mountains,  which  were  called 
after  the  Prince  of  Wales.  The  extreme  northern  point  of 
these  mountains  was  named  Victoria  Head  in  honor  of  the 
British  Queen.  The  most  northern  point  discovered  by  Cap- 
tain Inglefield  on  the  eastern  shore  of  this  sea  was  named  by 
iiim  after  the  Danish  monarch  Frederick  VII.  This  steamer 
reached  latitude  78°  28'  21",  about  140  miles  farther  north 
than  had  been  attained  by  any  previous  navigator.  Not  hav- 
ing discovered  any  traces  of  Sir  John  Franklin  Captain  In- 
glefield returned  after  an  abs-nce  of  precisely  four  months 
from  the  day  of  starting.  Another  expedition  in  search  of 
Sir  John  Franklin  started  in  1850  under  instructions  of  the 
British  Admiralty.  It  was  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Sherard 
Osborn,  and  consisted  of  the  steam-vessels  Pioneer  and  In- 
trepid, and  returned  to  England  in  October,  1851.  Other 
British  expeditions  were  commanded  by  Sir  John  Richardson 
and  Captain  Wil'iam  Kennedy. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


iM 


THE    SECOND   GRINNELL    EXPEDITION,   COMMANDED    BY  DR.    E.    K. 

KANE. 


Two  Winters  in  the  Arctic  Region,  the  first  in  Latitude  78°  37',  Longitude  70°  40^ — A 
Sledge  Expedition  from  here  pushes  as  far  as  Cape  Constitution  in  Washington  I>and, 
Latitude  81°  27',  and  finds  Kennedy  Channel  free  from  Ice,  abounding  with  Animal  Life, 
and  opening  in  a  great  Polar  Sea — Safe  Return  to  the  United  States  in  1855, 

Of  the  several  expeditions  sent  out  in  1853  the  most  im- 
portant was  that  f.tted  out  by  Mr.  Grinnell,  of  New  York, 
Mr.  Peabody,  of  London,  and  others,  and  commanded  by  Dr. 
E.  K.  Kane.      ' 

Dr.  Kane  received  his  orders  from  the  Navy  Department 
at  Washington  to  conduct  an  expedition  into  the  Arctic  re- 
gions in  search  of  the  great  Enghsh  navigator.  The  ship 
Advance,  in  which  he  had  formerly  sailed,  was  placed  under 
his  command.  His  party  numbered  seventeen  picked  men. 
The  brig  sailed  from  the  port  of  New  York  on  the  30th  of 
May,  1853,  and  in  eighteen  days  arrived  at  St.  John's,  New- 
foundland. After  providing  themselves  at  this  place  with  an 
additional  stock  of  fresh  meat,  and  a  valuable  team  of  Esqui- 
mau dogs,  they  steered  for  the  coast  of  Greenland. 

On  the  ist  of  July  Dr.  Kane  entered  the  harbor  of  Fisker- 
noes,  one  of  the  Danish  settlements  of  Greenland.  Some 
fresh  provisions  were  here  obtained,  and  an  Esquimau 
hunter  of  superior  skill  was  enlisted  in  the  service  of  the 
party. 

Proceeding  on  from  this  point  the  other  Danish  settlements 
of  Greenland  were  successively  visited — Lichtenfels,  Sukker- 
toppen.  Proven,  Upernavik,  at  the  last  of  which  places  the 
first  Grinnell  expedition  of  1851  had  rested  after  its  winter 
drift.  At  length  they  reached  Yotlik,  the  most  northern 
point  in  Greenland  inhabited  by  human  beings.  Beyond  this 
the  coast  may  be  regarded  as  having  been  until  that  period 
unexplored.  F'rom  Yotlik  Dr.  Kane  steered  northward  to- 
ward Baffin  Islands,  which  he  found  then  clear  of  ice,  and 

(44) 


SECOND    GRINNEIX    EXPEDITION. 


45 


passing  by  Duck  Island  bore  away  for  Wilcox  Point.  As  he 
approached  Melville  Bay  he  was  enveloped  in  a  thick  fog, 
during  the  prevalence  of  which  he  drifted  among  the  icebergs! 
After  a  hard  day's  work  with  th^  boats,  they  towed  the  brig 
away  from  these  unpleasant  and  dangerous  neighbors.  He 
then  determined  to  stand  westward  and  double  Melville  Bay 
by  an  outside  passage,  unless  prevented  and  intercepted  by 
the  pack. 

On  the  5th  of  August  they  passed  the  Crimson  Cliffs,  so 
called  from  the  appearance  usually  presented  by  their  snow- 
clad  summits.  Next  day  they  reached  Hakluyt  Island,  which 
is  surmounted  by  a  tall  spire  springing  six  hundred  feet  into 
the  heavens  above  the  level  of  the  water.  They  soon  passed 
Capes  Alexander  and  Isabella,  and  thus  entered  Smith's 
Sound.  Having  reached  Litdeton  Island,  Dr.  Kane  deter- 
mined to  deposit  here  a  supply  of  provisions  and  some  per- 
manent traces  of  his  route,  to  be  used  in  case  it  should  be 
necessary  afterward  to  send  an  exploring  party  to  discover 
the  fate  of  his  own.  The  life-boat  was  accordingly  buried 
here,  containing  a  supply  of  pemmican,  blankets,  and  India- 
rubber  cloth.  They  endeavored  to  fortify  the  precious  de- 
posit from  the  claws  of  the  polar  bear. 

The  2oth  of  August  still  found  the  brig  and  her  crew  navi- 
gating the  dangerous  and  ice-ladened  waters  of  Smith's  Sound. 
At  this  date  they  encountered  a  storm  of  extraordinary  fury] 
and  made  one  of  those  narrow  escapes  from  destruction 
which  sometimes  give  an  air  more  of  romance  than  of  reality 
to  the  adventures  of  Arctic  explorers.  In  a  terrific  gale  their 
three  hawsers  were  broken,  and  the  brig  drifted  with  fearful 
rapidity  under  the  furious  pressure  of  the  storm.  The  navi- 
gators continued  their  northern  route  by  tracking  alono-  the 
ice-belt  which  hugs  the  frozen  shore.  On  the  23d  of  August 
they  had  reached  78°  41'  north  latitude.  This  placed  them 
farther  north  than  any  of  their  predecessors  had  been,  except 
Captain  Parry. 

From  his  researches  in  this  region,  Dr.  Kane  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  this  coast  of  Greenland  faced  to  the  north 
His  longitude  here  was  78°  41.'  west.  After  sixteen  miles 
of  foot  journey,  the  company  reached  a  gieat  headland, 
to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  Thackeray.  Eight  miles  far- 
ther on  a  similar  eminence  attracted  their  attention,  to  which 
they  applied  the  epithet  of  Hawkes.     The  table-lands  here 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

were  twelve  hundred  feet  high.  The  party  continued  their 
difficult  and  dangerous  journey  until  they  reached  some  lofty 
headlands,  where  they  determined  to  terminate  their  excursion. 
These  reached  an  altitude  of  eleven  hundred  feet,  and  over- 
looked an  expanse  extending  beyond  the  eightieth  parallel 
of  latitude.  The  view  from  this  elevation  was  marked  by 
every  element  of  gloomy  and  cheerless  magnificence.     On 


DR.   E.   K.   KANE, 

the  left,  the  western  shore  of  the  sound  stretched  away  toward 
the  northern  pole.  To  the  right,  a  rugged  and  rolling  country 
appeared,  which  ended  in  the  Great  Humboldt  Glacier.  To- 
ward the  northeast,  the  projecting  headland  called  Cape 
Andrew  Jackson  appeared,  and  the  vast  area  between  was  a' 
sea  of  solid  ice.  Farther  still,  a  sea  of  icebergs  presented 
their  rugged  and  unseemly  bulks  to  the  eye  of  ?he  observer. 
Having  carefully  examined  the  whole  country  as  far  as  his 


SECOND    GRINNELL   EXPEDITION. 


47 


glarses  would  reach.  Dr.  Kane  determined  to  return  to  the 
Advance.     Winter  was  now  rapidly  approaching,  and  it  was 
necessary  to  select  some  appropriate  spot  in  which  the  crew 
and  the  vessel  might  pass  its  long,  gloomy  and  dangerous 
'T      u    1°'  ^^"°" Reasons.  Dr.  Kane  resolved  to  remain 
where  he  then  was.     He  had  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that 
Rensselaer  Harbor  would  be  the  most  desirable  winter-quar 
ters,  and  on  the  loth  of  September  they  commenced  the  labors 
necessary  to  render  their  position  tenable  and  safe      Thev 
removed  the  contents  of  the  hold  of  the  vessel  to  k  store- 
house which  they  prepared  on  Butter  Island.     A  deck-house 
^vas  built  on  the  vessel,  in  which  the  different  qualities  of  ven- 
tilation, warmth,  dryness,  room  and  comfort  were  sought  to 
the  utniost  possible  extent      A  site  for  the  observatory  was 
selected.     Stones  were  hauled  over  the  ice  on  sledges  for  its 
erection.     Its  location  was  on  a  rocky  inlet  about!  hundred 
yards  from  the  vessel,  which  they  named  Fern  Rock      Preoa 
rations  were  also  made  preparatory  to  the  work  of  establish- 
ing  provision  depots  on  the  coast  of  Greenland.     The  advan-  • 
tage  ot  these  provision  depots  will  appear  from  the  fact  that 
by  their  assistance  expeditions  of  search  could  afterward  -be 
conducted  with  the  use  of  sledges  and  dogs.     The  provisions 
for  the  latter,  if  tak^n  on  the  journeys  themselves,  form  so 
heavy  a  load  as  seriously  to  embarrass  the  movements  of  the 
travellers.     But  when  they  were  released  from  this  labor  tliese 
dogs  conveyed  the  sledges  and  their  occupants  on  lono-  jour- 
neys successfully,  and  with  great  rapidity,  on  their  totirs  of 
examination. 

On  the  20th  of  September  the  first  party  organized  to  estab- 
lish provision  depots  was  sent  out.  It  consisted  of  seven  men 
A  sledge  thirteen  feet  in  length,  called  the  Faith,  was  filled 
with  pemmican.  and  was  drawn  by  those  attached  to  it  bv 
means  of  track-ropes,  termed  rue-raddies,  which  were  passed 
around  the  shoulder  and  under  the  arms.  The  intended  loca- 
tion of  this  depot  was  sixty  miles  from  the  brig,  on  the  Green- 
land  coast.  ^  v-<iv-^n 

1  ^^-A  ^'^^P^.^'^  party  which  remained  in  the  vessel  was  not 
devoid  of  incident  and  interest.  By  the  loth  of  October  the 
party  which  had  been  sent  to  establish  the  first  depot  of  pro- 

visions  had  been  absent  fwpnHr  rlovo  -.^'i  ^i~-:~      -        ^ 

1  ,       ~       -■■-■■'■J  'iviVj,  auti  tucn   return  was 

anxiously  expected.     Dr  Kane  at  length  determined  to  stert 
out  in  search  of  them.     He  travelled  with  one  companion  on 


48 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


II I 


a  sledge  drawn  by  four  Esquimau  dogs.  He  averaged  twenty 
miles  per  day  with  this  singular  team.  On  the  15th,  several 
hours  before  sunrise,  he  perceived  on  the  distant  and  snowy 
waste  a  dark  object  which  seemed  to  move.  It  proved  to  be 
the  returning  depot  party.  They  had  travelled  at  the  rate  of 
eighteen  miles  per  day,  and  had  been  twenty-eight  days  en- 
gaged in  their  laborious  expedition.  Some  of  their  limbs  had 
been  frozen,  and  they  had  met  with  other  mishaps,  though 
none  were  of  a  very  serious  nature,  and  they  had  accomplished 
the  purpose  for  which  they  had  been  sent  out.  The  greeting 
which  ensued  on  their  return  to  the  ship  was  hearty  on  both 
sides.  They  had  made  the  first  deposit  of  provision  at  Cape 
Russell.  Thirty  miles  farther  on  they  left  about  a  hundred 
and  ten  pounds  of  pemmican  and  beef,  about  thirty  pounds  of 
a  mixture  of  pemmican  and  meal,  and  a  bag  of  bread.  On 
the  loth  of  October  they  made  their  third  and  last  deposit  on 
an  island  called  James  McGary,  after  the  second  officer  of  the 
expedition.  Here  tbey  erected  a  cairn  and  buried  six  hundred 
and  seventy  pounds  of  pemmican  and  forty  of  meat,  biscuit, 
with  other  items,  making  in  all  eight  hundred  pounds. 

By  the  7th  of  November,  1853,  the  darkness  of  an  Arctic 
winter  began  to  settle  down  upon  them.  It  was  necessary  to 
keep  the  lamps  lit  constantly.  In  spite  of  the  intense  cold. 
Dr.  Kane  continued  to  make  his  magnetic  observations  in  the 
observatory.  When  the  thermometer  stood  at  forty-nine 
degrees  below  zero,  and  even  at  sixty-four  degrees  below 
zero,  he  still  effected  his  astronomical  investigations  and  cal- 
culations. 

On  the  2ist  of  January  the  first  traces  of  the  returning 
light  became  visible.  Its  approach  was  indicated  by  a  beaute- 
ous orange  tint,  which  flushed  the  distant  southern  horizon. 
But  still  the  darkness  seemed  to  be  eternal  and  unvarying. 
The  continued  absence  of  light  appeared  to  affect  the  health 
of  the  party  as  much  as  the  excessive  rigor  of  the  cold.  By 
the  2 1st  of  February  the  sun's  rays  became  clearly  visible,  and, 
when  March  arrived,  it  brought  with  it  the  almost  perpetual 
day  which  alternately  takes  the  place  in  the  Arctic  realms  of 
almost  perpetual  night. 

By  the  i8th  of  March  the  spring  tides  began  to  break  and 
move  the  massive  ice  w!iich  still  bound  the  Arctic  Sea.  The 
ice  commenced  to  grind  and  crush,  the  water  to  dash  to  and 
fro,  and  the  vessel  to  rise  and  descend  in  a  range  of  seven- 


'^" 


^M 


»"?»§', 


.4^- 


THE  EREBUS  AND  THE  TERROR. 


SF'XOND    GKINNELL    KXPKrMTION 


49 


teen  feet  per  day.  On  the  20th  a  depot  party  was  sent  out 
preparatory  to  the  commencement  of  the  operations  of  the 
summer.  Ihe  necessary  preparations  for  inland  trips  and 
researches  were  made,  sledges  and  accoutrements  were  con- 
trived, and  moccasms  were  fabricated.  While  these  labors 
occupied  their  attention,  a  portion  of  the  depot  party  suddenly 


KANE  AND   HIS   COMPANIONS. 

STh'ad'feft  fouVn?:f'-    Th-^y  brought  back  a  terrible  repor,. 

iiey  had  lelt  (our  of  their  number  lyin?  on  the  ice  frozen  an, 

d^abled,  and  they  had  returned  a  gU diu^nc^^JZllT 

rc-urned';'""^'"'!*^'  "  ^.  '°^'-     O"^™'  "><=  ""'V  ""-  n."  .h- 


50 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


men  started  out  to  the  rescue.  The  cold  was  intense,  ranging 
seventy-eight  degrees  below  the  freezing-point.  The  instant 
the  party  ceased  to  move  they  would  have  been  frozen  to 
death.  Violent. exercise  alone  kept  them  alive.  When  they 
ventured  to  apply  snow  to  their  lips  to  slake  their  thirst,  it 
burnt  like  caustic,  and  blood  immediately  followed.  Some  of 
the  men  were  seized  with  trembling  fits  and  some  with  attacks 
of  short  breath.  Dr.  Kane  himself  fainted  twice  upon  the 
snow  under  the  intense  cold. 

After  a  laborious  .and  dangerous  journey  of  twenty-one 
hours,  the  lost  party  were  discovered.  They  were  nearly  forty 
miles  distant  from  the  brig.  Their  condition  was  perilous  in 
the  extreme,  and  the  succor  did  not  come  a  moment  too  soon. 
But  the  rescuers  were  scarcely  better  off  than  the  rescued 
They  were  compelled  to  drag  a  load  of  nine  hundred  pounds 
upon  the  sledge,  and  duiing  their  return  trip  the  whole  party 
were  in  imminent  danger  of  being  frozen  to  death.  They 
could  with  the  utmost  difficulty  resist  the  disposition  to  sleep, 
which  would  have  immediately  sealed  their  fate.  After  a  fear 
ful  journey  of  several  days,  the  party  regained  the  brig;  but 
the  sufferings  of  that  terrible  occasion  were  almost  beyond 
the  power  of  imagination.  They  had  travelled  about  ninety 
miles,  and  most  of  the  men  had  become  temporarily  delirious, 
nearly  all  were  frozen  in  some  portions  of  their  bodies,  and 
two  of  them  ultimately  died  in  consequence  of  their  exposure. 

On  the  27th  of  April,  the  time  having  arrived  to  continue 
his  researches  both  after  Sir  John  Franklin  and  in  Arctic  dis- 
covery, Dr.  Kane  determined  to  lesume  his  expedition.  He 
resolved  now  to  follow  the  ice-belt  to  the  Great  Glacier  of 
Humboldt,  and  thence  to  stretch  along  the  face  of  the  glacier 
toward  the  west  of  north  and  make  an  attempt  to  cross  the 
ice  to  the  American  side  of  the  channel.  The  object  of  this 
bold  venture  was  to  attain  the  utmost  limit  of  the  shore  of 
Greenland,  to  measure  the  waste  which  extended  between  it 
and  the  unknown  west,  and  thus  to  reveal,  if  possible,  some 
of  the  mysteries  which  surrounded  the  North  Pole.  The 
journey  was  immediately  commenced.  After  many  adven- 
tures and  sufferings,  the  Great  Glacier  of  Humboldt  was 
reached. 

Dr.  Kane  now  determined  to  organize  a  double  party,  in 
order  to  ascertain  whether  a  channel  or  any  form  of  oudet 
existed  to  the  northern  extremitv  of  the  coast  of  Greenland 


SECOND    GRINNELI-    EXPEDITION. 


5* 


He  was  convinced  of  the  existence  of  such  a  channel  from  the 
movements  of  the  icebergs,  from  the  physical  character  of  the 
tides,  as  well  as  from  certain  and  uniform  analogies  of  physical 
geography. 

On  the  3d  of  June  one  of  the  parties  of  exploration  set  out 
from  the  brig.  They  had  a  large  sledge  thirteen  feet  long. 
They  aimed  direcdy  for  the  glacier-barrier  on  the  Greenland 
side.  Their  orders  were  to  attempt  to  scale  the  ice  and  exam- 
ine the  interior  of  the  great  mer-de-giace. 

On  the  27th  of  June  one  of  the  parties,  directed  by  McGary 
and  Bonsall,  returned  to  the  brig.  Several  of  them  had  become 
nearly  blind.  After  twelve  days'  travel,  they  had  reached  the 
Great  Glacier.  They  found  the  depot  of  provisions,  which 
had  been  deposited  the  previous  season,  destroyed  by  the 
bears.  An  alcohol  cask  strongly  bound  in  iron  was  dashed 
into  fragments,  and  a  tin  liquor  can  was  mashed  and  twisted 
into  a  ball.  This  party  of  explorers  had  found  it  impossible 
to  scale  the  Great  Glacier,  and  returned  to  the  brig  without 
having  effected  any  results  of  importance. 

The  other  party,  which  had  been  placed  under  the  guidance 
of  Mr.  Morton,  left  the  vessel  on  the  4th  of  June.  On  the 
1 5th  they  reached  the  foot  of  the  Great  Glacier.  They  steered 
northward,  keeping  parallel  with  the  glacier,  and  from  five  to 
seven  miles  distant  from  it.  i'he  thickness  of  the  ice  over 
which  they  journeyed  was  found  to  be  seven  feet  five  inches. 
They  travelled  frequently  with  the  snow  up  to  their  knees.* 
When  they  had  reached  Peabody  Bay  they  encountered  the 
bergs,  whose  surface  was  fresh  and  glassy.  Some  of  these 
were  rectangular  in  shape  and  some  were  square,  and  theii 
length  varied  from  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  a  mile.  The  task 
c  f  travelling  over  these  bergs  was  full  of  difficulty  and  danger. 
At  length  they  made  their  way  to  the  ice  beyond. 

On  the  19th  of  June,  having  encamped,  Morton  ascended 
a  high  berg  in  order  to  examine  their  future  route  and  survey 
the  surrounding  desolation.  From  this  point  he  beheld  an 
extensive  plain  which  stretched  away  toward  the  north,  which 
proved  to  be  the  Great  Glacier  of  Humboldt.  From  this 
point  the  advance  of  the  party  was  perilous.  They  were  fre- 
quendy  arrested  by  wide  and  deep  fissures  in  the  ice.  Some 
of  these  chasms  were  four  feet  wide,  and  contained  water  at 
the  bottom.  From  this  point  thev  beheld  the  distant  northern 
shore,  termed  the  "  West  Land." 


52 


AKC  nc    F.X I'LOK ATIONS. 


At  length,  by  the  2iHt  of  June,  the  party  reached  a  point 
opposite  the  termination  of  the  Great  Glacier.  It  appeared 
to  be  mixed  with  earth  and  rocks.  TravclHn^L,^  on  they  reached 
at  length  the  head  of  Kennedy  Channel,  and  saw  beyond  that 
the  open  water.  Passing  in  their  route  a  cape,  they  called  it 
Cape  Andrew  Jackson.  Here  they  found  good  smooth  ice ; 
for  during  the  last  few  days  they  had  passed  over  rotten  ice, 
which  not  unfrequently  threatened  to  break  beneath  them. 
Having  entered  the  curve  of  a  bay,  they  named  it  after 
Robert  Morris,  the  great  financier  of  the  revolution. 

Kennedy  Channel  here  grew  narrower,  but  afterward  it 
widened  again.  Broken  ice  in  large  masses  was  floating  in 
it ;  but  there  were  passages  fifteen  miles  in  width  which  re- 
mained perfectly  clear.  Six  miles  inward  from  the  channel 
mountains  rose  to  the  view.  On  the  2 2d  of  June  they  en- 
camped, after  having  travelled  forty-eight  miles  in  a  direct 
line.  They  could  plainly  see  the  opposite  sliore,  which  ap- 
peared precipitous  and  surmounted  with  sugar-loaf-shaped 
mountains.  At  this  part  of  their  journey  they  encountered 
a  polar  bear  with  her  cub.  A  desperate  fight  ensued,  in 
which  the  singular  instincts  of  nature  were  strikingly  illus- 
trated by  the  desperate  efforts  made  by  the  poor  brute  to 
protect  her  helpless  offspring,  which  were  slain.  A  shallow 
bay  covered  with  ice  was  then  crossed.  They  passed  several 
islands  which  lay  in  the  channel,  which  they  named  after  Sir 
John  Franklin  and  Captain  Crozier.  The  cliffs  which  here 
constituted  the  shore  of  the  channel  were  very  high,  towering 
at  least  two  thousand  feet  above  its  surface.  The  party  at- 
tempted to  ascend  these  cliffs,  but  found  it  impossible  to 
mount  more  than  a  few  hundred  feet.  They  here  encountered 
a  cape,  and  the  party  desired  to  pass  around  it  in  order  to  as- 
certain whether  there  lay  any  unknown  land  beyond  it.  But 
they  found  it  impossible  to  advance.  This  then  was  the  ut- 
most limit  and  termination  of  their  journey  toward  the  Pole. 
Mr.  Morton  ascended  an  eminence  here,  and  carefully  scru- 
tinized the  aspects  of  nature  all  around  him.  Six  degrees  to- 
ward the  west  of  north  he  observed  a  lofty  peak,  truncated  in 
its  form,  and  about  three  thousand  feet  in  height.  This  ele- 
vation is  named  Mount  E^dward  Parry,  after  the  great  pioneer 
of  Arctic  adventure,  and  is  the  most  extreme  northern  noint 
of  land  known  to  exist  upon  the  globe.  From  the  position 
which  Mr.  Morton  had  attained  he  beheld  toward  the  north. 


t 


ed  a  point 
t  appeared 
ey  reached 
•eyond  diat 
ty  called  it 
niootli  ice ; 

rotten  ice, 
eath  them. 
x\    it    after 
1. 
ftcrward  it 

floating  in 
1  which  re- 
:he  channel 
le  they  en- 
in  a  direct 
,  which  ap- 
loaf-shaped 
ncountered 
ensued,  in 
iingly  illus- 
)r  brute  to 

A  shallow 
sed  several 
d  after  Sir 
which  here 
h,  towering 
le  party  at- 
possible  to 
ncountered 
)rcler  to  as- 
nd  it.  But 
v'as  the  ut- 
\  the  Pole, 
efully  scru- 
degrees  to- 
runcated  in 
This  ele- 
eat  pioneer 
thern  noint 


le 


•osition 


the  north. 


54 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


.^■i 


from  an  elevation  of  four  hundred  feet,  a  boundless  waste  of 
waters  stretching  away  toward  the  Pole.  Not  a  particle  of 
ice  encumbered  its  surface.  Here  was  a  lluid  sea,  in  the  midst 
of  whole  continents  of  ice.  and  that  sea  seemed  to  wash  the 
Pole  itself.  The  eye  of  the  explorer  surveyed  at  least  forty 
miles  of  uninterrupted  water  in  a  northern  direction.  The 
point  thus  reached  in  this  explorin*,^  expedition  was  about  five 
hundred  miles  distant  from  the  PoU^  Had  the  party  been 
able  to  convey  thither  a  boat,  they  might  have  embarked  upon 
the  bright  and  placid  waters  of  that  lonely  ocean.  But  hav- 
ing been  able  to  make  this  journey  only  with  the  sledge,  fur- 
ther explorations  were  of  course  impossible.  The  most  re- 
markable df^velopment  connected  with  these  discoveries  was» 
that  the  cemperature  was  here  found  to  bc^  much  more  mod- 
erate than  it  was  farther  south.  Marine  birds  sailed  through 
the  heavens.  Rippling  waves  followed  each  other  on  the 
surface  of  the  deep.  A  few  stunted  flowers  grew  over  the 
barren  and  rocky  shore.  The  inference  which  may  le  drawn 
from  these  and  other  facts  is,  that  this  open  sea,  termed  the 
Polar  Basin,  stretches  to  the  Pole  itself,  or  av  least  continues 
a  great  distance  until  its  course  is  interrupted  by  other  pro- 
jections of  the  earth.  ,   .     r^     tt 

The  several  parties  which  had  been  sent  forth  oy  Dr.  Kane 
to  explore  the  regions  just  described  havin;^  returned,  the 
season  of  Arctic  travel  had  nearly  terminated,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  expedition  were  about  to  relapse  into  winter- 
quarters  with  their  usual  darkness,  monotony,  and  gloom. 
But  before  resigning  themselves  entirely  to  this  unwtlcome 
seclusion,  Dr.  Kslt..:  resolved  to  make  an  effort  to  reach 
Beechey  Island.  Accordingly  Dr.  Kane  manned  his  boat, 
called  the  Forlorn  Hope,  which  was  twenty-three  feet  long, 
and  six  feet  and  a  half  beam.  The  necessary  amount  of 
provisions  were  placed  on  board  and  the  bold  venture  was 
undertaken.  Sometimes  the  boat  was  navigated  through  the 
unfrozen  channels  of  water  which  intervened  between  the 
floes  of  ice;  at  others  she  was  placed  on  a  large  sledge  called 
the  Faith,  and  thus  transported  over  the  fro/en  wastes. 

This  party  approached  Litdeton  Island,  which  had  been  vis 
itpd  by  Captain  Inglefield.  They  here  obtain^  d  a  vast  quantity 
^r  «:j„-  j u^       T'U^.tj  ^-K/^m  r»qcc»^f1  l^IntTntnff  Point  and  Com- 

Ul    civic:!    viuur-s.         i  li-- j    vii'_'>   j'ti.. -    -^^ — ' 

bermere  Cape.     Then  came  Cape  Isabella  and  Cape  P>eder- 
ick  VII.     On  the  23d  of  July  they  reached  Hakluyt  Island^ 


SECOND    GRINNELL   EXI'EDITION. 


55 


pnt'-  thence  they  steered  for  Gary  Islands  But  on  the  31st  of 
July,  when  they  had  reached  a  point  but  ten  miles  distant  from 
Cape  Parry,  their  furdier  progress  was  absolutely  stopped.  A 
solid  mass  of  ice  lay  before  them  on  the  sea,  extending  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  reach.  This  barrier  was  composed  of  the 
vast  seas  of  ice  which  had  drifted  through  Jones'  Sound  on 
the  west  and  those  of  Murchison's  on  the  east.  The  adven- 
turers were  now  compelled  to  retracje  their  way.  About  the 
jst  of  August  they  regained  the  brig  without  having  met  with 
any  accident,  but  also  without  having  succeeded  in  attaining 
the  object  of  their  excursion.  They  found  the  Advance 
just  as  tighdy  wedged  into  the  ice  as  it  had  been  during  tht; 
preceding  eleven  months,  with  no  hope  of  getung  her  re- 
leased. Two  important  questions  now  demanded  their  atten- 
tion. The  first  was  how  they  were  to  pass  this,  their  second 
winter,  in  the  Arctic  regions,  and  how  they  were  to  make  their 
escape  in  the  ensuing  spring. 

The  prospect  of  a  second  winter  amid  the  eternal  snows 
and  ice  of  the  Polar  Circle  was  not  inviting  to  the  adventurers. 
A  portion  of  them  felt  convinced  of  the  practicability  of  an 
immediate  escape  to  the  south.  On  the  24th  of  August  Dr. 
Kane  summoned  all  hands  together  and  clearly  stated  to  them 
the  aspects  of  the  case.  He  advised  that  all  should  remain 
by  the  brig  till  the  next  spring,  although  he  declared  that  those 
who  wished  to  return  could  make  the  attempt.  Eight  men 
concluded  to  remain,  and  nine  of  them  resolved  that,  rather 
than  endure  the  miseries  of  a  second  winter  near  the  Pole, 
they  would  run  the  risks  of  an  instant  attempt  to  escape 
Tliis  resolution  they  made  immediate  preparations  to  execute. 
A  full  share  of  the  remaining  provisions  was  measured  out  to 
them,  they  were  assured  of  a  welcome  reception  if  they  chose 
to  return,  and  they  started  forth  on  August  28th  from  the 
brig.  One  of  this  party  returned  to  the  vessel  in  a  few  days ; 
the  rest  wandered  for  many  months  and  endured  much  mis- 
ery and  exposure  before  tliey  rejoined  their  wiser  comrades 
in  the  brig. 

Dr.  Kane  and  the  eight  men  who  remained  with  him  imme- 
diately began  to  prepare  for  the  horrors  of  the  ensuing  win- 
ter.    They  gathered  a  large  amount  of  moss,  with  which  tiiey 

It  ft  £^/' I     •^fl/H     *-\o/^/^i^J'l     ♦•l'\<-i     /^fi*^  t*4"£k»*    ^^f^l^  I    l^ « r*    d  h'%TT\£:x£-%  •  £&r\  #•    *>^r%  r^^^t*^:^^ 

their  jabin  impervious  to  the  changes  and  the  extreme  severity 
of  the  atmosphere.     They  stripped  off  the  outer-deck  plank- 


56 


ARCTIC    EXriXJUAllDNS. 


ing  of  the  brig  for  tho  purpose  of  firewood.  The  chief  neces- 
sity of  the  explorers  was  fresh  mtai,  to  guard  them  against 
the  scurvy.  To  obtain  this  food,  frequent  excursions  were 
made  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  seals.  On  one  of  these 
occasions  Dr.  Kane  narrowly  escaped  a  watery  grave.  He 
was  twelve  miles'  distance  from  the  brig  with  a  single  attend- 
ant. The  ice  broke  beneath  their  sledge  and  they  were  pre- 
cipitated into  the  water.  After  great  exertions  and  amid  ex- 
treme danger  they  succeeded  in  reg  'uing  ice  sufficiently  strong 
to  bear  their  weight.  They  lost  leir  sledge,  tent,  kayack, 
guns,  and  snow-shoes. 

Tiiey  waited  patiendy  for  the  time  to  arrive  when  they  could 
commence  the  necessary  preparations  for  the  journey  of  1,300 
miles  which  they  would  undertake  in  the  spring.  The  vessel 
would  evidendy  remain  so  firmly  fixed  in  an  ocean  of  Ice  that 
its  removal  would  be  utterly  impossible.  Their  return  must 
be  effected  with  the  combined  use  of  sledges  and  boats.  Yet, 
before  commencing  a  final  retreat,  Dr.  Kane  resolved  to 
attempt  once  more  a  northern  excursion,  hoping  tiiat  it  might 
result  In  some  useful  discovery  connected  with  the  object  of 
the  expedition. 

The  region  which  was  yet  to  be  explored  was  the  farther 
shores  beyond  Kennedy  Channel.  The  aid  of  the  dogs  was 
indispensable  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  task,  and  there 
were  but  four  left  out  of  the  sixty-two,  which  composed  their 
stock  when  they  left  Newfoundland.  An  arrangement  was, 
however,  made  with  Kalutunah,  one  of  the  wandering  Esqui- 
maux whom  they  knew,  for  the  use  of  his  dogs  and  three 
sledges.  Thus  reinforced.  Dr.  Kane,  accompanied  by  several 
experienced  Esquimaux  travellers,  commenced  his  journey. 
In  two  hours  they  reached  a  lofty  berg  fifteen  miles  north  of 
the  brig.  The  outside  channel  seemed  filled  with  squeezed 
ice,  and  on  the  frozen  plain  beyond  the  bergs  appeared  to  be 
much  distorted. 

-  Having  returned  to  the  brig.  Dr.  Kane  resumed  his  prepa- 
rations for  final  departure.  Frozen  fast  as  she  was  in  the  ice, 
there  was  no  possibility  of  removing  her.  The  only  possible 
means  of  escape  was  by  the  combined  use  of  boats  and 
sledgec.  The  party  went  to  work  industrlou  sly  in  the  manu- 
facture of  clothinp-  suitable  to  the  iournev.  Canvas  morrasins 
were  made  for  each  of  the  party,  and  a  surplus  supply  of  three 
dozen  was  added  to  the  stock. 


SlfiCONI)   ORINNKI.L    EXPKI)rnf)N. 


57 


The  means  of  conveyance  which  were  to  carry  the  company 
on  this  long  and  weary  journey,  and  which  were  to  be-  carried 
by  them  in  a  great  measure,  consisted  of  three  boats.    These 
had  all  suffered  very  materially  from  exposure  to  the  ice  and 
die  Arctic  storms,  and  were  scarcely  seaworthy.     They  were 
strengthened  and  tinkered  in  every  possible  way  by  oak  bot- 
tom pieces  and  by  wash-boards,  which  protected  the  jrunwales 
and  gave   them   greater  depth.     A   housing  of  canvas  was 
stretched  upon  a  ridge  line,  which  was  suspended  by  stanch- 
ions, and  which  were  fastened  over  the  sides  of  the  boats  to 
jack-stays.     Each  boat  had  a  single  mast,  and  it  was  so  ar- 
ranged that  It  could  be  easily  unshipped  and  carried  alonc^side 
the  boat.     The  boats  were  mounted  on  sled^res      The  oro 
visions  were  stored  carefully  under  the  thwarts  '  The  boats 
were  to  be  drawn  by  the  men  with  rue-raddies,  or  straps,  which 
passed  over  the  shoulder  and  were  attached  by  a  lone  trace 
to  the  sledge.     The  philosophical  instruments  were  carefully 
boxed  and  padded  and  placed  in  the  stern-sheets  of  one  of 
the  boats.     Spy-glasses  and  small  instruments  the  travellers 
earned  on  their  persons.     The  powder  and  shot,  which  now 
became  of  mfinite  value  to  them,  were  distributed  in  bac^s  and 
tin  clusters.     The  percussion  caps,  the  most  valuable'of  all 
Dr.  Kane  himself  took  charge  of  and  reserved 

Having  made  all  the  preparations  which  were  possible  under 
the  circumstances  of  the  case.  Dr.  Kane  announced  to  his 
crew  that  he  appointed  the   17th  of  May  as  the  day  of  the  r 
final  departure  from  the  brig.    Each  man  was  allowed  to  select 
and  retain  eight  pounds  of  personal  effects.     He  was  deter 
mined  to  commence  this  memorable  journey  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed, at  all  hazards     At  length  the  day  preceding  that  of 
departure  arrived      Ihe  boats  were  removed  from  "the  briV 
and  placed  upon  the  ice.     This  process  seemed  to  revive    S 
some  degree  the  desponding  spirits  of  the  men.     The  pro 
visions  were  then  conveyed  into  them,  and  other  necessary 
trans  ers  were  made.     After  some  hours  of  active  opera  iol^ 

ion'boa^'thl  t-'  '^'^  ^r  ^°"^P'-'^-d.  and  the  men^retJne  d 
on  board  the  brig  in  order  to  spend  their  last  nicdit  in  that 
familiar  shelter.     After  supper  they  retired  to  rest  in  orde  To 

tZ^^.^^^^'"^-"^.^^  't  "'^^^  -re  to  comnu-n:: 

At  length  the  wished-for  moment  arrived  wh 


the 


w 


eary 


58 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


adventurers  were  to  take  their  last  farewell  of  the  vessel  which 
had  been  associated  with  them  in  so  many  vicissitudes  and 
dangers.  Thirteen  hundred  miles  ol  ice  and  water  lay  be- 
fwefn  their  present  position  and  the  shores  of  North  Green- 

^^  The  whole  return  party  consisted  of  seventeen  persons, 
includina  Dr.  Kane.  Four  of  these  were  sick  and  unable  to 
move  The  rest  were  divided  into  two  companies  and  appro- 
priated to  the  several  boats.  Dr.  Kane  took  charge  of  the 
dotVeam.  which  was  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  conveying 
provisions  from  the  vessel  to  the  crew  during  the  first  few 
dZl  of  their  journey.  To  the  boat  called  taith,  McGary, 
Ohlsen.  Bonsall.  Petersen  and  Hickey  were  assigned,  lo 
the  Hope.  Morton.  Sontag,  Riley,  Blake  and  Godfrey  were 

"^The  first  stao-e  of  the  journey  was  to  a  spot  called  Anoatok, 
which  had  been  a  halting-place  in  their  winter  journeys.  It 
was  a  single  hut,  composed  of  rude  and  heavy  stones,  and 
resembled  a  cave  more  than  it  did  a  house.  Strange  to  say, 
this  bleak  and  forlorn  corner  of  that  frozen  hemisphere  the 
o-loomiest  and  most  detestable  on  the  whole  face  of  the  glob.^ 
bore  a  name  which  was  imposed  by  the  least  poetical  of 
human  beings,  the  Esquimaux,  which  was  not  devoid  ol 
beauty ;  for  Anoatok  in  the  jargon  of  the  shivering  natives 
means  "  the  wind-loved  spot."  It  was  perched  on  the  ex- 
treme point  of  a  rocky  promontory,  and  commanded  a  wide 
view  of  the  icy  straits,  both  toward  the  north  and  south. 

Dr  Kane  had  exerted  himself  to  repair  the  hut,  and  make 
it  fit  to  shelter  the  sick.  He  liad  added  a  door  to  its  broken 
outlet  and  had  introduced  a  stove  and  stove-pipe.  Other 
improvements  had  been  made.  A  solitary  pane  of  glass, 
which  once  had  faced  a  daguerreotype,  was  inserted  m  the 
door  to  crive  a  scanty  light.  The  provisions  which  had  been 
remove'd'\j  this  place  were  eight  hundred  pounds  in  weight. 
Seven  hundred  pounds  still  rwnained  in  the  brig,  to  be  re- 
moved by  successive  journeys  of  the  dog-team.  The  services 
of  these  six  doo-s  were  indeed  invaluable.  In  addition  to  all 
their  previous  journeys,  diey  carried  Dr.  Kane  to  and  Iro. 
with   a  well-bunlrned    sledge,    nearly  eight   hundred    miles 


durinf  the  first  two  weeKS  a 


fier  ihcy  left  the  brig,  being  an 


average  of  fifty-seven  miles  per  day. 

So  feeble  and  reduced  were  the  parties  who  dragged  the 


SECOND    GRINNELL   EXPEDiriON. 


5S> 


two  boats,  that  they  advanced  but  a  mile  a  day.  and  on  the 
24th  had  only  made  seven  miles.  The  halts  were  recjulated 
entirely  by  the  condition  of  the  men,  who  required  longer 
rest  at  some  periods  than  at  others.  The  thermometer  ranged 
below  zero,  and  the  men  slept  at  night  in  the  boats,  protec'ted 
by  their  canvas  coverings.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  shelter 
which  the  hut  at  Anoatok  afforded,  the  four  sick  men~Good- 


RELICS  BROUGHT   BACK   BY   THE   FRANKLIN   EXPEDITION. 


fellow,  Wilson,  Whipple,  and  Stephenson— they  must  have 
perished.  At  the  time  of  their  removal  into  it,  they  were  so 
drawn  up  with  the  scurvy  that  they  were  wholly  unable  to 
move.  Yet  their  delay  in  this  hut  was  extremely  gloomy ;  for 
It  lasted  from  the  time  that  they  were  removed  from  the  brio- 
until  they  were  carried  forward  by  the  sledjre  to  the  boats' 
which  had  l)c(.«n  dra.i^ged  by  thc;ir  respective  crews  in  advance 


I 


liliii 


lililiii 


60 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS, 


of  them.     During  this  interval  they  were  carefully  fed  and 
attended  by  Dr.  Kane. 

Dr.  Kane's  visits  to  the  brig  from  time  to  time,  in  order  to 
obtain  supplies  of  provisions,  were  full  of  interest  to  him. 
On  the  first  of  these  he  found  the  vessel  already  inhabited  by 
an  old  raven,  which  had  often  been  seen  hovering  around, 
and  whom  they  had  called  Magog.  The  fire  was  lighted  in 
the  o-alley,  the  pork  was  melted,  large  batches  of  bread  were 
baked,  dried  apples  were  stewed,  and  then  the  sledge  was 
made  ready  to  return  with  the  load.  Such  was  usually  the 
roudne  of 'Dr.  Kane's  lonely  visits  to  the  brig.  After  the 
first  of  these  visits,  when  he  returned  to  the  "wind-loved 
spot,"  Anoatok,  with  his  sledge,  he  found  that  the  sick  who 
still  remained  there  had  exhausted  their  provisions ;  that  their 
single  lamp  had  gone  out;  that  the  snow-drifts  had  forced 
thetr  way  in  at  the  door,  so  that  it  could  not  be  shut;  that  die 
wind  was  blowing  furiously  through  the  op(;n  tenement;  and 
that  the  thermometer  ranged  only  thirteen  degrees  above 
zero.  The  invalids  were  disheartened  and  hungry.  A  fire 
was  built  with  tarred  rope ;  a  porridge  was  prepared  for  them 
out  of  meat  biscuit  and  pea-soup  ;  the  door  was  fastened  up  ; 
a  dripping  slab  of  tat  pork  was  suspended  over  their  lamp- 
wick;  and  then  all  turned  into  their  sleeping  bags,  after  a 
hearty  though  not  very  savory  meal.  So  ov(  rcome  were 
they  all  with  exposure  and  weakness,  that  they  slept  undl 
after  all  their  watches  had  run  down. 

Dr.  Kane  then  hurried  forward  to  die  sledge  party,  who 
had  by  that  time  reached  1\>n  Mile  Ravine.  They  were 
struggling  with  the  deep  snows,  were  overwhelmed  with  fa- 
tiguc'^and  were  somewhat  disheartened.  Although  their  feet 
were  much  swollen,  they  had  toiled  thnt  day  for  fourteen 
hours.  Some  were  suffering  from  snow-blindness,  and  were 
scarcely  able  to  work  at  the' drag-ropes.  In  spite  of  all  their 
toils  and  sufferings,  morning  and  evening  prayers  were  con- 
stantly read  by  the  adventurers.  Meanwhile  the  sledge 
party  advanced  slowly  toward  the  south.  On  the  28th  Dr. 
Kane  paid  his  last  visit  to  the  brig.  He  was  compelled  to 
leave  behind  his  collections  in  natural  history,  his  library,  and 
some  of  his  instruments,  such  as  his  theodolite  and  chart-bo.\, 
the  useless  daguerreotypes,  and  other  companions  and  me- 
mentos of  Arctic  '       -  ■  -- 


sled 


ge;  gav 


e  a 


last  look  at  the  blackencid  hull  and  spars,  of 


SECOND    GKINNKI.I.    KXPEOl]  ION.  ftj 

the  Advance ;  fiercely  whipped  up  his  dogs  in  a  paroxysm  of 
mournful  gloom  ;  and  sped  away  for  the  lasf  Hm/^.u 
snowy  waste  which  l,ad  Len  assLfated  w  th  so  "nanrrecor 
lect,ons    .Ihus  was  left  behind  at  last  in  its  fro  en  Ld  the 
vessel  which  had  been  connected  with  two  Arctic  expeditions 
one  of  which  is  the  most  remarkable  on  record    and  there' 
doubdess  she  remains,  an  unseen  monument  of 'human  en 
terprise,  benevolence,  and  endurance 

From  Anoatok  Dr.  Kane's  next  labor  was  to  remove  the 
provisions  and  men  further  on  in  their  route.  A  friSidW  Es 
qu imau,  named  Metek,  was  sent  forward  to  the  next  station 
with  two  bags  oi  bread-dust,  each  weighinc;  ninety  pounds' 
The  next  station  was  Etah  Bay.  Abouf  midnight  Dr  Kane 
approached  that  vicinity.  The  sun  was  low  in  the  heavens 
and  the  air  around  was  marked  by  that  peculiar  sXess 
which  accompanies  the  great  solitudes  of  nature  WW  e 
feeling  the  oppressive  weight  of  tliat  silence,  his  ears  were 
suddenly  greeted  by  unexpected  sounds  of  mir  h  and  tat  Ze7 
He  nad  approached  an  encampment  of  the  wanderin  r  &„[" 

The"  cau^eT/'tlfeirlo^'"""  f'''  '"»'  ™°"->  -d"?hfc 
.illjn       ,  ^'fJ^y  "''^  "«=  -capture  of  innumerable  birds 
called  Auks,  which  they  were  engaged  in  catching  with  nets' 
Tliis  was  the  spot  which  these  birds  mysteriousiy  cZetr 
the  purpose  of  breeding  from  year  to  /ear;  and  the  Esoui 
maux  as  regularly  found  their  way  thither  in  pursui    of  them 
The  travellers  continued  their  weary  march  tl  rouU  th^ 
snow,  dragging  tlicir  boats  after  them.     Sometimes  when    he 
weather  moderated-for  it  was  s„mmer_t  e  ™H:.es  bro|  ' 
through,     bix  men  on  one  occasion   were  thrown  into  °he 
water   and  the  Hope  was  very  nearly  lost,     llei     came  to 
them  Irom  the  Esquimuix  at  Etal,,  who  sent  tl  e m  the  ba° 
of  their  dogs,  together  with  an  additional  supply  of  fr  'sh  oro 
visions.     The  dogs  were  of  infinite  service'^fn^lrawiit  one 
of  the  sledges,  upon  which  the  sick  men  were  convcved°    a! 
this  period  an  accident  dl-prived  the  expedition  by -creath  of 
one  of  Its  most  usefiil  members.     While  crossing  a  tidfh.r 

"::  "The'en""""^"  f  "^'=  "°P=  ^l<--J^e'brke%hrough' t ,: 
Xnela^ed",  effA'^'  fJ^^Tott"'  Ta  ^r  ?'^"='"  ^'^f" 
passed  a  capstan.barunder%h°1ieci?e^  1^,"!^'^""""'"°"  !'- 
weiahf  nnfii  \f  ,  ,no  J  TV  '  ^^'»^'  '^"^'  "'"^  sustained  its 

tikhic  f'"  !  ""'  '^'■^Sfged  forward  to  firm  ice.  In  doinL> 
this  hir,  footing  gave  way  beneath  him.  and  he  thus  was  com^ 


'11 


llii  iiiii 


62 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


pelled  to  strain  himself.  The  eflbrt  mined  him.  Some  in- 
ternal injury  had  been  inflicted  by  the  effort,  and  he  died 
three  days  afterward.  His  body  was  sewed  up  in  his  own 
blankets,  and  carried  in  procession  to  the  head  of  a  litde 
croro-e  to  the  east  of  Pekiudik,  where  a  grave  was  excavated 
m  the  frozen  earth.  There  his  body  was  deposited  with  a  few 
simple  and  appropriate  ceremonies.  His  name  and  age  were 
inscribed  by  the  commander  on  a  strip  of  sheet  lead ;  and 
ere  his  grave  was  filled  by  his  comrades,  the  brief  and  touch- 
ino-  memorial  was  laid  upon  his  manly  breast.  A  small 
mound  was  then  erected  widi  rocks  and  stones  over  his  lonely 
resting-place;  and  there  now  sleep,  in  that  cheerless  and 
wintry  tomb,  the  remains  of  Chrisdan  Ohlsen. 

Bv  the  6th  of  June  the  party  reached  Litdeton  Island. 
From  a  lofty  height  here  of  some  eight  hundred  feet,  Dr. 
Kane  obtained  his  first  view  of  the  open  water.  His  position 
at  that  time  was  78°  22'  iMaUtude,  and  74°  10'  longitude.  So 
weary  were  the  men  of  dragging  the  sledges  over  the  snow 
and  ice,  that  they  wished  to\ike"the  direct  route  to  the  water, 
upon  which  they  were  eager  to  embark  with  the  boats.  But 
the  dangers  of  the  plan  proposed  overruled  dieir  wishes,  and 
the  inland  route,  though  longer,  was  selected.  The  wished- 
for  water  which  greeted  the  eyes  of  the  weary  travellers  was 
Hartstein  Bay,  and  they  welcomed  it  with  emotions  of  rapture 
resembling  those  which,  as  Xenophon  records,  filled  the 
minds  and  excited  the  enthusiasm  of  the  ten  thousand 
Greeks  when,  after  their  long  and  perilous  march  through 
Asia-Minor,  and  their  escape  from  the  myriads  of  Artaxerxes, 
they  first  beheld-  the  distant  waves  of  the  sea  whose  billows 
laved  the  shores  of  their  beloved  Greece. 

On  the  1 6th  of  June  the  party  reached  the  water.  It  was 
at  the  northern  curve  of  the  North  Baffin  Bay.  On  tht^  i8th 
the  travellers  were  surrounded  by  all  the  Esquimaux  who  had 
been  assembled  at  p:tah.  They  had  come  to  bid  the  strangers 
farewell,  whom  they  had  served  to  the  best  of  their  ability  at 
an  earlier  stage  of 'their  journey.  They  were  indeed  a  mis- 
erable and  forlorn  race,  though  kindly  and  confiding  in  their 
dispositions.  They  received  various  pre.sents  and  keep.sakes 
from  the  travellers— such  as  knives,  files,  saws,  and  lumps  ol 
soao.  Thev  had  been  of  great  service  in  lending  hand- 
sleciges  and'  dogs,  in  helping  to  carry  baggage  and  the  sick 
from  one   station   to  another,  along  their   weary  route  ;  and 


SECOND    GRINNELL    EXPEDITION. 


63 


they  parted  from  the  stran-ers—probably  the  last  they  were 
destined  ever  to  behold  in  that  repulsive  clime— with  feeHno-« 
of  recrret  which  they  did  not  conceal.  Dr.  Kane  unred  them 
to  emigrate  farther  south,  for  there  they  could  obtain  more 
abundant  food,  and  escape  the  perils  of  starvation  which  con- 
stantly surrounded  them. 

.h^V^'?  ?r""'?  ?u  ^u'^'^''^^'  /""'-^   ^7th,  the  party  hauled 
their  boats  through  the  hummocks,  reached  the  open  sea.  and 


OFr  FOR  THL  ()Pr\  SEA 


launched  the  frail  craft  unon   its  wpf-^^rc      u   .  i-  , 

1  •  t   1     V ,   *"■"  cdLii  new  Dreakao-p  of  thf  iV^.      xi,  .  j 

which  had  been  stacked  .,n^n  ^,    •^.'' °'  ^'^^  'c^-      ihe  q-oods 

"1-.     .  vt  last  j  ). .  Kane  saw  thp  necessity  of 


f 


"1 


64 


AKCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


permittin<-  the  worn-out  men  to  repose,  and  in  order  to  do 
so  secureTy,  the  boats  were  removed  a  mile  from  the  waters 
edge  The  sea  tore  up  the  ice  to  the  very  base  ol  the  berg 
to  which  they  had  fled  for  refuge,  and  the  angry  deep  seemed 
liice  avast  cauldron,  boiling  with  intense  fury,  while  the  im- 
mense fragments  of  ice  crashed  and  rolled  together  with  a 
sound  resembling  thunder. 

At  len<rth  the  storm  subsided,  and  the  troubled  sea  became 
tranquil."  The  boats  were  again  prepared  for  embarkation. 
On  Tuesday,  the  igth,  Dr.  Kane  succeeded  in  getting  the 
Faith  afloat,  and  he  was  soon  followed  by  the  two  other  boats. 
Soon  the  wind  freshened,  and  the  mariners  began  their  wel- 
come progress  homeward ;  but  they  had  a  long  and  perilous 
voyacre  before  them  of  many  hundred  miles.     At  length  they 
doubted   Cape   Alexander.      They   desired   first   to   halt   at 
Sutherland  Island ;  but  the  ice-belt  which  hugged  its  shores 
was  too  steep  lo  permit  them  to  land.     They  then  steered  for 
Hakluyt  Island,  but  had  not  proceeded  far  before  the  red  boat 
swamped.     The  crew  were  compelled  to  swim  to  the  other 
boats    and  the  former  was  with  difficulty  keep  afloat,  and 
dra<rcred  in  tow  by  her  comrades.     Dr.  Kane  then  fastened 
his  boats  to  an  old  floe,  and  thus  sheltered,  the  men  obtained 
their  second  halt  and  rest.     When  they  had  become  some- 
what refreshed,  they  rowed  for  Hakluyt  Island,  at  a  point  less 
repulsive  and  impracticable  than  the  one  attempted  the  day 
before.     A  spit  to  the  southward  gave  them  an  opportunity 
to  haul  up  the  boats  on  the  land-ice  as  the  tide  rose      From 
this  the  men  dragged  the  boats  to  the  rocks  above  and  inland, 
and  were  thus  secure.     It  snowed  heavily  during  the  ensuing 
night.     A  tent  was  prepared  for  the  sick,  and  a  few  birds 
were  luckily  obtained  to  vary  their  stale  diet  of  bread-dust 

and  tallow. 

On  the  next  morning,  the  2 2d,  the  snow-storm  still  contin- 
ued to  pelt  them ;  but  they  pressed  onward  toward  North- 
umberland Island,  and  reached  it.  They  rowed  their  boats 
into  a  small  inlet  of  open  water,  which  conducted  them  to  the 
beach  direcdy  beneath  a  hanging  glacier,  which  towered  sub- 
limely into   the   heavens  to   the  immense  height  of  eleven 

hundred  feet. 

The  next  dav  they  crossed   Murch'hon  Channel,  and  at 

encam 


iped 


lau 


be'en  laboriously  spent  in  tracking  over  the  ice,  and  in  sailing 


Qji., 

hvA 


der  to  do 
he  water's 
f  the  berg 
ep  seemed 
ile  the  im- 
ler  with  a 

ea  became 
ibarkation. 
retting  the 
ther  boats. 
1  their  wel- 
id  perilous 
ength  they 
to   halt   at 

its  shores 
steered  for 
le  red  boat 
»  the  other 
afloat,  and 
in  fastened 
m  obtained 
ome  some- 
1  point  less 
ed  the  day 
opportunity 
5se.  From 
and  inland, 
the  ensuing 
I  few  birds 

bread-dust 

still  contin- 
ard  North- 
their  boats 
them  to  tlie 
•wered  sub- 
t  of  eleven 

nel,  and  at 

lie   day  nau 

id  in  sailing 


< 


< 


1^ 


li 


SECOND     GRINNELL     EXPEDITION. 


65 


through  tortuous  leads.      The  day  following  they  reached 
Fitz  Clarence  Rock ;  one  of  the  most  singular  forms  to  be 
seen  m  that  strange  clime.     It  rises  to  an  immense  height 
from  a  vast  field  of  ice,  having  the  shape  of  an  Egyptian 
pyramid   surmounted   by  an  obelisk.     In   more   frequented 
waters  it  would  be  a  valued  landmark  to  the  navigator- 
Still  they  continued  to  toil  onward  from  day  to  day   *  Their 
progress  was  satisfactory,  though  their  labor  was  exhausting 
Dr.  Kane  sometimes  continued  sixteen  hours  in  succession  at 
the  helm.     But  now  their  allowance  of  food  began  to  grow 
scanty.     It  was  reduced  to  six  ounces  of  bread-dust  per  day 
and  a  lump  of  tallow  about  the  size  of  a  walnut.     An  occa- 
sional cup  of  tea  was  their  only  consolation.    From  this  stage 
in  their  journey  Dalrymple  Rock  became  perceptible  in  the 
distance.     But  the  physical  strength  of  the  men  becran  to 
give  way  beneath  their  labors  and  their  insufficient  diel      At 
this  crisis  a  gale  struck  them  from  the  northwest,  and  a  floe 
one  end  of  which  having  grounded  on  a  tongue  of  ice  about 
a  mile  to  the  northward  of  them,  began  to  swing  round  to- 
ward the  boats,  and  threaten  to  enclose  and  crush  them 
Soon  the  destrucdon  of  the  surrounding  ice  threatened  their 
cwii.     For  hundreds  of  yards  on  every  side  around  them  the 
ice  was  crumbled,  crushed,  and  piled  in  irregular  and  frag- 
mentary masses.     The  thunder  of  the  confused  ocean  of 
frozen  wrecks  was  overpowering.     Suddenly  the  ice  seemed 
to  separate  and  form  a  channel ;  and  in  that  channel,  so 
unexpectedly  opened  before  them,  the  men  rowed  the  boats 
with  the  aid  of  their  boat  hooks,  and  escaped  a  danger  which 
a  moment  before  seemed  inevitable  and  ruinous.     Soon  they 
found  themselves  in  a  lead  of  land-water,  wide  enouah  to  give 
them  rowing  room,  and  they  hastened  on  to  the  land,  which 
loomed  ahead.     Reaching  it,  they  eagerly  sought  a  shelter. 
1  he  Hope  here  stove  her  bottom,  and  lost  part  of  her  weather- 
boarding     The  water  broke  over  them,  for  the  storm  still 
continued.     At  length  the  tide  rose  high  enough  at  three 
o  clock  to  enable  them  to  scale  the  ice-cliff.     They  succeeded 
in  pul  ing  the  boats  into  a  deep  and  narrow  gorge,  which 
opened   between   the   towering  cliffs.      The   rocks   seemed 
almost  to  close  above  their  heads.     An  abrupt  curve  in  the 
windings  of  this  gorge  placed  a  protecting  rock  behind  them, 

_.     V..C...  .x^xjx   tuc   viuiciicc:  01   the  Winds   and 

waves.     They  had   reached  a  haven   of  refuge  which   was 

5 


p 


€6 


ARCnC    EXPLORATIONS. 


almost  a  cave;  where  they  found  a  flock  of  eider  ducks  on 
which  they  feasted  ;  and  where  for  three  days  they  reposed 
from  the  dangers  and  labors  of  their  voyage.  This  retrea. 
they  fitly  called  Weary  Man':  Rest. 

The  fourth  day  of  July  i  'ving  arrived,  it  was  commemorated 
by  the  adventurers  Vy  k  tew  diluted  and  moderate  potations 
such  as  their  nearly  exhausted  whiskey  fl-sk  permitted  ;  and 
they  then  embarked  and  rowed  industriousiy  toward  Wolsten- 
holme  Island.  During  some  succeeding  days,  they  continued 
slowly  to  progress  toward  the  south,  through  the  various 
lanes  of  water  which  opened  bt.LWcon  the  belt-ice  and  the 
floe.  By  this  time  the  constant  collisions  between  the  boats 
and  the  floating;  ice  had  rendered  them  quite  unseaworthy. 
The  ice  had  strained  their  bottom  timbers,  and  constant  baling 
was  necessary.  Their  fresh  meat  had  all  been  consumed, 
and  the  men  were  now  reduced  again  to  short  rations  of 
bread-dust. 

On  the  I  ith  of  July  they  approached  Cape  Dudley  Digges: 
but  their  progress  was  suddenly  stopped  by  an  immense 
tongue  of  floe  which  extended  out  to  sea  for  a  prodigious  dis- 
tance. They  forced  their  way  into  a  lead  of  sludge,  and 
attempted  thus  to  advance.  They  found  this  to  be  impossi- 
ble ;  and  were  glad  to  make  their  escape  from  it.  Dr.  Kane 
was  at  a  loss  how  to  proceed.  He  mounted  an  iceberg  to 
reconnoitre  the  surrounding  prospect.  Ir,  was  gloomy  and 
repulsive  in  the  extreme.  They  were  in  advance  of  the 
season ;  and  he  discovered  that  in  those  waters  toward  Cape 
York  the  iloes  had  not  yet  broken  up.  They  seemed  to  bt 
surrounded  in  a  ail-de-sac,  with  exhausted  strength  and 
food,  and  no  possibility  of  escaping  until  the  summer  had 
broken  open  for  them  a  pathway  of  escape. 

Sailing  along  they  passed  the  Crimson  Cliffs,  so  named 
by  Sir  John  Ross.  They  continued  thence  to  hug  the  shore. 
The  weather  now  moderated;  and  their  voyage  assumed 
more  agreeable  and  genial  features.  The  men  frequently 
landed,  climbed  up  the  steep  cliffs  and  obtained  abundant 
quantities  of  auks.  Fires  were  kindled  with  the  turf,  and  the 
feasts  which  ensued  were  relished  with  more  dian  an  ordinary 
appetite ;  and  that  also  die  more  truly,  because  the  travellers 
well  knew  that  their  good  fortune,  and  their  propitious  seas 
and  weather,  would  not  long  continue.  They  were  now  in 
78°  20'  north  latitude. 


r  ducks  on 


SECOND    GRINNELL     EXPEDITION. 


«7 


On  the  1st  of  August  they  came  within  sight  of  the  Devil's 
Thumb,  and  were  no  onger  wanderers  in  unknown  reSi- 
but  were  w.thm  the  hmits  of  tJie  district  frequered  bHhe 
whalers.     Soon  they  reached  the  Duck  Islands      A  f  iL    u 

During  two  days  longer  they  continued  to  follow  the  coast, 


VIEW    W  SANDERSON'S  HOPE.  NEAR   UPERNAVIK,  BAFFIN  BAY 

sailin.-r  southward.  At  the  end  of  this  time  they  discerned 
the  .single  mast  of  a  small  shallop,  and  heard  words  of 
mmgled  Eng  ,sh  and  Danish  from  the  sailors  on  board  of  her 
They  soon  discerned  that  it  was  the  Upernavik  oil  boat  on 
,ts  way  o  Kmcratok  to  obtain  blubber.  The  annua  sWp  had 
arnved  rpm  Copenhagen  at  Proven  ;  and  this  was  one  Y^e 
boats  wh.ch  supnhed  her  wit!,  a  cargo  of  oil.     From  Te 


68 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


sailors  on  board  the  shallop,  Dr.  Kane  first  received  informa- 
tion of  the  great  events  which,  during  his  absence,  had 
agitated  the  world  to  which  he  had  been  so  long  a  stranger ; 
how  England  and  France  had  combined  with  the  Turk  to 
humble  the  haughty  pride  of  the  imperial  Romanoff;  and 
how  vast  armies  were  then  engaged  in  mortal  strife  on  the 
once  quiet  and  fertile  plains  of  the  Crimea.  For  the  first 
time  he  learned  the  importance  which  Sebastopol  had  acquired 
in  the  history  and  fate  of  the  world,  surrounded  as  it  then  was 
with  a  batding  host  of  a  hundred  thousand  men. 

They  rowed  on.  Soon  Kasarsoak,  the  snow-capped  sum- 
mit of  Sanderson's  Hope,  appeared  to  them,  towering  above 
the  mists  ;  and  as  they  approached  the  welcome  harbor  of 
Upernavik,  from  which  they  had  issued  st  veral  years  before 
in  the  gallant  vessel  they  had  now  left  behind  them,  they  felt 
as  onljTsuch  men  under  such  circumstances  could  feel.  Dur- 
ing eighty-four  days  they  had  lived  in  the  open  air,  tossing  in 
frail  boats  on  the  bosom  of  the  angry,  half- frozen  deep.  They 
were  delivered  from  a  thousand  deaths,  and  arrived  at  last 
safely  at  Upernavik,  where  they  were  received  with  hospitality. 

Dr.  Kane  resolved  to  embark  his  party  in  the  Danish 
vessel  the  Mariane,  which  sailed  on  the  6th  of  September  for 
the  Shetland  Islands.  They  took  with  them  their  little  boat 
the  Faith,  which  had  accompanied  them  through  so  many 
adventures.  They  only  retained  their  clothes  and  documents, 
of  all  they  had  once  possessed  on  board  the  Advance.  On 
the  nth  they  arrived  at  Godhaven,  where  they  found  their 
former  friend,  Mr.  Olrik,  the  Danish  Inspector  of  North 
Greenland. 

Dr.  Kane  and  his  associates  returned  to  New  York  in  the 
squadron  of  Captain  Hartstene,  consisting  of  the  United 
States  bark  Release  and  the  United  States  steam-brig  Arctic, 
which  had  sailed  from  New  York  in  June,  1855,  in  search  of 
him  and  his  party.  They  arrived  at  New  York  on  the  nth 
of  October,  1855. 

The  results  of  his  expedition  comprise  the  survey  and  de- 
lineation of  the  north  coast  of  Greenland  to  its  termination  by 
a  great  glacier ;  the  survey  of  this  glacier  and  its  extension 
northward  into  the  new  land  named  Washington ;  the  dis- 
covery and  delineation  of  a  large  tract 

~..<.^^„:^n   .^/-...<-1-ii<>o>>rl  nf  tl-xa    ^rnf^rtrcin   rr»nfinpnt   and  a 

CAfcCliaHJJl    JlV/l  Lit  irvdl  vt    \Jt    lii'      ,1!,,....! . — 

of  the  American  continent. 


of  land,  forming  the 


siirv(^v 

—  ■  -J 


I 


CHAPTER  V. 


I 


AMERICAN    /.RCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

Expedition  of  the  United  States  Ship  Vincennes  under  Commander  John  Rodgcrs— Petro- 
paulovski— Behring  Strait-  -Wrangell  I,and. 

While  Lieutenant  Hartstene  was  nearing  the  port  of  New 
York  with  the  rescued  party  of  Dr.  Kane  on  board  the  Re- 
lease,  the  Vincennes,  under  Commander  John  Rodgers,  was 
returning  from  a  cruise  in  the  Arctic  Seas  on  the  western 
side  of  tiie  continent.  The  ship  came  into  San  Francisco 
October  15th,  1855,  two  days  after  the  arrival  of  Kane  at  the 
Brooklyn  navy-yard. 

The  explorations  and  surveys  made  on  this  cruise  were  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  original  plans  of  the  United  States  Survey- 
in.<,rand  Exploring  Expedition  which  had  left  the  United  States 
under  Commander  Cadvvalader  Ringgold,  in  the  year  1853 

The  expedition  consisted  of  the  sloop-of-war  Vincennes 
the  screw  steamer  John  Hancock,  the  brig  Porpoise,  the 
schooner  J.  Fenimore  Cooper,  and  the  store-ship  J.  P.  Ken- 
nedy. Lieutenant  John  Rodgers  was  detached  to  command 
die  Hancock. 

The  squadron  sailed  from  Norfolk  June  nth,  1853.  The 
primary  object  of  the  expedition  was  the  promotion  of  the 
i^^reat  interests  of  commerce  and  navigation  ;  special  attention 
being  also  directed  to  the  increasing  importance  of  the  whale 
lisheries  in  the  neighborhood  of  Behring  Strait.  The  thor- 
oucrh  examination  of  that  great  outlet  was  expected,  as  well  as 
that  ot  the  adjacent  coasts  of  North  America  and  Asia,  in- 
cluding the  Seas  of  Behring  and  Anadir,  and  the  Aleutian 
archipelaofo.  with  the  east  coast  of  Kamtschatka.  The  com- 
mander was  authorized  to  go  as  far  north  as  he  should  think 
proper,  and  devote  as  much  dme  to  the  complete  performance 
of  any  part  of  the  work  as  should  be  necessary;  but  was  in- 
structed also  to  take  all  occasions  not  incompatible  with  these 
high  objects,  for  tlic  extension  of  the  boundaries  of  scientific- 
research.     In  the  following  year  a  reorganization  of  the  ex- 

(69) 


^o 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


pedition  became  necessarv,  the  feilinir  health  of  Commander 
Ringgold  requiring  his  return  to  the  United  States ;  the  com- 
mand devolved  upon  Lieutenant  John  Rodgers,  the  next  in 
rank. 

The  Vincennes  and  Porpoise  sailed  from  Hong-Kong  on 
the  1 2th  of  September  for  a  survey  of  the  Bonin  Isles, 
Ladrone,  Loo-choo,  and  the  islands  west  and  south  of  Japan. 
and  returned  to  Hong-Kong  in  February,  1855,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  the  brig  Porpoise,  which  parted  company  from  the 
Vincennes  September  21st,  1854,  in  mid-channel  between 
Formosa  and  China  to  the  northward  and  westward  of  the 
Pescadores.  The  brig,  with  every  soul  on  board,  perished. 
She  was  to  have  mei  the  Vincennes  at  the  Bonin  Isles,  and 
Commander  Rodgers  waited  for  her  there  beyond  the  ap- 
pointed time.  As  there  were  grounds  for  apprehension  of 
her  safety,  since  both  the  Vincennes  and  the  Porpoise  had 
struggled  together  with  the  storm  of  the  date  named,  Com- 
mander Rodgers  went  in  search  of  her,  visiting  the  Loo-choo 
and  other  islands  and  places  where  it  was  thought  possible 
she  mig.*-  have  been  driven  by  the  gale ;  and  afterward  the 
Hancock  and  Cooper  thoroughly  explored  the  island  of 
Formosa,  but  without  the  slightest  intelligence  of  the  ill-fated 
brig. 

The  following  brief  notices  about  the  expedition  of  the 
Vincennes  are  derived  from  the  log  of  the  ship  and  letters  of 
Commander  Rodgers : 

July  8th,  1855. — The  Vincennes  arrived  at  Avatcha  Bay, 
Siberia,  in  which  lies  the  port  of  Petropaulovski.  The  village 
presented  a  singular  appearance,  its  houses,  about  one  hun- 
dred in  number,  being  built  of  logs  hewn  square,  many  of 
them  havinor  red  roofs ;  the  better  class  covered  with  sheet- 
iron,  the  red  lead  being  probably  designed  as  a  protection 
from  rust.  The  villaee  is  situated  at  the  head  of  a  land- 
locked  basin,  formed  by  a  high  ridge  of  land  curving  out  and 
rounding  from  the  main,  and  then  running  parallel  to  it.  A 
low  sand-spit  forms  a  breakwater  across  the  entrance.  On 
the  shoulder  of  the  spit,  and  on  the  promontory  of  the  ridge, 
were  seen  the  ruins  of  batteries  from  which  the  guns  had 
been  removed. 

A  boat  came  ofif  with  a  Mr,  Case,  aii  American  resident, 
who  reported  the  town  deserted,  and  that  the  public  property 
had  been  destroyed,  and  that  of  private  persons  wantonly  in- 


AMERICAN   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION.  », 

jured  by   the   French.     On  a  visit  by  the  officers  of  A- 
Vincennes  the  burned  houses  presented  a  mou7nfu UoL* 
ance,  and  the  deserted  mansion  of  the  governor  sea  cefy  Ls; 
of  disconifort.    This  dwelling  was  of  logs  caulked  with  oakum 
and  hnedwith  painted  canvas;  its  heating  had  been  from 
Ku.ss,an  f  oves,  which,  as  massive   squares   of  brfck  work 
maintained  a  constant  temperature,     a'  stream  of  clear  ««£/ 
supplied  from  the  melting  snow  of  the  hills,  formed  a  smaU 
cascade  in  he  garden.    In  the  streets  many  dogn  were  wander 
ing  without  masters,  to  die  of  starvation.  "^  Inihe  caJnTof  the 
evening  the  scenery  was  very  fine,  presenting  from  one  point 
the  wide  waters  of  the  bay,  the  close,  calm  hfrbor,  the  distan 

w iTCVeXf "  Viore*!  ""  'ft''"'''  -g^-^ion  wavtg 
witn  every  zepnjn     Violets  and  heartsease  were  rathereH 

for  home  letters.    During  the  absence  of  the  officers  t¥e  se  ne 

had  been  hauled,  bringing  up  one  liundred  and  fotv  salmon 

On  the  9th  an  American  ship  with  a  cargo  consitrned  to 
Petropaulovski  arrived  from  New  York  W«  ^aloaS  On 
the  .3th  the  commander  of  the  Vincennes  sent'as  a  present 
0  the  governor  of  Siberia  a  silver-mounted  Sliarp/rifle  w'd, 
ammuniion;  the  Vincennes  ran  out  to  sea,  taking  as  Ln 
interpreter  an  old  Cos.sack  sixty-seven  years  of  age  ^ 

On  July  i6th  the  Vincennes  encountered  thfck  weather 
but  without  ra,n  ;  at  noon  when  it  lightened  un  S^^ 
Island  was  seen  bearing  southeast.  Fro^n,  dTs  dat^'  up  to  hf 
close  of  the  month,  adverse  easterly  winds  nrevaHed  win?  Ill 
exceptional  calms  accompanied  by  L  usual  fogs      '  ' 

On  August  I  St  Behring  Straits  were  entered  after  oassini. 
between  St,  Uwrence  Island  and  Cape  Tchaplin  in  a  ihicf 
fog  without  seeing  land.  The  ship  hauled  i^'^for  Semliv  ne 
Straits  on  the  Asiatic  .side,  where  die  commander  hacUfeteT 
mmed  to  leave  a  party  under  Lieufnant  Brooke  to  mTke 
astronomica  and  other  observations.  In  the  aftenioon  knd 
was  suddenly  seen  close  aboard,  without  the  pos  ton  ot  the 
sh,p  bang  well  known,  as  tiiey  had  no  observa°,ons  From 
I  e  deck  some  mound-like  structures,  the  hut,  o  TheVrli ukT 

±^;:rir-:"'-r"\"'-'  ^PP--d  the  framing  oroSL- 

..,.1      r  ,  n  vvh.i;c-nDs  set  upon  end  close  tocrether     A  bro-^ 


72 


ARCTIC    EXi'LOKATIONS. 


dressed  in  furs,  generally  vvidi  coats  of  deer-skin,  and  panta- 
loons of  seal-skin,  over  which  they  wore  looser  frocks  made 
of  the  intesUnes  of  whales  or  other  sea  animals.  They  were 
tall  and  iiad  large  heads ;  the  flatness  of  their  faces,  relieved 
only  by  prominent  cheekbones,  making  them  appear  sin- 
gularly heavy.  Their  hair  was  shorn,  except  a  broad  ridge 
over  the  foVehead.  The  women  were  not  ugly,  some  of 
them  quite  pretty,  particularly  when  they  smiled ;  and  when 


WAI.RUS  OF    IHE  1C.K  FIELDS. 


asking  for  anytliing,  they  put  on  so  winning  an  air  and  smiltd 
so  sweetly.  The  party  made  ready  exchanges  of  walrus 
teeth,  lances  and  harpoons  made  of  the  ivory  of  the  moose, 
for  needles,  thread,  silk  and  like;  articles  ;  tobacco  being  chieily 
desired.  All  could  either  smoke  or  chew,  and  for  half  a  plug 
of  the  weed  they  willingly  gave  weapons  which  must  have 
cost  them  weeks,  of  pati(;nt  labor.  They  inquired  for  grog, 
of  which,  however,  very  little  was  given  to  them. 


AMERICAN  .ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


1Z 


Ihe  V'incennes  entered   tlif   Ai-r-f.v  c        \ 

land  in  about  latitude  72»  N  lonirifnH^  , ^ro  \?,  ^'^'f'",?  to  the 
ing  Herald  Island,  seen  by  tie  £me  .hL^  W  ^  w,th  exarain- 
and  the  endeavor  to  reach VrL'TlLtS     "  ""'  '^^P'"^^'' ^ 

.infb:r,"s:^vlteef  ?f-srrt  totr  "V"-^'- 

Shoal,  which  had  S   ha^eifhteerfaZ  "'"'"' °^  "•=^^''' 

ct^ndf  a?r  ^^^;;  'r  ■  -I' « --;t;;e-^  *: 

r       I  1        .  "*"'•"'-"=  72    5  In.,  lonoitude  llA^Sk'^'W       T 

few  hours  the  loo-  IffRrl  anriX,        1  1  ^    ,   ^  ^  /4   0/  vv.     in  a 

northern  re^io'n^,  tL^t^^^: t^i^'^^^  'V'" 
that  the  horizon  appeared  witl,o„t  mit  n;  ,„h  '°  '''='"" 
ance  of  land  could  be  seen  from  theZal  vards  Th  "PP""" 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  was  enUrclv^fr^e  Vrni  ^'T' 
the  weather  became  again  fo^.y  Com.mndor  r"J^'  " 
havin,<r  accomplished  what  he  had   nrnT^  ,  .^P'^^"'''' 

sured  tiuu  a  £nger  e.xpotur'of    is'oZe's  an"  c  "'"'  '''m 
result ,,,  mjury  only,  returned  toward  Herlld  Ishn  T'^,^°'-']^ 

passage  was  found  t.,  be  efcelettl'''  M  ^'"°",'^'^-  ^his 
the  bSst  throu..h  t  es?  seas  '  M  ,  ™"'f"  ^"''  l^'"°''^bly 
occurring  on  he?  et  rn  Or?,f'  ^f"','".?  °'  '^Pecial  interest 
in  the  hal-bor  01  Sa  Fi-a^,  1"  '^/Mhe  Vmcennes  anchored 
in.ore  Cooper  arrtld'i^^irL  ^^^  -'  "^  ^^ 


CHAPTER  VI. 


EXPLORATIONS   OF   DR.    ISAAC   I.    HAYES. 

He  visits  Melville  Bay— Winters  at  Port  Foulke— Arctic  Night  described— Highest  Point 

readied. 

The  next  American  Arctic  exploration  on  the  northeastern 
coast  was  effected  by  Dr.  Hayes,  surgeon  of  the  second 
Grinnell  expedition. 

The  proposed  route  was  again  to  be  by  way  of  Smith's 
Sound,  and  his  objects  were  to  complete  the  survey  of  the 
north  coasts  of  Greenland  and  Grinnell  Land,  and  to  make 
further  explorations  towards  the  Pole,  in  order  to  verify  the 
existence  of  the  reported  open  Polar  Sea.  On  the  former 
voyage  he  had  traced  Grinnell  Land  beyond  the  eightieth  par- 
allel, and  he  now  hoped  to  push  a  vessel  into  the  ice-belt 
there,  and  thence  transport  a  boat  over  it  inlo  the  open  water 
of  the  great  basin  which  \v  hoped  to  find  beyond. 

The  fore-and-aft-schooner  United  States  sailed  from  Bokin 
on  July  7th,  i860,  and  crossed  the  Arctic  circle  on  the  30th 
of  July.  Dr.  Hayes  visited  Proven  and  Upernavik,  where 
the  ship's  company  was  increased  by  the  i^ddition  of  six  per- 
sons. On  the  23d  day  of  August  Melville  Bay  was  entered 
in  a  thick  snow-storm.  The  expedition  wintered  at  Port 
Foulke.  Dr.  Hayes  thus  describes  in  his  journal  on  the  i6th 
day  of  January,  1861,  an  Arctic  night : 

"  Our  eyes  now  turn  wistfully  to  the  south,  eagerly  wa.Jiing 
for  the  tip  of  Aurora's  chariot,  as  the  fair  goddess  of  the 
morning  rises  from  the  sea  to  drop  a  ray  of  gladness  from 
her  rosy  fingers  into  this  long-neglected  world.  It  is  almost 
a  month  since  we  passed  the  darkest  day  of  winter,  and  ii 
will  be  a  long  time  yet  before  we  have  light;  but  it  is  time 
for  us  now  to  have  at  noondme  a  faint  flush  upon  the  horizon. 
A  faint  twilight  flush  mounting  the  southern  sky  to-day  at  the 
meridian  hoiir,  though  barely  perceptible,  was  a  cheering  sight: 
to  all.     We  feel  that  the  veil  of  night  is  liftin!;,  that  the  cloud 


(74) 


-Hiijhest  Point 


EXI-LOKATIO^JS    Of    DK.    LSAAC    I.    ilAYliS.  75 

is^  passing  away,  tl.at   the   load  of  darkness  is  being  light- 

"  The  people  have  exhausted  their  means  of  amusenv^nt  •  we 
long  for  the  day  and  for  work.  Talk  as  you  wi^of  pluck  'and 
of  manly  amusement,  this  Arctic  night  is'a  severe  oS      It 


I>R.   ISAAO   f.    HAVES. 


76  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

aching  bodv,  is  withdrawn  ;  and,  in  the  constant  longing  for 
light,  the  mind  and  body,  weary  widi  the  changeless  progress 
of  the  time,  fail  to  find  repose  where  all  is  rest.  The  gran- 
deur of  nature  ceases  to  give  delight  to  the  dull  sympathies ; 
the  heart  longs  for  new  associations,  new  objects,  and  new 
companionships;  the  dark  and  dreary  solitude  oppresses  the 
understanding;  the  desoladon  which  reigns  everywhere 
haunts  the  imagination ;  the  silence — ^dark,  drear\  and  pro- 
found—beconi^  a  terror.  I  have  gone  out  into  die  Arctic 
nicrht,  and  viewed  nature  in  her  varied  aspects.  I  have  re- 
jmced  with  her  in  her  strength,  and  communeci  widi  her  in 
repose.  I  have  walked  abroad  in  the  (5arkne-s,  when  the 
winds  were  roaring  dirough  the  hills  and  crashing  over  the 
plains.  I  have  wandered^far  out  upon  the  frozen  sea.  and 
listened  i  >  the  voice  of  the  icebergs,  bewailing  their  imprison- 
ment ;  alone  the  glacier,  where  forms  and  falls  the  avalanche ; 
up  on  the  hdl-top,  where  the  drifdng  snow,  coursing  its  way 
over  the  rocks,  iang  its  plaindve  song  ;  and  again  1  have  wan- 
dered away  to  the  distant  valley,  where  all  diese  sounds  were 
hushed,  and  the  air  was  still  and  solemn  as  the  tomb. 

"And  here  it  is  that  the  true  spirit  of  the  Arctic   night  is 
revealed,  where  its  wonders  are  unloosed,  to  sport  and  play 
with  the  mind's  vain  imaginings.     The  heavens  above  and 
the  earth   beneath   reveal   only  an   endless    and   fathomless 
quiet ;  tliere  is  nowhere  evidence  of  life  or  motion  ;  I  stand 
alone  amidst  the  mighty  hills;  their  tall  crests  climb  upward, 
and  are  lost  in  the  gray  vault  of  the  skies ;  their  dark  cliffs, 
.standing  against  their  slopes  of  white,  are  the  steps  of  a  vast 
amf^hithean-e.     The  mind,  finding  no  lest  on  their  bald  sum- 
mits, wanders  into   space ;  the  moon,  weary  with  long  vigil, 
sinks  to  her  repose;  the  Pleiades   no  longer  l.nathe  their 
sweet  influences;  Cassiopeia  and  Andromeda  and  Orion,  and 
all  the  infinite  host  of  the  unnumbered  constellations,  fail  to 
infuse  one  spark  of  joy  into  this  dead  atmosphere;  they  have 
lost  all   their  tenderness,  and  are  cold  and  pulseless.     The 
eye  leaves  diem  and  returns  to  earth,  and  the;  trembling  ear 
awaits  somethini.':    tliat  will   ))reak    the    oppressive    stillness. 
Buf  no  footfall  ot  living  Uiing  i  caches  it,  no  wild  beast  howls 
through  the  solitude.     There  is  no  cry  of  bird  to  enliven  the 
scene ;  no  tree  among  whose  branches  the  winds  can  sigh 
and  moan.     The  pulsations  of  my  own  heart  are  alone  heard 
in  the   i-mtiil   void;  and,   as  tlie   blood  course:^  thfougli   tsie 


EXPLORATIONS    OF   DR.    ISAAC    I.    HAYES. 


77 


sensitive  oroan.zation  of  the  ear.  I  am  oppressed  as  with  dis- 
cordant sounds  Si  ence  has  ceased  to  be  negative  it  has 
become  endowed  with  positive  attributes.  I  .Jee  n  to  hear 
and  see  and  feel  it  It  stands  forth  as  a  frightful  spectre,  fiU- 
.ngthe  mind  with  the  overpowerin.cr  consciou'sness  of  universal 
death-proclaiming  the  end  of  all  things  and  heralding  the 
everlastmg  future.  Its  presence  is  unendurable  I  s|rn' 
rom  the  rock  upon  which  I  h.ve  been  seated;  I  planum? 
eet  heavily  in  the  snow,  to  ...,.  h  its  awful  p;esence    and 

ptntom  '^"""^'^   '^'^   "'^^^^  ^"^   ^"-^    -4^   the 

''I  have  seen  no  expression  on  the  face  of  nature  so  filled 
with  terror  as  the  silence  of  the  Arctic  nicrht " 

In  the  early  spring  the  Esquimaux  replenished  the  dog-teams 
0  the  number  of  twenty.     Several,  however,  died  as  before 
With  the  rest  a  provision  depot  for  the  summer  use  was    oon 
established  and  on  the  4th  of  April,  1861,  Hayes,  with  twdve 
officers  and  men  started  out  on  his  principal  and  lon^  jouV! 
ney  to  the  North.     His  equipment  consisted  of  a  rne  alHc 
hfe-boat,  mounted  on  runners,  with  provisions  for  seven  per- 
sons for  five  mondis.  and  for  six  persons  and  fourteen  doJs 
or  SIX  weeks.     He  was.  however,  again  compelled  to  ke?p 
to   the   eastern    shore,  and.  consequently,   encountered    the 
same   experience   of  ice-hummocks  with   which    Kane   had 
met;  and  finally  finding  it  impossible  to  transport  the  boat 
brought  out  in  the  fond  anticipation  of  pushing  it  out  on  the 
Polar  waters,  he  sent  it  back  with  the  main  party,  while  1  e 
continued  the  journey  with  two  con^panions  only.^  Bu    w  th 
these  he  reached  the  west  coast  by  nearly  the  same  track  fol 
lo-vved  by  him   in   1854.  corrected  some  errors  of  the  cl m  t 
?Sfnr  /''  ''"]"'  ^'''''''}   ^^^""^^y  Channel,  and  on  tlie 

than  Kan^sh'l  \'"''r^  ^  P^J"^  ^^^^^  "^'^^  f^"'^-  north 
than  Kane  s  highest  on  the  opposite  shore.    Returnincr  in  the 

same  track  he  reached  his  vessel  after  an  absence  of  fifty-n  ne 

drcd  miles.  To  tlie  highest  point  reached  he  gave  the  name 
of  Cape  L.eber.  To  the  north  lay  Lady  Fra'nklin  Bay  ^n 
the  far  distance,  north  of  Cape  Beechey.  a  headland  was  seen 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Union 

Ihe  schooner,  having  been  prepared  for  sea,  was  broken 


Alter  mucii  difficulty  and  two  trials  she 


78  ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

reached  the  west  coast  ten  miles  below  Cape  Isabella.  Con- 
tinuing his  voyage  southward  Dr.  Hayes  completed  the 
survey  of  the  eastern  coast  of  North  Baffin  Bay,  from  Cape 
Alexander  to  Granville  Bay ;  a  survey  made  independendy 


THE  TENT  OF  DR.   I.   I.   HAYES. 


of  the  charts  of  his  predecessors.  The  shore-line  surveyed 
on  the  eastern  siSe,  a  portion  of  which  is  new  discovery, 
equalled  about  six  hundred  miles,  and  on  the  western  side, 
between  Clarence  Head  on  the  south  and  Cape  Union  on 
the  north,  about  thirteen  bandred  miles. 


1-line  surveyeti 
lew  discovery, 
!  western  side, 
ape  Union  on 


EXPLORATIONS    OF    ISAAC    I.    HAYES.  jg 

He  entered   Melville   Hnir    ^^a     c.       % 

"pack  ■■  for  one  hundred  a:i'fift"/„,trenS ^JV^^  *^ 
Water,  and  reached  Upernavik  nn  /i?    ^"^crcd  the  Southern 

Dis^„dsep.n.brr^-^:;t;^f  rl^a-^ 


SNOW  VILL.'VGK-IGLOO. 


f5:5^"^-,rz----^'z'-- 


.  this  harbS^rOct^b^r'^SrCHC  '°*' 
S^S;  d^.^  ^^"'  '^^''='-  -  ="^-"-  of  fi"-n  months 


Leavi  no- 
Boston 


repairs, 
arrived   in 


CHAPTER  VII. 


^  CHARLES   FRANCIS   HALL. 

rhe  FxDlorations  of  C  F.  Hall-Litnite.l  Resources-Generous  aid  by  Mewrs.  GrinneU, 
^4mt  a^d  H:  e^Buries  his  Native  Co.paniou  Kud.la-go-Holstein..rg_Destruc 
don  of  the  Rescue  and  the  Expedition  Boat-Inland  Excursions-Frob..her  Stra.t  o 
Bay-Hall's  Second  Arctic  Expedition-Sailing  of  the  Monticello-VV.nter-Quarter.  at 
Fort  Hope— King  William's  Land. 

Few  men  have  entered  upon  a  great  undertaking  with  less 
encouragement  and  means  than  did  Charles  France  Hall, 
the  son  ?f  a  blacksmith,  an  American  of  humble  birth,  without 
influential  friends  or  money  of  his  own,  to  fit  out  an  expedi- 
tion to  the  Polar  Seas.  He  left  the  port  of  New  London, 
Conn.,  within  a  few  weeks  of  the  sailing  of  Dr.  Hayes,  with- 
out  companions  for  his  explorations.  ^  y      u^a 

The  prevailing  sympathy  for  the  fate  of  Franklin  had 
kindled  in  Mr.  Hall  an  enthusiasm  for  the  search  and  for 
Arctic  exploration  which  failed  him  only  with  his  life.  Through 
the  nine  years  from  the  issue  of  the  instructions  to  Lieutenant 
DeHaven  to  the  return  of  the  British  yacht  Fox  under  Mc 
Clintock,  he  had  steadily  devoted  every  spare  Hour  to  the 
study  of  what  might  be  done  for  the  rescue.  In  February. 
i860,  he  issued  a  circular  in  the  nature  of  an  appeal  to  his 
fellow-citizens  for  aid  in  his  proposed  undertaking,  which  was 
^enerouslv  answered  by  Mr.  Grinnell.  of  Ne^  York  and  the 
firm  of  Williams  and  Haven,  of  New  London;  the  latter 
offering  to  convey  the  proposed  expedition  and  its  outfit  free 
of  charge  to  Northumberland  Inlet,  and  whenever  desired  to 
eive  the  same  free  passage  home  in  any  of  its  ships. 

On  the  29th  day  of  May,  i860.  Hall  left  New  London  in 
the  ship  George  Henry.  His  only  companion  was  the  bsqui- 
mau  Kud-la-go,  whom  Captain  Budington  of  the  George 
Henry  had  brought  to  the  United  States  on  his  voyage  in  the 
preceding  autumn.  His  outfit  consisted  of  one  boat,  one 
sledge,  sSme  twelve  hundred  pounds  of  pemmican  and  meat- 
u:^r^it  M   ornqll  omnunt  of  ammunition,  and  a  few  nautical 

(80) 


CHAkLKS    FRANCIS    HALL.  g| 

and  serious -i^^ss  in    ,;::,/a'^of  &,..^olr::tri^^^^^^^ 
...rbor.     Apparently  in  good  heal.l,  vvIum,  l<:av  ns  N Jw Ion 
on,  tl,e  native  Iiad  contracted  a  severe  diseasrwhiistmssfn,; 
i:''°d1n  he:ith°^'H°"  ,""^  Newfoundland  ba„l<rand  fap  dif 

abou^dfre         "f  T  '!r  ""^*"^'=  "-^^^  his' home      He  d,ed 

Sande    on^-?  To       "^'^^  ^'^"'^  "''^  "'"""  "'rec  miles  of 
i^anderson  s  Tower,    on  the  west  side  of  the  entrance  to 


A  WINTER   EXPERIENCE  IN  THE  ARCTltnT^ls:!^?^^^™ 


Northumberland  Inlet;  A u crust  8th  the  barque  reached  her 
anchorage  at  Ookoolear,  the  Esquimau  namrfor  what  hZ 
since  been  known  as  Cornelius  Grinnell  Bay 

.T:^r^r;ra  Tsertlteftt^ti™  rr 

Northumberland  Sound,  and  had  n,''  heltance  S'lhrt 
place,  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  le,,  tl^n  !i  '™™j"'^' 
Captain  Budi„j.ton  relieved  'hS  extreme  hun^r  andlnnS 
for  the  necessities  of  the  deserters  furnis&^om.  l.J^^t 
.v-r  u,c,r  pcruous  voyage,  which,  according  to  informatii,! 're 

6 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


^'^M%    II 


V.A 


1.0 


I.I 


lii|2^     jjl^ 


,.  1^ 


2.0 


1.8 


• 

1.25     1.4 

llllj^ 

^J 

6"     — 

► 

S2 


ARCTIC    EXl'J, ORATIONS. 


f-.  : 


hi'- 


ceived  two  years  afterward,  they  succeeded  in  effecting  to  the 

Labrador  coast.  ,  ,11 

The  first  impression  made  by  the  natives  around  the  bay 
was  of  a  favorable  character,  especially  in  reference  to  their 
good  nature.     In  noting  his  impressions  Hall  quotes  from  the 
reviev;er  of  an  Arctic"  book  a  reference    to  the  Esquimau 
race,  as  being  "  singular  composite  beings  " — a  link  between 
Saxons  and  seals— hybrids  putting  the  seals'  bodies  into  their 
own.  and  then  encasing  their  skins  in  the  seals,  thus  walking 
to  and  fro,  a  compound  formation.     A  transverse   section 
would  discover  them  to  be  stratified  like  a  roly-poly  pudding, 
only  instead  of  jam  and  paste,  if  their  layers  were  noted  on 
a  perpendicular  scale,  they  would  range  after  this  fashion : 
first  of  all,  seal,  then  biped-seal  in  the  centre  with  bipfed,  then 
seal  again  at  the  bottom.     Yet,  singularly  enough,  these  sav- 
acres  al-e  cheerful,  and  really  seem  to  have  great  capacity  for 
enjoyment.     Though  in  the  coldest  and  most  uncomfortable 
dens  of  the  earth,  they  are  ever  on  the  grin,  whatever  befalls 
them      When  they  see  a  white  man  and  his  knick-knacks, 
they  grin.     They  grin  when  they  rub  their  noses  with  snow, 
when  they  blow  their  fingers,  when  they  lubricate  their  hides 
inside  and  out  with  the  fat  of  the  seal.     The  good-natured- 
ness  referred  to  here  was  indorsed  by  Hall  from  the  outset 
of  his  acquaintance  with  the  natives ;  their  other  good  points 
as  well  as  defects  were,  as  would  be  expected,  impressed  upon 
him  with  differing  experiences  and  judgments  throughout  his 
years  of  sojourn.     Quite  a  number  of  the  people  frequented 
the  barque;  among  them  the  wife  of  Kud-la-go,  who  had 
heard   on   shore  of   her  husband's  death,  and  whose  tears 
flowed  fast  when  she  saw  the  treasures  which  the  deceased 
had  feathered  in  the  States  for  her  and  his  litde  child. 

On  the  1 6th  the  two  ships  sailed  for  Nu-gum-mi-uke,  their 
intended  winter-quarters.  Before  sailing  two  other  whalers, 
the  Black  Eagle  and  the  Georgianna,  had  come  in  from 
another  whaling  ground.  The  harbor  entered  by  the  George 
Henry  was  not  easy  of  access,  but  safe ;  Hall  gave  it  the  new 
name  of  Cyrus  W.  Field  Bay,  which  it  retains. 

On  the  21st  the  Rescue  wiis  sent  by  the  captain  to  examine 
the  availability  for  a  fishing-depot  of  an  inlet  on  the  other 
side  of  the  bay,  and  Hall  accompanied  it,  making  his  first 
visit  to  the  scene  of  the  landings  of  the  voyagers  under  old 
Sir  Martin  Frobisher,  three  centuries  before.     Here  he  made 


CHARLES    FRANCIS    HALL. 


83 


his  westward  journey.^  '''  "^'^  '°'  *^  Procecution  of 

Georgianna  were  anchored  ni.  J      R«™<--..  and    the   whaler 

ber  .7th,  when  Te  2^™  b^gan   t  i-'"" '^^'^''^  ^'P'^"" 
a  hurricane      The  Re«-n^  !!      j    '"creased  by  1 1  p.  m.  to 

dashed  npon  the  breaker.:  f  ^Lt^eS'"^  f°'  ^°'^^  hours, 

struck  heavily  on  the  ke  shore     ^'  ^'■'''''  *"  ^-"''gianna 

Hall's  boat  was  driven  high  .'.pon  the  rocks,  nothing  being 


A  VISIT  TO  THE  ESQUIMAUX, 


te1h^te™p1st^^„?e7i;e';*ar'''""r"v'i!i'  ^<=f°-  *« 

ington  the  loan  Sfl  :hKtTo%:l"c?  1*^^^'".  ^''''- 
unable  to  secure  one  replace  his  loss :  he  was 

rience,and,expl,iini„rt„  hL  K-  ?'"'^'"'  1^''"''  ^--ctic  expe- 
pedition  toat^?ece"ved  ?he  nrol^-''  "?  ^"^  *^  '°^''  °fW=  ^^- 
whale-boat  which  Telope'dCgeT  "rlnT^rf,:  g'o°"''  S"  *^ 

^i^errhirn^ien^^^IXT^^^^^^^^^ 


8^  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

within  two  hundred  miles  of  the  anchorajre,  and  seated  on  the 
loffserhead  of  the  boat,  with  her  pretty  infant  in  her  hood  at 
the  back  of  her  neck,  steered  direcdy  to  the  spot.  Unfortu- 
nately the  True  Love,  a  few  days  afterward,  being  driven 
from  her  anchorage  by  a  gale,  went  off  to  sea,  and  Ha.l  was 
thus  disappointed  both  in  the  loan  of  the  boat,  and  even  :n 
the  opportunity  of  sending  letters  home. 

His  original  plans  were  finally  arrested,  and  his  attention 
was  given  during  the  stay  of  the  Barque  only  to  the  language 
and  habits  of  the  people,  to  observations  of  natural  phe- 
nomena and  to  the  discoveries  of  the  Frobisher  remains,  and 
the  location  of  the  old-attempted  settlements  under  that  ex- 

^  Within  the  month  following  the  loss  of  the  boat,  the  native, 
Ebierbincr  (afterward  called  Joe),  with  his  wife,  Too-koo-litoo 
(Hannah),  came  to  the  cabin  of  the  whaler.     Joe  had  recendy 
piloted  to  the  bay  the  True  Love  and  the  Lady  Celia,  through 
a  channel  more  than  one' hundred  and  twenty  miles  long,  be- 
hind a  line  of  islands  facing  the  sea.     Too-koo-litoo  at  once 
impressed  Hall  with  an  expectation  of  valuable  assistance 
from  her,  as  she  as  well  as  her  husband  appeared  to  be  intel- 
ligent, and  spoke  English  quite  fluently.     They  had  acquired 
this  from  a  residence  of  twenty  months  in  England.    Hannah 
promptly  set  herself  to  learning  to  read  under  Hall's  teaching. 
November  19th,  the  ice  from  the  head  of  the  bay  began  to 
bear  down  upon  the  ship,  and  by  the  6th  of  the  month  fol- 
lowing she  was  secured  in  winter-quarters.     Mr.  Hall,  having 
now  acquired  some  knowledge  of  the  nadve  language,  and 
having  the  company  of  the  two  nadves  just  named  with  a 
third  Koodloo,  a  relative  of  a  woman  whom  he  had  befriended 
when  dying,  he  thought  himself  ready  for  the  discomforts  of 
an  Arctic  journey.     His  sledge  was  loaded  for  a  team  of  ten 
dogs  with  a  fair  outfit  of  clothing,  provisions,  and  sleeping 
comfortR ;  his  telescope,  sextant,  thermometer,  and  marine 
irlass-  a  rifle,  with  ammunidon  ;  a  Bowditch  nautical  alma- 
nac, and  other  books.     Too-koo-litoo  at  first  led  the  way, 
tracking  for  the  dogs,  which  Ebierbing  managed  well ;  but,  on 
nearing  the  frozen  waters  of  the  ocean,  where  it  was  neces- 
sary to  lower  the  sledge  to  the  ice,  the  dogs  were  detached, 
while  the  woman,  whip  in  hand,  held  on  by  the  traces,  which 
were  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  long.     The  difficulty  of  the 
outgoing   tide  being  overcome,  the  party,  under  the   same 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  HALL. 


85 


even  :n 


leader,  again  made  som*^  o.v      -i 

good  material  for  bu°  L^  a  ^l'!'  7"  *"  '"''■  ""''  fi"*"g 
fitting  up  of  the  igl"?vav,T  °f  %^1"^'"P"=<^-  Thf 
nas  done  by  first  phch^theltn^tl  "^  •  "■  '''^  ''s'°°  wife- 
trimming  itf  and  settingVer  i  a  kitde^oV"  "'  ^^^u^^  P°''"°"' 
boards  upon  the  snow-nlatformf  ft^    k  j     '"?™ '  ^^''"  P'^cing 

them  the'canvas,  contaiSi^fsome  ;  ecelora^P"^ 
ered  for  this  purpose,  and  on  this  the /S,  ""y-  ''^'■"'''  S^*- 

overthe  fire-lamp  the  wet  cinlh!;  ?' ""^ '"'''"^^^''-skins ; 

during  the  night  by  the  ^fe^™'''    '""&">  ''^  '"ned 

the  ice  it  was  not  dire«  fnd  i/ ^r,""""?"^  """"^^ks  in 
during  the  day.     It  was  e XDecteH  ?k?  T'?'  '"^'^^  Ave  miles 
made  in  one  day,  buTtiie  oSL  1       '  ""^  ■'°''™'=y  w°"ld  be 
second  night  found   them  far  ,    '  T^  '?  S^^^'  *at  the 
To  add  to%he  complicatS„f'r  f  "^^  '^^°'"  "'«'>•  destination, 
just  secured  shelter  when  it  bnrT '^'"^"P' ^"'"  *«y  had 
in  their  ice  abode  on  the  frozen  I  P°?  *''^'".'"  «"  "^  '""T- 
long,  and  on  the  thirS  morn^n  '  of  their  • '  """''"T^  «"  "'^^^ 
impossible  to  proceed.     1^  tLj!Z  ^""-"^^  *^y  ''°""d  ''' 
that  the  ice  was  breaking  and  the  t.?"""  "  '':»«  discovered 
not  more  than  ten  rodsiom  them      Tl""   k^  "'  ^earance 
alarmed  and  consulted  as  to  w l^Ser d,t7sh''t:r"  ''"°"='y 
reach  the  land,  which  was  thrpl  l^i     1-  ^''°"'''  ^"^"'P'  *« 
their  quarters  and  tak^the  chanc^  if  K  '?'^"''  °'  '^'"'''"  ''" 
sea.     They   decided   upon    the  latter  i""^  """f^  °"'  «° 
awaited  the  coming  of  another  davVl,?'  1"*^  ^^^^^-'v 
>o  P.  M.,  and  in  the  morninl  fh.    ^"  u         «^'^  ^''^'ed  about 
ceeding  on  their  way  T?  tf^'^^' T-^'  ''^™'^'>le.    Pro- 
with.    The  ice  had  gf;e„  aCat  fn  T"^  ^•''^""'^y  '"  '^°"'<="d 
was  very  deep  and^treachem„«      !'>'  ''"•^«'°n-    The  snow 
culty  that  the  sledge  couU  bl  mn^"^  "  ""^^  *'"^  ^■■'="  diffi- 

falling   into   somei„'otcov:r:d  Tclrc^"  'tTV'  ''^'T' 
were  m  a  starving  condition     pTi,  i    '     ^he  dogs  a  so 

the  lead  by  turns^to  guard  at^^nt  Tlf"^''  "^  ""^  P^"^  '°°k 
them,  and  to  find  a  trf  ck  rh^^  K  .u  \ ''^"S«'-=  which  beset 
them  on  all  sides  nf^TZt  •''""'"'°*=  ^hich  met 
an  exhausted  condition  thai^hev  ,  ^"""^  P^'J^  ^^""^  '"  S"<^'' 
partake  of  their  now  very  sleS  r."^""!  ™!nP<="^d  to  halt  and 
■I'i'  they  proceeded  with  reneweH  °'''  °'  P'T^'^x's.  After 
ice  i.n  safety,  and  in  a  short^fm  "T"''  '^"""^'"^  '^e  shore 

ma  snort  time  they  were  alongside  of 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

Ugarng's  igloo  (ice  hut),  built  on  the  southwest  side  of 
Rogers'  Island,  overlooking  Cornelius  Grinneli  Bay. 

On  the  following  day,  January  15th,  the  exploratioi.s  com- 
menced. Rabbit  tracks  were  discovered  on  the  hills,  i.nd  in 
the  distance  were  seen  the  prominent  headlands  noticed  on 
the  first  arrival  of  the  ship.  In  the  meantime  the  provisions 
gave  out,  and  the  party  found  themselves  without  food  or 
light,  with  the  thermometer  25°  below  zero.  The  natives 
met  with  no  success  in  hunting  or  seal-fishing,  but  brought  to 
the  hut  with  them  some  black  skin  and  kuang,  which  they  had 
obtained  from  a  cache  made  the  previous  fall  by  the  natives, 
when  the  ship  was  in  the  bay.  At  n^on  next  day  a  heavy 
snowstorm  set  in,  which  rcnlinued  nearly  four  days,  confining 
the  party  to  the  hut,  and  compelling  them  to  live  on  raw 
frozen  black  skin,  kuang  and  seal. 

On  Sunday,  the  20th,  they  were  in  a  sad  state  from  actual 
want  of  food.  The  weath(  r  continued  so  forbidding  that  noth- 
ing could  be  obtained  by  hunting.  At  8  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, Mr.  Hall  and  Koodloo  started  to  return  to  the  ship  with 
a  sledge,  and  twelve  nearly  starved  dogs.  A  speedy  trip  was 
anticipated,  but  the  difiicuUies  encountered  were  so  great  that 
Ebierbing  followed  them  on  snow  shoes,  and  taking  his  place 
sent  Mr.  Hall  back  to  the  huts  to  await  their  return.  The 
supply  of  food  was  exhausted  without  any  apparent  prospect 
of  obtaining  a  supply.  Christmas  eve  found  the  party  with 
nothing  left  but  a  piece  of  black  skin,  one  and  a  quarter  inch 
wide,  two  inches  long,  and  three-quarters  of  an  inch  thick. 
During  the  night  one  of  the  natives  came  to  the  hut  with 
some  choice  morsels  cut  from  a  seal  which  he  had  just  caught, 
but  he  had  no  sooner  entered  than  a  starving  dog,  which  had 
been  allowed  to  sleep  in  the  hut  over  night,  sprang  at  the 
meat  and  ate  a  fair  sh  e  of  it.  Before  the  party  recovered 
from  their  surprise,  the  remaining  hungry  dogs  made  a  rush 
from  the  outside  and  devoured  the  remainder.  The  next 
morning  Ebierbing  arrived  from  the  ship  with  supplies,  and  a 
seal  weighing  at  least  two  hundred  pounds,  thereby  raising 
the  siege  of  starvation  by  supplying  the  wants  of  all.  A 
letter  from  one  of  the  officers  of  the  ship  stated  that  the  ex- 
ploring party  had  been  given  up  for  lost  in  the  great  storm 
which  they  encountered  on  their  journey. 

In  speaking  of  the  Innuit  people,  Mr.  Hall  says  they  are 
noted  chiefly  for   their   thoughdessness  and    improvidence. 


CHARLES  FRANCIS    HALL. 


8/ 


following  they  „aVi;'e  rn'rolm^  wlr^l^t^  ""  *^  '4 
and  proceeding  a?  once  to  A  LtlT"?  ^!  ^'^'•'^■^  H^-'bor 


^^^•^^  OP  A  SLEDGE  EXPEDITION 

with  the  native"  mo?t  of  ,?,.^  "'^l'?  '"  ""  'SW  living 

their  own  OKltoniTa  d  si  d  ITl"^  '^'''  '""'^  according  to 
bad-  upon  l,is  e"per  ence  bu  on  ,h  "°  ''"''''  '"  '"""^'"g 
life  so  spent  as  wen  a  he  did  ,„H  ^  """''^'y  <="J°Vecl  his 
cumstances.  On  the  2  ,t  h.  h  ^'•'"'jf''*'  "°«  ''='™fable  cir- 
and  started  on  his  retu  n  to  th^  V  '"  '°  '''^  '""""  f"^"''=' 
•»•".  Ugarn,  and  K^^tlt^^f  ^^l^rt^^^^^^^^^^ 


88 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


dogs.     The  journey  was  devoid  of  accident  or  excitenr.ent, 
and  the  party  reached  the  ship  on  the  evening  of  the  same 

Hall's  return  from  this  first  voyage  was  now  compelled  by 
the  release  of  the  ship,  the  whaling  season  of  the  year  having 
ended.  He  had  acquired  some  useful  knowledge  of  Esqui- 
mau life  and  language,  the  further  in  which  he  advanced  the 
more  he  hoped  to  turn  it  to  advantage  on  a  renewed  voyage. 
August  9th  the  George  Henry  took  a  final  leave  of  the 
inmates  of  the  bay,  a  crowd  of  whom  surrounded  her  in  their 
Kias  and  Oo-miens,  waving  their  partings  and  shouting  their 
Ter-bou-e-tie  (farewell). 


HUDSON  STRAIT. 


Without  any  special  incident  the  George  Henry  reached 
New  London  September  13th,  1862. 

On  the  first  day  of  July,  1864,  Mr.  Hall  sailed  from  New 
London  in  th«  whaler  Monticello,  Captain  G.  A.  Chapel,  of 
New  York,  accompanied  by  the  tender  Helen  F. 

On  the  28th  Hudson  Straits  were  entered  and  the  ship 
shaped  her  course  for  Resolution  Island.  The  ship's  course 
across  the  bay  was  ended  on  the  20th  day  of  August  by  her 
anchoring  at  Depot  Island. 

But  the  landing  here  was  a  grievous  disappointment  to  the 
explorer.  He  had  hoped  to  do  some  good  surveying  work 
on  Marble  Island,  the  original  destination  of  the  two  ships, 
and  perhaps  to  discover  the  remains  of  the  most  unfortunate 


CHARLES    FRANCIS    HALL. 


8^ 


i™  °"Ma"te'cif  "i^'"  r^  ^"^°^-  -Wch  perished  .here 

one  thousand  fourhZfred  n^.n'l'  7'  and  outfit  at  only 
feet  long,  with  a  five  feet  f?n  P„  K  k''  "  T"  twenty-eight 
six  inchi   depth,  when  ^ullyloldtd  '""'•  ='""  °'  •""  '^^'y 

and  some  ob^servatiot^S'folpositb:^  '  ''"'  *^^  ""■"'' 

man  had  spent  one  wt?er  amtnl  tt  T""^-  '"•  """^  ^^  '^e 
mended  by  the  mate  of  the  sZ  afd  d  J^"^^"'^^;''^''"'■ 
.o  go  on  the  proposed  jotnt^^'^or  S  ^  vearT  bLTh^ 
was  accepted  after  beino-  f„iu  ^^u  ";'  '"'j^^ /^ars  inland,  he 

experience  he  mieht  be  cIiIphV  ^^''  ''^'^^'^  ^'^^  ^^  ^he 
the  tender  HeTen  F  sailed  wit?^''  ''''°"?^;  ^"  ^'^^  ^9th 
River,  and  the  next*  dav  fh..!^  .      ^f'%  °_f  ^°""  ^^'^  ^^^^^ 

which  he  believed  on  the  river  Cniir'^t''  ^^'^'  ^^^^^ 
wards  it  proved  to  be  forfv  ^;i.^       u  ^  J^f^^vations  after- 

captain's^eckon  ng  Th  J  Ws'a^"  ^  °.^  ''^^P°'"'  °^  ^^- 
grievous  disappointment,  and  ft  caused  the  lo.^  T  T? 
year  to  the  o^ects  in  view;  for  had  the  t^^Tu^  ^  "^^^J^ 
river,  the  journey  to  RennUr'R.      ^^^  landing  been  on  the 

made  before  the  ^seLon^cbsed  ^^n^  ^^^^  ^"""  ^^'^"y 

ashore,  and  a  cache  was  soon  made  for  store.;      TK«         • 
«W  th,s  ..first  encampment"  was  1/^6^35'  N-.^ionTsr 

^oo"!,  p?f!'ed"nsderas'an\''''!"'  "'*.  "  ^""P^"-"  "ho 
winter'alrn'ost  «tnd  T  B  t  he~;  'a  mantf  r^'°"i  """^ 

f  d  °f  f  Pef^nce.     Up  the  sltlW  Welcome  of  SW^Tht^'"^ 

Rowe  the  hit  e  cmfr  nn«r  ^^^  4.   T   :;^*^^'peoi  isir  1  nomas 


90 


AKCTIC    KXPI/iRAIIONS. 


found.  After  an  advance  of  but  a  few  miles  Joe  sighted  -x 
tupik  (skin-tent),  and  soon  afterward  a  native  came  toward 
the  boat,  gun  in  hand.  A  sharp  pull,  and  a  leap  from  the 
bow,  and   Hail   had  made  his  first  new  friend  in   Oiiela,  a 

native. 

The  natives  advised  Hall  that  he  could  not  reach  Repulse 
Bay  at  that  late  season  of  the  year ;  that  he  would  not  find 
any  Innuits  there,  as  they  always  spent  the  winter  elsewhere 
to  kill  the  seal  and  walrus  ;  and  that  if  he  could  get  there  he 
would  be  too  late  to  kill  any  Tuk-too.  They  \yould  go  them- 
selves to  the  bay  next  season,  and  then  to  Neit-chi-lle,  and  it 
hi  would  spend  the  winter  at  Noo-wook,  they  would  give 
him  all  the  Tuk-too,  walrus,  seal  and  bear-meat  needctd,  rein- 
deer furs  and  assistance.     He  decided  of  necessity  to  stay 

with  them. 

The  1.5th  of  September  was  a  day  of  gale.  The  Welcome 
was  lashed  into  fury  by  the  north  wind,  which  drove  for  inland 
everything  like  game.  On  the  going  down  of  the  sea  Hall 
and  Rudolph,  with  Ar-too-a  and  Joej  went  out  in  swift  pursuit 
of  an  ook-gook  which  had  beciu  seen  drifting  down,  seem- 
ingly asleep;  but  the  cauUous  seal  waked  at  tiie  sound  of  the 
oars  and  disappeared. 

With  the  rapid  change  of  the  season  the  nights  began  to 
be  cold,  ice  was  forming  on  the  fresh-water  lakes,  and  there 
were  signs  of  an  approaching  snow-storm.  A  sheltered  place 
for  the  tupiks  became  a  necessity.  On  the.  i8th  Hall's  jour- 
nal says :  "  It  has  been  moving-day  with  us,  and  an  interest- 
ing picture  might  have  been  seen — the  Innuits  and  the  two 
Kod-lu-nas,  with  packs  on  our  backs,  tramping  along  towards 
our  destined  new  home.  Old  Mother  Ook-bar-loo  had  for 
her  pack  a  monstrous  roll  of  reindeer-skins,  which  was  topped 
with  ketdes  and  pans  and  various  little  instruments  used  by 
Innuits  in  their  domestic  affairs,  while  in  her  hand  she  carried 
spears  and  poles  and  other  things  that  need  not  be  mentioned 
here..  Ar-too-a  had  for  iiis  pack  his  tent  and  pole,  his  gun 
and  et  ceteras  in  his  hand.  His  wife  had  a  huge  roll  of  rein- 
deer-skins and  other  things,  much  of  the  character  of  Ook- 
bar-loo's.  The  dogs  had  saddle-bags,  and  topping  them  were 
pannikins  and  such  varied  things  as  are  always  to  be  found 
in  Innuit  use.  Ebierbing  had  for  his  pack  our  tent  and  some 
five  or  six  tent-poles,  while  in  his  hands  he  carried  his  gun. 
Charley  Rudolph  had  a  large  roll  of  reindeer-skins,  carrying 


oe  sighted  i. 

:ame  toward 

'ap  from  the 

in   Oue/a,  a 

ach  Repulse 
uld  not  fintl 
er  elsewhere; 
(ret  there  he 
Lild  oo  them- 
:hi-lle,  and  if 
would  give 
needed,  rein- 
jssity  to  stay 

'lie  Welcome 
>ve  far  inland 
the  sea  Hall 
swift  pursuit 
down,  seem- 
sound  of  the 

hts  began  to 
es,  and  there 
leltered  place 
h  Hall's  jour- 
d  an  interest- 
s  and  the  two 
Jong  towards 
ir-loo  had  for 
;h  was  topped 
ents  used  by 
jd  she  carried 
be  mentioned 
pole,  his  gun 
e  roll  of  rein- 
icter  of  Ook- 
ng  them  were 
's  to  be  found 
ent  and  some 
rried  his  gun. 
kins,  carrying 


hHOOTlNG   SEALS. 


(91) 


i^l^p 


•T^nf^^W 


■PTT' 


92 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS 


also  numerous  tent-poles.  Too-koo-litoo  had  deerskins,  and 
in  her  hands  various  things.  I  carried  on  my  shoulder  two 
rifles  and  one  gun,  each  in  covers;  under  one  arm  my  com- 
pass tripod,  and  in  one  hand  my  little  basket,  which  held  my 
pet  Ward  chronometer,  and  in  the  other  my  trunk  of  instru- 
ments." 

The  Innuits  then  brought  out  from  their  deposits  the  rein- 
deer-skins cached  in  the  summer.  The  weight  of  these,  borne 
by  the  women,  was  as  much  as  one  hundred  pounds  to  each. 
At  their  distribution  the  women  were  allowed  to  choose  the 
best. 

The  ground  was  now  covered  with  snow,  the  lakes  bore  a 
man's  weight,  and  the  heavy  weather  on  the  coast  drove  the 
game  inland.  Flocks  of  the  Plarmigati  (snow-partridges) 
were  found  after  each  snowfall.  In  midwinter,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  ten  feet,  they  are  scarcely  distinguishable  from  the 
snow.  ^ 

By  the  help  of  Ou-e-la,  Armou  and  Joe,  Hall  established 
himself  in  his  first  winter-quarters.  He  says  of  his  igloo,  of 
ten  feet  only  in  diameter,  that  his  house  was  a  building  with- 
out a  corner  and  without  props  or  braces ;  the  wall,  roof  and 
door  a  unity,  yet  so  strong  as  to  defy  the  power  of  the  fiercest 
Arctic  gales.  Two  months  afterwards  he  wrote :  "  I  exchanged 
tent  for  snow-house,  and  have  been  all  the  time  as  comfortable 
as  I  ever  have  been  in  my  life.  You  would  be  quite  interested 
in  taking  a  walk  through  my  winter-quarters;,  one  main  igloo 
for  myself  and  Esquimaux  friends,  and  three  others,  all  joined 
to  the  main,  for  storehouses.  A  low,  crooked  passage-way 
of  fifty  feet  in  length  leads  into  our  dwelling." 

In  this  igloo  Mr,  Hall  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  winter. 
The  next  summer  he  explored  the  North  Pole  River,  near 
the  Fort  Hope  of  Dr.  Rae.  This  was  to  be  his  winter-quar- 
ters, in  which  he  was  to  prepare  for  his  sledge  journey  next 
season  to  the  west.  His  two  close  companions,  Joe  and  Too- 
koo-litoo  (Hannah),  remained  in  his  igloo. 

Excepting  occasionally  a  few  salmon  or  perhaps  a  dozen 
partridges,  no  provision  was  available  during  the  severe 
winter  months  but  the  deer-meat.  To  visit  the  deposits  was 
then  a  matter  of  frequency,  and  often  a  work  of  severe  expo- 
sure and  labor;  nor,  because  of  the  scarcity  of  fuel,  was  it 
often  practicable  to  have  much  cooking  done, 

A  very  large  number  of  deer  had  been  deposited ;  in  Sep- 


CHAkI.ES    FRANCIS    HALL. 


93 


"ne  day;  in  Nov..nber  fiftf  more^w' r'^fv"'' P''^"''  '" 
were  seen  as  late  as  Ian uarv  ,^,l  V''^'^'  ^"''  ^  few 
appear  until  the  end  of  March  wh,  n ',1,  ^^  '^l''  "°'  ag"'" 
you  no:  began  their  migration    '  '^  ''°'-'''  ""«  "'^'"^  «-'* 

Hall's  share  in  the  exposures  Inhr.™   -   j      •      . 
season  war.  again  of  a  "^tvere;.  Irving  ^"^  pnvations  of  the 
visit  to  his  favorite  deer-pass  wL  J    ''i  '^''?r='«<='--      On  one 
to  watch  behind  a  stone  wall  hT      ^       I'ad  been  accustomed 
five  that  they  btlTiVd, Lr^"'^^''''"^''^  ""'''^^  }<><=  ^o  ,a,Ji^ 

weary  hours  of  pill,  up  ovtr^P''^'''"^;''"^  «i'hin  the 
taken  by  a  fierce  storm  7f2  '°''^  '""^  "'""^  was  over- 
the  win/s  of  the  gale  ™nou.t  !?■  "T^'  ^^'""^'"S  ="ow  on 
•■  None  lut  devils  should  h/^  ' j"*' '°  '"^^'^  °"<=  '-'•''claim  • 
Entering  the  hut%t° tl  retuTlh",""'  1  P""-'""-"  = 
and  to  Too-koo-litoo  a  olllarTf  '"•?"=''  '°  "''^  o'her 

they  had  pounded  and  '     esl°ed'th:^'  """'  '"'.^  '°"g  ■'■"<= 
another  visit  he  had  the  ml?        ^"  ""'"^  dresses.    On 

made  six  feet  above  th^riv^'weTLH^''"''  "'="  ^  ^eposi" 
days'  gale  and  storm  The  main  'unlf"/^"P'  "^^  ^  ='"- 
ever,  be  from  these  depos"ts  At  t^^'^!'^  '°°''  '""^''  l^""- 
house  was  well  filled  and  a  s^^^  cT'''  h°*ever,  his  store- 
often,  through  a  failure  in  reco'"  "^  ^^^^^  ^"-"^d :  and  as 
the  caprice  of  the  Innui^s  h  °  ,  *^  '<""  '^^°"'"''  °'  '^""'S^ 
His  iournai  of  January  .'.st  tl  Is  ?  ''"f''u°"  •■^''"«  ^'i^"»- 
usuatly  between^seve7and  eieh  in  the  "°"'"«'  "'  ^"^<= 
smoking  a  little  cut  a  fmv  .h  *^    r  ,  '"°™'ng,  and  after 

block  o?venison  I  may  l«pne'''to  IT  ^'^T'"  ^"'^^  ^'""''^^ 
and  hard-frozen      As  eS       °        ,'  ''•"''  ^^'  '^e  same  raw 

color,  and  of  strong X  chttast;"'''''*  '^  °"-  °'  ^'^<"'S 

refS:ti^rand7arh'!rtr  ,'o^r  '•"^^^^'i"^  "»'-  =•>■-  of 
time  of  Fort  Hope  the  sun's  lLi-'\"""'  *'  '«'  -"ean 
above  the  sea  horizon  So,f,l,r  "^  '""^*^'  *  •>»"■  degree 
loomed  up  from  ten  to  thirlv  ml,?;?  "r  ^'^^"^  "^^  "'f'^»'°'> 
a.  no  otlfer  time  vi^We  f^rHal's  nT^'^r  l'' ''''''""Sh 
opposite  Rae's  Beacon  HiU     r»n  "  k  P  ?i^  ""^  °''''=''™'i°". 

sttut-whirr'zor  oi¥  fi-i/^Ks-; 

f-  the  horizon  "Pw^rZL^o^^e^-lLtVcS- ^^^^^^^^^ 


94 


ARCTIC     EXPLORATIONS. 


around  the  heavens,  the  half-circle  opposite  the  sun  being  the 
more  brilliant.  At  sunset  the  phenomenon  renewed  itself, 
A  mock  sun  on  the  30th  deceived  the  untutored  natives. 

During  the  last  of  the  winter  of  1865  and  the  beginning  of 
the  spring  following,  estrangements  from  the  good  feeling 
which  had  existed  between  the  white  man  and  the  natives 
showed  themselves  to  a  degree  producing  some  apprehen- 
sion of  personal  danger.  But  Hall  succeeded  in  preserving 
his  control  over  the  restless  spirits  of  Ou-e-la,  Ar-mou.  and 
their  people.  His  chief  dependence  for  secutiUg  this  was  his 
known  connection  with  the  whalers,  whose  return  was  now 
again  cO  be  expected  in  the  bay,  and,  next  to  this,  his  frequent 
supplies  of  tobacco.  Happily  the  estrangements  were  not 
serious.  Both  these  chiefs  had  committed  themselves  and 
their  people  to  the  promise  of  assistance  on  his  journey 
toward  King  William  Land,  and  he  was  dependent  on  this 
oromise. 

Ar-mou  made  for  him  a  complete  chart  of  the  coasts  he  had 
visited,  embracing  a  line  from  Pond's  Bay  to  Fort  Churchill, 
a  distance  of  966  nautical  miles — a  map  rendering  valuable 
ajd  to  the  explorer.* 

Hall's  occupations  at  Fort  Hope  had  been  the  preparing 
the  necessary  provisions  and  stores  for  this  first  westward 
advance.  March  30th,  1866,  his  native  friends,  Ar-mou,  See- 
gar,  Ar-goo-moo-too-lik,  and  Ou-e-la,  gave  proof  of  renewed 
friendship  by  the  loan  of  their  dogs ;  this  was  the  more  pleas- 
ing, as  during  the  winter  he  had  almost  despa'  -ed  of  securing 


*In  the  Fortnightlv  Review,  for  September,  l88o,  Mr,  Francis  Dalton,  F.  R.  S.,  in  an 
article  under  the  heading  of  "  Mental  Imagery,"  says :  "  The  Esquimaux  are  geographers  by 
instinct,  and  appear  to  see  vast  tracts  of  country  inapped  out  in  thtir  heads."  From  tlie 
multitude  of  illustrations  of  iheir  map-drawing  powers,  I  will  select  one  irom  those  included 
in  the  journals  of  Captain  Hall,  at  page  224,  which  were  publiohed  last  year  by  the  United 
States  government  under  the  editorship  of  Professor  J.  E  Nourse.  It  is  the  fac-simile  of  a 
chart  drawn  by  an  Esquimau,  who  was  a  thorough  barbarian  in  the  accepted  sense  of  the 
word ;  that  is  to  say,  he  spoke  no  language  except  his  own  uncouth  tongue.  He  was  v  holly 
uneducated  according  to  our  modern  ideas,  and  he  lived  in  what  we  should  call  a  strange 
fashion.  This  man  drew  from  memory  a  chart  of  thr  region  over  which  he  had  at  one  time 
o"r  anotiier  gone  in  a  canr  e.  It  extended  from  Pond's  Bay,  in  latitude  73°,  to  Fort  Churchill. 
in  latitude  58°  44',  over  a  distance  in  a  straight  line  of  more  than  960  to  1,100  Englisli 
miles,  the  coast  being  so  indented  by  arms  of  the  sea  that  its  length  is  six  times  as  great. 
On  the  compnring  this  chart  (rough  Esquimau  outline)  with  the  admiralty  chart  of  1870, 
their  accordance  is  remarkable.  I  have  seen  many  route-maps  made  by  travellers  in  past 
yf  !i,rs,  'vhen  the  scientific  exploration  of  the  world  was  much  less  advanced  than  it  is  now, 
and  I  can  confidertlv  say  that  I  hrive  never  known  of  any  traveller,  white,  brown,  or  black, 
civilized  or  unciviii/.ed,  in  Africa  Asia,  or  Austr.->li.^.  who,  being  unprovided  with  instru- 
ments, and  trusting  to  his  memory  alone,  has  produced  a  chiirt  comparable  in  extent  and 
accuracy  to  this  barbarous  Esquimau. 


un  being  the 
newed  itself. 

natives, 
beginning  of 
good  feeling 
I  the  natives 
le  apprehen- 
in  preserving 
Ar-mou.  and 
>  this  was  his 
irn  was  now 
,  his  frequent 
Its  were  not 
imselves  and 

his  journey 
dent  on  this 

coasts  he  had 
)rt  Churchill, 
ring  valuable 

tie  preparing 
rst  westward 
/\.r-mou,  See- 
f  of  renewed 
i  more  pleas- 
d  of  securing 


on,  F.  R.  S.,  in  an 
are  geographers  by 
heads."  From  the 
i'rom  those  included 
.  year  by  the  United 
s  the  fac-simile  of  a 
icepted  sense  of  the 
ue.  He  was  V  holly 
lould  call  a  strange 
I  he  had  at  one  time 
j°,  to  Fort  Churchill. 
60  to  i^ioo  Englisli 
s  six  times  as  great, 
iralty  chart  of  1870, 
by  travellers  in  past 
need  than  it  is  now, 
te,  brown,  or  black, 
oYided  with  instru- 
rable  in  extent  and 


(95) 


•■I'-. 


96 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


a  team,  his  own  stock  consisting  of  "but  two  female  dogs, 
€qual  to  one  good  dog,  and  two  puppies,  equal  to  a  quarter 
of  a  good  dog."  The  price  at  which  one  had  been  held  was 
not  lower  than  a  double-barrelled  gun. 

Ebierbing,  Ar-moo,  and  Nu-ker-zhoo,  with  their  families, 
and  the  young  native,  She-nuk-shoo,  made  up  his  party ;  all 
the  others  had  gone  off  from  the  encampment.  The  start 
was  made  with  the  wind  fresh  from  the  north-northwest  and 
the  temperature  50°  below  frost  point,  and  the  gale  became 
very  severe,  beating  fiercely  and  directly  in  the  face  of  one 
who  was  poorly  prepared  to  bear  it,  from  his  having  eaten 
litde  or  no  food  (or  several  days.  In  writing  of  this,  he  says 
there  had  been  before  him  an  abundance  of  such  as  he  would 
have  relished,  but  he  had  been  so  busy  in  writing  and  so 
enwrapped  in  anxieties  that  he  had  litde  or  no  appetite. 

Delays  from  different  sources  increased,  the  Innuits  some- 
times pleading  that  they  itiust  turn  aside  for  a  musk-ox  hunt, 
and  then  rest  the  whole  of  the  day  following.  The  average 
travel  was  scarcely  more  than  from  two  to  three  miles  per 
day,  the  party  nearing  Cape  Weynton  on  the  south  side  of 
Co'lville  Bay  at  the  close  of  the  twenty-eighth  day — a  journey 
made  by  Dr.  Rae  in  '54,  without  a  dog-team,  in  five  days. 

Here  Mr.  Hall  stored  a  goodly  quantity  of  provisions  for  a 
journey  he  had  resolved  to  attempt  with  the  aid  of  white  men, 
whom  he  hoped  to  secure  from  the  whalers  in  the  coming 
spring,  and  on  the  23d  of  May  was  safe  again  in  his  old  camp- 
ing-ground of  Beacon  Hill.  In  February,  1867,  he  set  out  for 
Igloolik,  to  buy  some  dogs  for  his  intended  sledge-journey 
which  he  reached  on  the  26th.  Here  he  purchased  fourteen 
dogs,  and  after  a  journey  of  fifty-two  days,  again  returned  to 
Beacon  Hill ;  but  then  the  whaling  season  was  open,  and  he 
was  unable  to  secure  the  necessary  men.  In  September  he 
went  into  winter-quarters  again,  and  on  March  23d  he  set 
out  with  his  two  Esquimaux,  a  white  man.  Sailor,  and  the 
native,  Papesooa,  for  King  William  Land.  After  many  hard- 
ships he  reached  Todd's  Island,  where  he  recovered  from 
several  Innuits  different  articles  which  had  formerly  belonged 
to  Crozier's  party,  of  Sir  John  Franklin's  expedition. 

The  final  return  journey  was  now  begun.  All  the  nadves 
"who  had  gone  with  Hall  were  anxious  to  be  safe  back  at 
Repulse  Bay,  Nu-ker-zhoo  declaring  that  unless  they  started 
back  in  four  days,  the  ice  and  snow  would  be  off  the  sea,  and 


female  dogs, 
to  a  quarter 
een  held  was 

heir  families, 
lis  party ;  all 
:.  The  start 
orthwest  and 
gale  became 
:  face  of  one 
having  eaten 

this,  he  says 
1  as  he  would 
iting  and  so 
ppetite. 
[nnuits  some- 
lusk-ox  hunt, 
The  average 
ree  miles  per 
50Uth  side  of 
y — a  journey 
five  days, 
ovisions  for  a 
of  white  men, 
I  the  coming 
his  old  camp- 
he  set  out  for 
edge-journey 
ased  fourteen 
1  returned  to 
open,  and  he 
September  he 
1  23d  he  set 
ilor,  and  the 
:r  many  hard- 
:overed  from 
erly  belonged 
ition. 
Jl  the  natives 

safe  back  at 
>  they  started 
f  the  sea,  and 


CHARLES    FRANCIS    HALL, 


97 


they  would  have  verv' ^reat  trouhl^     xk     •  ^ 

Bay,  on  the  west  side  ff  the  Sand\,7      ^''"''"^y  ^^  ^^^^^ 
had  once  been  found  the  floor  nfj^^r  ''  "^^^  '^'^  ^  tent 
ered  with  the  remans  ^f'^rhite  mefaTd' '°^^^^ 
journey  to  Point  Richardson  were  Ter^fn?      •''^"  ^  "^^'^^^ 

On  the  26th  day  of  SepteXr  i«^n  K  ^  ^'"^^^  "P" 
Bedford.  MassachuWi^re  whaK^^  ^^^ 

pany  with  the  Esquimaux  h.T  u  ?^^"  ^^^^^>  »"  com- 
child,  Parma,  for  Xh  chlld^two^""^^'  ^"^  ^^'^  ^^^P^ed 
had  bartered  his  sTed  to  cohIh^^^^  ?^°'  ^*  Igloolik.  he 
own  babe.  '  ^°  "^"""^^^  "^""^^  f^r  the  death  of  her 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE   POLARIS   EXPEDITION   OF    1 87 1. 

Death  and  Burial  of  Captain  Hall— The  Polaris  Leaves  the  Harbor  and  Drifts  South— The 
Separation— Drift  on  the  Floe— Rescue  by  the  Tigress— Rescue  of  the  Polans  party  by 
the  Ravenscraig. 

In  1870  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  appropriated  the 
sum  of  $50,000  for  an  expedition  to  the  North  Pole,  and  eight 
days  afterward  Captain  Hall  received  a  commission  as  com- 
mander of  the  same. 

The  vessel  selected  was  the  steamer  Periwinkle,  a  tug 
which  had  seen  some  service  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion ;  her 
burden  was  387  tons.  After  being  newly  and  heavily  tim- 
bered and  strengthened  in  her  side-planking,  the  bottom  was 
thorouc^hly  caulked,  then  double-planked,  caulked,  and  cop- 
pered.'' Everything  else  deemed  necessary  for  safety  and 
comfort  was  also  done  with  such  care  that  "  no  vessel,  even 
if  especially  built,  could  have  been  better  adapted  to  the  ser- 
vice." Launched  at  the  Washington  yard,  April  25th;  1871, 
she  was  named  by  Hall  the  Polaris,  under  which  name  she 
sailed  for  New  York,  June  loth,  and,  after  further  equipment 
at  the  Brooklyn  yard,  proceeded  to  New  London,  June  29th, 
and  sailed  for  the  Arctic  zone  July  3d. 

Her  complement  of  officers,  including  the  scientific  corps, 
was:  C.  F.  Hall,  commander;  S.  O.  Budington,  sailing- 
master;  George  E.  Tyson,  assistant  navigator;  H.  C.  Ches- 
ter, mate ;  William  Morton,  second  mate ;  Emil  Schumann, 
chief-engineer;  A.  A.  Odell,  assistant  engineer;  N.  J.  Coffin, 
carpenter;  Emil  Bessels,  surgeon,  chief  of  scientific  staff;  R. 
W.  D.  Bryan,  astronomer;  Frederick  Meyer,  meteorologist. 
The  crew  consisted  of  fourteen  persons,  and  the  two  Es- 
quimaux, Joe  and  Hannah,  were  again  Hall's  companions. 

On  June  29th,  1871,  the  Polaris  steamed  out  of  New  York 
harbor,  and  on  the  i3tli  of  July  reached  St.  jonn  s,  iiev/loDncl- 
land,  where  the  governor  and  citizens  extended  to  the  expe- 
(98) 


u 


I  "I 

ft'' 


M^ 


THE   I'OI-ARIS   ENTi^RlNG'.T15E;ICT?.    . »,  .  1' 


"(99) 


lOO 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


dition  a  hearty  welcome.  From  St.  John's  they  proceeded  up 
Davis'  Straits,  and  arrived  at  Holsteinborg,  Greenland,  on  the 
31st.  They  remained  there  purchasing  dogs,  furs,  and  other 
articles  necessary,  until  the  arrival  of  the  transport  Congress, 
with  additional  stores  and  supplies ;  after  which,  on  August 
17th,  the  journey  to  the  pole  was  fairly  commenced.  Stops 
were  made  at  Upernavik  and  Kong-i-toke,  for  the  purchase 
of  more  dogs,  and  on  the  2 2d,  Tessuisak  was  reached,  the 
most  northern  permanent  setdement  on  the  globe,  being  in 
latitude  70°  30'. 

When  they  were  in  Holsteinborg  there  was  a  difference  of 
opinion  between  Hall  and  his  scientific  associates  as  to  the 
course  to  be  pursued.  Hall's  object  was  to  reach  the  pole, 
and  to  this  he  determined  that  all  else  should  be  subordinate. 
The  dispute  was  adjusted,  and  Hall's  view  prevailed.  During 
tlie  three  days  they  remained  at  Tessuisak  he  wrote  a  lengthy 
despatch,  showing  that  all  the  party  were  in  excellent  spirits, 
and  full  of  hope,  but  this  despatch  did  not  reach  the  United 
States  for  nearly  a  year. 

On  the  24th  of  August,  1871,  the  Polaris  entered  the 
regions  of  perpetual  ice  and  snow,  and  from  that  time  until 
the  30th  of  April,  1873,  not  a  word  was  heard  from  the  expe- 
dition by  the  civilized  world.  When  the  Polaris  left  Tessuisak 
she  crossed  the  head  of  Melville  Bay,  passed  Northumberland 
Island,  going  through  Smith's  Sound.  Meeting  with  very 
little  obstruction  from  the  ice,  she  proceeded  until  she  entered 
what  Kane,  Morton,  and  Hayes  pronounced  the  open  polar 
sea,  but  which  proved  to  be  but  an  expansion  of  the  sound, 
and  to  which  the  name  of  Kane  Sea  has  since  been  given. 
In  a  week  they  reached  their  highest  northern  point,  82°  29' 
by  Hall's  reckoning,  and  82°  16'  by  Meyer's  calculation,  a 
difference  of  about  fifteen  miles.  On  August  30th  the  chan- 
nel, which  had  been  named  Robeson  Strait,  became  blocked 
with  floating  ice,  through  which  it  was  found  impossible  to 
make  a  passage.  A  small  bay  was  found  close  by  named 
Refuge  Harbor,  in  which  Hall  desired  to  take  winter- 
quarters.  A  consultation,  however,  decided  against  this,  and 
soon  after  the  ice  .became  master,  of.  the  situation,  drifting  the 
Polaris  m:  jaj  s'oiitJieWyVdirecHoni  Yd^  four  days.      The  pack 

ward,  which:  ^et  ktoV the' (^f-eeh'l^nd  shore.  An  immense 
iceberg.^Wterddlts'niouth,  ahd  Here  it  was  determined  to 


THE    POLARIS    EXPEDITION    OF    1 87 1. 


lOI 


pass  the  winten  The  cove  is  in  latitude  80°  38'  and  was 
named  Polans  Bay.  while  the  huge  island  of  ice  was  deli^ 
nated  Providenceberg.  Th.s  point  is  about  200  miles  norl 
of  Kane  s  famous  wmter-quarters.  and  about  three  miles 
north  ol  the  farthest  pomt  reached  by  Hayes 

The  iceberg  was  used  as  a  mooring-place  for  the  Polaris 
an  observatory  was  at  once  established,  scientific  work  was 
commenced  immediately,  and  Hall  began  preparations  for  a 
siedge-journey  in  the  direction  of  the  pole^h^ich  were  soon 
completed.  On  October  loth  he  started  with  four  sleZs 
and  fourteen  dogs,  accompanied  by  Chester  the  mate  ^nH 
t  e  Esquimaux,  Ebierbing^and  HaL.  Th^edS  was 
planned  to  last  two  weeks,  one  to  go  north,  and  the  other  in 


HARBOR  OF  REFUGE-SMITH'S  SOUND. 


which  to  return.  On  the  evening  of  tlie  20th  Hall  wrote  the 
last  words  ever  penned  by  him,  which  were  a  commun°cation 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  It  was  a  descrTprn  oHheTr 
voyage  up  to  the  time  of  settling  down  in  their  winteT 
quarters  and  was  fn  1  of  words  of  hope  and  confidence  in  the 
success  of  the  expedition.  A  copy  of  the  despatch  was  placed 
m  a  p,llar  at  Brevoort  Cape,  the  northern  headland  of  the 
ay  where  the  encampment  was  made  on  the  ..st  of  October 
rS?.  The  onginal,  which  was  first  read  in  WashinMon 
nearly  two  years  after  it  was  written,  showed  concSe  yS 

—  „.  .:r«^cv,33,  aiiu,  laKCH  in  conncction  wifh  tha 

one  wntten  formerly,  refuted  the  charges  that  'he  eq^menl 
|«f  the       ans  was  mcomplete.     The  expedition  advanced 


102 


AKCTIC    EXFLOKATP,  »NS. 


north  ten  days,  making  six  encampments  and  progressing- 
seventy  miles,  or  about  83°  5'  north.  At  that  point  there  was 
an  appearance  of  land  still  north  of  tiicm,  but  a  cloud  pre- 
vented any  observation  which  would  definitely  settle  the 
matter.  With  the  exception  of  a  glacier  on  the  east  side  of 
the  strait,  commencing  in  latitude  80°  30'  north,  the  moun- 
tains on  all  sides  of  Kennedy  Channel  and  Robeson  Strait 
were  free  from  snow  and  ice.  Live  seals,  geese,  ducks,  musk- 
catde,  rabbits,  wolves,  foxes,  bears,  partridges,  lemmintjs, 
etc.,  were  found  in  abundance.  On  the  13th,  three  days  after 
they  started,  the  Arctic  night  set  in,  the  thermometer  then 
being  7°. 

The  return  trip  was  made  rapidly,  the  party  reaching  the 
Polaris  in  four  days.  Hall  was  apparently  in  his  usual  health, 
but  the  change  from  an  open-air  temperature  of  from  15°  to 
20°  below  zero,  to  the  atmosphere  of  the  cabin  of  60°  or  70° 
above,  had  a  bad  effect  upon  him,  and  he  partook  of  no  re- 
freshment except  a  cup  of  coffee.  After  indulging  in  a  hot 
sponge  bath,  he  retired  for  the  night.  In  the  morning  his 
condition  had  changed  for  the  worse,  and  he  suffered  much 
from  a  burning  in  the  thioat,  and  vomiting.  He  steadily 
grew  worse  for  a  week,  and  to  the  complications  were  added 
partial  paralysis  and  delirium.  He  partially  recovered,  and 
made  an  attempt  to  resume  his  work,  believing  that  in  a  few 
days  he  would  be  completely  restored  to  health.  In  this  ha 
was  doomed  to  disappointment,  as  on  the  night  of  November 
8th  he  had  a  fresh  attack,  and  was  found  in  his  cabin  by 
Tyson  insensible,  and  breathing  heavily.  That  night  he 
died,  and  three  days  later  he  was  laid  in  a  shallow  grave  in 
the  frozen  ground.  The  doctor  pronounced  the  cause  of 
death  to  be  apoplexy,  but  Hall  believed  that  poison  had  been 
placed  in  the  cup  of  coffee  which  he  drank,  and  in  the  delirium 
which  preceded  his  death  he  imagined  that  every  person  who 
went  near  him  was  endeavoring  to  kill  him  In  regard  to  the 
matter,  the  commission  reported  without  a  dissenting  voice 
that  "the  death  of  Captain  Hall  resulted  naturally  from 
disease,  without  fault  on  the  part  of  any  one." 

Physically,  Hall  was  an  exceptional  man.  His  tenacity  of 
life  and  powers  of  endurance  were  far  above  those  of  ordinary 
men.  Above  medium  height,  he  was  powerfully  built,  with 
broad  chest,  muscular  limbs,  and  a  large  head.  He  was 
remarkable  for  his  temperate  habits,  and  after  his  return  from 


(1  progressing- 
oint  there  was 
t  a  cloud  pre- 
ely  settle  the 
le  east  side  of 
rth,  the  moun- 
Lobeson  Strait 
i,  ducks,  musk> 
[es,  lemmings, 
iree  days  after 
mometer  then 

y  reaching  the 
s  usual  health, 
of  from  1 5°  to 
1  of  6o°  or  70° 
took  of  no  re- 
Iging  in  a  hot 
e  morning  his 
suffered  much 
He  steadily 
ns  were  added 
recovered,  and 
g  that  in  a  few 
th.  In  this  ht' 
t  of  November 
i  his  cabin  by 
riiat  night  he 
lallow  grave  in 
the  cause  of 
^ison  had  been 
in  the  delirium 
:ry  person  who 
1  recjard  to  the 
issentinf  voice 
naturally  from 


THE    POLAKIS    KXMilmiON    OF     1871.  103 

his  second  expedition,  after  passlnj;  throuch  tlie  ordeal  nf  ,n 

Arct,c  wmter,  a  more  robust  man  could  not  have  be  n  found 

n  the  event  o    Hall's  death  the  comn,and  was  to  fall  upon 

Budington.     The  wmter  was  passed  in  the  usual  manner  °n 


UURIAL  OF  CAPTAIN  HALL 


ant  of  fn^rf     Vr  "■?"''?  ""'^  experienced  from  cold  or 

t^n  k  in  f.:^  ™^  ''•"=""'^'-'  °b=<='-vations  were  made  con- 

stantlj,  and  whenever  it  was  possible  to  do  so,  the  rnn.t  „os 

EsSaux  h!;!,??''-';^"'^    opportunity   was    favorrUe,'    he 
Esquimaux  hunted  with  success,  and  in  this  manner  an  abun- 


I04 


ARCTTIC    KXri/JRATIONS. 


dance  of  skins  was  procured.  The  storerooms  were  also  well 
filled  with  the  skeletons  of  animals  and  birds,  egj^s,  and  many 
other  curiosities  of  natural  history.  Nets  and  Tines  were  set, 
but  no  fish  could  be  caught.  Considerable  driftwood  was 
picked  up,  which  had  evidently  found  its  way  there  from  a 
warmer  climate. 

A  fierce  gale  from  the  northeast,  about  two  weeks  after  the 
death  of  Hall,  drove  the  Polaris  from  her  mooriiigs,  and  she 
dragged  her  anchors  until  she  landed  against  the  Iceberg  at 
the  mouth  of  the  cove,  where  she  was  secured,  and  remained 
there  until  June  following.  Later  she  was  driven  farther  on 
the  berg  by  pack-ice,  where  her  prow  remained  fast,  while  the 
stern  moved  up  and  down,  as  influenced  by  the  tides.  This 
position  strained  the  stern-piece  and  started  a  portion  of  the 
plunking,  so  that  when  she  once  more  settled  in  her  native 
element  it  was  found  that  she  leaked  considerably.  However, 
when  emptied  once  by  the  steam-pumps,  it  was  an  easy 
matter  to  keep  the  hold  clear  by  working  a  few  minutes  each 
hour. 

Chester  and  Tyson,  under  orders  from  Budington,  under- 
took a  boat  expedition  early  in  June.  The  orders  were  to 
go  as  far  as  they  could  up  the  shore.  The  expedition  was  a 
failure.  One  boat  was  crushed  by  the  ice  almost  at  the  hour 
of  starting.  Its  place  was  supplied  by  the  canvas  boat,  but 
they  failed  to  reach  a  point  as  far  north  as  that  reached  by 
Hall  in  his  sledge-journey.  They  remained  there  until  the 
middle  of  July,  1872,  but  before  the  ice  opened  they  were 
recalled  by  Budington,  and  the  party  was  compelled  to 
abandon  the  boats,  and  make  their  way  back  to  the  steamer 
overland.  Budington  had  determined  to  return  home  as 
soon  as  the  ice  would  'eave  him  at  liberty  to  do  so,  and  under 
existing  circumsta'i'"  >  '.is  ,eemed  tiie  wiser  course,  although 
it  is  not  believed  that  had  Hall  been  living  he  would  have 
consented  to  it. 

The  ice  left  the  Polaris  free  early  in  August,  and  she 
steamed  slowly  down  the  western  shore.  At  the  close  of  the 
first  day  she  was  fastened  in  the  ice,  and  was  in  a  very  dan- 
gerous position.  In  latitude  80°  2'  she  was  made  fast  to  a 
floe  on  the  i6th,  which  drifted  her  hither  and  thither  in  Smith's 
Sound  for  two  months,  during  which  time  not  more  than 
twelve  miles  were  gained  to  the  south,  bringing  her  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Northumberland  Island,  in  latitude  79°  53'. 


ere  alf?o  well 
t^s,  and  many 
nes  were  set, 
riftwood  was 
there  from  a 

;eks  after  the 
ngs,  and  she 
he  Iceberg  at 
md  remained 
m  farther  on 
ast,  while  the 
;  tides.  This 
ortion  of  the 
n  her  native 
y.  However, 
was  an  easy 
minutes  each 

igton,  under- 
ders  were  to 
edition  was  a 
It  at  the  hour 
vas  boat,  but 
t  reached  by 
ere  until  the 
id  they  were 
:ompelled  to 
»  the  steamer 
jrn  home  as 
so,  and  under 
irse,  although 
e  would  have 

ust,  and  she 
e  close  of  the 
n  a  very  dan- 
ade  fast  to  a 
her  in  Smith's 
5t  more  than 
\g  her  in  the 
itude  79°  53'. 


RESCUE  OF  CAPT,  GEO.  E.  TYSON  AND  PARTY. 


-.  11 


Appr 

canv£ 

made 

come 

A^ 

Thei 

out  Ol 

Provii 

about 

place. 

night, 

and  in 

persor 

they  1; 

reach  i 

day  ur 

disapp 

hours  ] 

ally  be 

The 

ice  are 

men,  w 

Arctic  \ 

which  1 

shatten 

differen 

finally  £ 

where  t 

attempt: 

sledges 

proved  j 

prospecl 

everythi 

fortably 

as  the  V 

could  no 

borderin^ 

Cannibal 

in  time  t( 

Mever 

Eve,  and 

40';  shov 


THE    POLARIS    EXPEDITION    OF    1 87 1. 

Apprehending  danger,  provisions  w-:e  crrried  on  ^    i 
canvas  shelter  was  erected  on  the  ice  /n/  1  ^^''^'  ^ 

out  of  the  water  and  thrown  JCh-''  ""^'^^""^"y  "f^d 
Provisions  and  stores  were  V.1         beam-ends  on  the  ice. 

about  half  the  crew  proceeded  t^  °T' ^"''  ""''«••  "^ders 
place. .  The  boatTh^d TefntwerMl!:'.'.?  '  ".T  'T'^ 
night,  in  the  midst  of  a  terrific  storm  ,h^  P  •  '"t!'''','^  "^  *« 
and  immediately  disapoeared  l'^,?,;^'  ?°'?"^  '"•°'^«  'oose 
persons  who  had  eoSere  tn  tl  ^,?"  "'^  'F^  *^  "''""^en 
they  labored  all  S  In  the  m"  ^'^  P™visions,  at  which 
reach  the  shore,  but  foiled  Th.  pT"^  '^^^  attempted  to 
day  under  sail  and  stearn'  h„!  ["  *"',  '"*="  during  the 

disappeared.      Another  .lim'ro?  he?^"''  ^''  ™"^-  ''"^ 
hours  later,  but  she  arain  Hif,  /     ™?^  "'^"?''t  a  few 

ally  believed  that  thev^C  fer''"'  T^u^'^^  '"y  "^''''- 
The  hardships  endured  hv  ,1,^  ^T^^'^  abandoned. 

ice  are  beyond^eTcttion''' Ft'.pI'daTs'th:"  "'^°"  *^ 
men,  women,  and  children  dr^ft^J       a      ^     .     ^^  nineteen 

Arctic  winter,  at  the  mrrc^lritd'and  wLtfr'^^irr  ^" 

different  pieces  of  ice'"?hlrhad  wrbots'w^r'^'l^'' ,  °" 
finally  succeeded  in   P-atherino-  =11  l     '^^  '''^^'*^^  ^^ey 

where  they  remained  ^Xl  ttnXe  ^JX"t  ""^1 
attempts  were  made  to  reach  the  shore  Th  A  ""l 
sledges  were  put  in  readiness,  and  each  attemnt  f^^'  '"'' 
proved  a  d  smal  failure      WI,»n  .v  attempt  to  escape 

prospect  of  rcacWn"The  ^nt  ™',''''="  **'  "'^''^  "-as  "o 
everything  possible^was  done  to  '1''°"^  ^^'^  "^""'^  ''"d 
fortably  and  pleasantl?  Land  !.  "  ?^  '""^  P^=^  '^°"'- 
as  the  weath^er  was  unfavorable  for' rlV^'  ''1""'  ''">'=■  '^•" 
could  not  be  recognized     Snm„-  ,^'"^  observations,  it 

borderin<.on  starvation  .nHT''l'''''>'  ^^""^  '"  =«  condition 
Cannibafem  was  Ihou"ht  of  b!):'  "'?  "'""/  ""="' ''"  *-  &«• 
in  time  to  save  them  '""*  ^°°^  ™'  '""™''^'>'=d 

Evf a'nd  'fo.md"1hty  w^re'l?  l"ti?''r""'i°"  "l"  N'^'^  dear's 
40'^  showin,  that  i-^ ni^^w^ei^^^  d  -Udtuta^,' 


io6 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


about  525  miles.  This  was  cheering  news,  though  the  ther- 
mometer stood  39°  below  zero.  This  was  early  in  January. 
In  February  they  encountered  several  storms,  and  very  cold 
weather.  The  close  of  the  month  found  them  nearly  out  of 
provisions,  but  early  in  March  they  caught  some  seals,  and 
had  food  in  abundance.  Immense  icebergs  surrounded  the 
floe,  and  it  was  soon  cracking  and  splitting  with  as  much 
noise  as  is  made  by  artillery  and  musketry  in  battle.  Every- 
thing was  broken  in  pieces,  and  the  party  stuck  to  the  largest 
piece.  On  the  last  day  of  March  an  observation  showed  them 
to  be  in  latitude  59°  41',  and  that  during  the  last  five  days 
they  had  drifted  at  the  rate  of  twenty-three  miles  per  day. 
At  that  time  their  piece  of  ice  had  grown  much  smaller,  and 
they  were  in  clear  water,  no  other  ice  being  in  sight. 

The  month  of  April  came  in  with  a  terrific  storm,  and  it 
became  evident  that  they  must  take  refuge  in  the  boat.    They 
got  under  way  early  in  the  morning,  but  found  their  craft 
leaking  badly,  and  loaded  too  deep  to  carry  them.     Meat  and 
clothes  were  throwi;!  overboard,  and  nothing  was  carried  but 
a  tent,  a  few  skins  for  covering,  and  a  little  bread  and  pemmi- 
can.     About  fifteen  miles  were  made  in  a  southerly  direction, 
when  a  landing  was  made  to  lighten  the  boat.     The  tent  was 
pitched,  and  the  party  remained  -11  night,  although  the  ice  was 
cracking  and  breaking  up  all  around  them.     The  voyage  was 
resumed  again  in  the' morning,  but  had  only  proceeded  about 
two  hours  before  they  encountered  a  gale.     They  had  a  num- 
ber of  narrow  escapes  before  a  piece  of  ice  large  enough  to 
land  upon  could  be  found  ;  upon  landing  the  boat  was  rapidly 
making  water,  and  when  cleared  a  great  hole  was  found  in 
her  side.     Repairs  were  made  as  soon  as  possible,  and  they 
took  to  the  water,  only  to  find  themselves  again  surrounded 
by  ice  in  such  a  manner  that  they  were  compelled  to  seek 
refuge  on  a  floe.     Gale  succeeded  gale,  and  as  the  ice  con- 
tinued to  break  they  were  constantly  removing  their  things 
to  a  new  centre.     On  the  night  of  the  7th  it  broke  again, 
carrying  with  it  the  boat,  the  kayak,  and  Mr.  Meyer.     For  a 
time  it  seemed  as  though  all  were  lost.     The  ice  kept  closino^ 
in  on  them  and  they  were  without  hope  of  saving  the  boats 
or  their  unfortunate  companion.     When  daylight  arrived  an 
attempt  was  made  to  rescue  them,  all  the  party,  except  two, 
venturing  away  on  the  ice.     All  who  ventured  reached  the 
boat  in  safety,  and  with  much  difficulty  she  was  taken  back, 


THE    POLARIS   EXPEDITION    OF    187I.  j^y 

ti:^n^ZLZ  "Thi-  telt^  ''^^='\--;''-  -cured  in  a 
again  on  the  centre  of  whLr^  .^'''"u ''°*"  ='"''  '^'•"'^d 
of  ice.  and  a  snowruttat'c^nsfructeTatl^rTid;  T^-'T 

tent  and  snow  liut  Ti,I  ^^Z'"';  '^'S^/,  """'"=''  ""'  °f  *« 
the  boat  without  a  drvsno^.I^  ."p.''  '''"^'^'^"  "^""^  P'««d  ''" 
fresh  water  ice  to  ea7   IV  "L  '"""'"  'P  '^'"=''  ^'^ "  Pi«e  of 

the  tent  was  pitched  o„ce  more  Thl°°"  "^''f '  ''°""=^'^^'  ^"^^ 
on  the  ice,^ere  completed  Ap J  ,  ah  "aJ'':."'*^  ™>'?^^ 
were  still  without  any  prosoect  of  f.'  J  "'"''  "'^J' 

was  staring  them  in  the  fa^?    Q     i  '™'^'  '""^  starvation 

them,  but  ?one  "ould  be  Su^ht  Onr^'f  '"  ^'^^': ''"  ^^"""^ 
were  left,  and  cannibalism  w?i«  °  ^^  ^w  days'  provisions 
the  .8th  a  small  hole  was  dTcovlT!^^  '^T- '"  *^  '"^'=«-  On 
ofi;  from  which  a  seal  7arte  ^ru/h  1o'r"t£;  "^  '°^'  '"^'^"^^ 
was  secured,  and  divided  eaua"v=m  1  ^^^^  P™visions 
20th  a  sea  struck  the  ice  a3  carrtT^  *^  P^^^'  O"  "»= 
was  loose  upon  it  ThTs  wa,  ""'^f"  ?™y  everything  which 
and  it  kept  all  busy  lookTno  fS^  f  every  fifteen  minutes, 
them  to  su'ccessKrtfe/°he%t^^^^^^^^      "°"'^  -^"'^ 

thai  briTs"p'a:e  wSe'c'roXr  ^"^  ''"  'T  '""g-'  ^"^  '- 
which  were  a  severe  Tax   °H^^  ""T^  P"''°"'   adventures. 
An  observation  showed  that    L       "'■''"''^,  "^  **=  ^"■"ers 
distance  of  .  sT.      m^^?  '"^'  ^ey  were  m  latitude  s;°  i;?'  a 

wherrth:y'stt'r  ed  I'h'df  *''  'T  '^"""^  f™"  "<=  P°i« 
the  suffer^  beint  aU  wet  .Lf  if''  "'  '''V'  Predecessor, 
came  within  si<rht  of  land  L/  T^'     S°"'«™es   they 

Meyer  seemedlo  fare  worU  o  a^fTud  S'V"'^"  ^"^  ^S^''" 
n?  more  than  a  fm.,  ^,       i         '       '  "'*'  ™ances  forsurviv- 

airhougl,  a  were  in!  deplo  ^hf^  *7'?  ^""^''''^■■■'-■"  ^'^^er, 
indescSbable  tortires.  '^k  ns  that"td"r"^'  '"'^  "f^^^'' 
saved  for  clothin<T  were  devn„riH  ,  j  "  '""""'^  ^"^ 
even   this  did  no?  |T«  I  "'"'^""'Td  »=  a  damty   morsel,  but 

themselvLll^tlZ  a"m' r  ^1  Tf'fo^od  ""'o  T''  >  '°""' 
was  discovered  on  the  ice,  .nov^  toward  them''  T?  %  '^'^'•'' 
maux,  Joe  and  Hans,  took  their  o-unT,„'"-     ^''"^  ^'"5"'- 

.a.e  sprung  up:at„;a^;f;^"Ty  hr^rain^'t^^d^^o^:  ^^^ 


io8 


ARCTIC    EXPLOKATIONS. 


By  morning  the  ice  upon  which  tliey  had  taken'  refuge  had  so 
wasted  away  that  it  became  evident  it  would  not  outride  the 
gale,  and  they  were  compelled  to  take  the  desperate  chance 
of  a  stormv  ocean,  in  a  light  boat,  insecurely  patched  and 
overloaded.'    The  danger  was  great,  but  the  boat  survived 
the  storm,  its  occupants  being  thoroughly  drenched,  without 
any  chance  to  dry  themselves,  having  seen  neither  sun,  moon, 
nor  stars  for  a  week.     They  soon  struck  a  sealing  ground, 
where  they  found  more  seals  than  they  had  ever  seen  before, 
but  for  some  time  were  unable  to  secure  any.     They  were, 
however,  at  last  successful,  and  had  seal  food  in  abundance. 
The  ice  soon  became  very  thick  around  them.     They  again 
started  in  the  boat,  but  were  soon  compelled  to  land  on  the 
ice  again,  where  they  repaired  the  boat,  and  dried  their  cloth- 
ino-  to  some  extent.     On  the  28th  of  /^pril  the  inevitable  gale 
commenced  again,  and  all  night  they  stood  by  the  boat,  launch- 
ino-  her  in  the  morning,  but  were  compelled  to  haul  her  up  on 
the  ice,  where  icebergs  threatened  her  destruction,  but  ^Vhich 
they  fortunately  escaped  by  taking  to  a  floe.    The  ice  became 
slacker,  and  during  that  afternoon  they  caught  sight  of  a 
steamer  ahead  of  them  and  a  litde  to  the  north.    They  hoisted 
their  colors,  and  endeavored  to  cue  her  off,  but  she  disappeared 
without  seeing  them.      Wearied  with   hardship   and   disap- 
pointment they  landed  for  the  night  on  a  small  piece  of  ice. 

For  the  first  time  in  many  nights  they  beheld  the  stars,  and 
the  new  moon  also  made  her  ^appearance.  A  fire  was  kept 
up  all  night  in  the  hope  that  they  would  be  seen  by  the 
steamer;  though  in  this  they  were  disappointed.  In  the 
morning  they  started  early,  and  at  daylight  again  sighted  the 
steamer  about  five  miles  off.  Tlie  boat  was  launched  and  for 
an  hour  they  gained  on  her,  but  in  another  hour  they  became 
fastened  in  the  ice,  and  could  proceed  no  farther.  Landing 
on  a  piece  of  ice  they  hoisted  their  colors  upon  the  most 
elevated  point  they  could  find,  and  then  fired  three  rounds 
from  their  rifles  and  pistols,  which  were  answered  by  three 
shots  from  the  steamer.  She  was  again  seen  the  same  even- 
ing,  and  while  looking  for  her  another  steamer  hove  in  sight 
on  the  other  side. 

The  morning  of  Wednesday,  April  30th,  was  thick  and 
foggy,  but  when  the  fog  broke  a  glorious  sight  met  the  eyes 
of  the  drifting  party.  A  steamer  was  seen  close  to  them,  and 
as  soon  as  they  were  discovered  she  bore  down,  and  soon  all 


as  thick  and 

met  the  eyes 

to  them,  and 

,  and  soon  all 


'HE    POLARIS    EXPEDITION    OF    1 87 1. 

were  on  board  the  staunch  little  crafr  T;  ..         '"^ 

perilous  journey  in  latitude  52"  ,c'  nor^h^Ti'''  ??.^'"Sr  their 
•n  comniand  of  Captain  Bartlett  and  IJ  ^i'^  ^'^'^^^  ^^s 
land.     Some  tim.  after  the  oar^v  .       1  ^"^^^  '"  Newfound- 

the  party  was  landed  in  safety  at  St 


hv  the ^-'         .  ';|»«-c«J  ocates.     A  steamer  wt- H-c----  i    j 

me  ^v^vcriiment  from   New  Ynrt  f«  u-  ^^'^"  <^^"P"tched 

Wash,„g.on,  where  the,  .r,Z  1°?^  i^^h':':?o„to?]ir 


no 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Thus  closes  what  is  probably  the  most  ^f  "^^^^^^^^^le  voyag^ 
in  the  history  of  navigation.     It  is  "^^7^ °"^,  ^^f/^  "^"f^^? 
oersons.  two  of  whom  were  women,  and  five  children,  one  ol 
Siem  ody  two  months  old,  should  have  drifted  almost  two 
hoTsand  miles,  for  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  days,  through 
an  Arcdc  winter  of  extraordinary  severity,  alive  and  in  good 
hLui       The  harmony  which  existed  among  the  party  was 
strtkL.     No  one  had  a  word  of  blame  for  any  of  his  fellows, 
and   hf  men.  gathered  as  they  were  from  nearly  all  nationali- 
ses always  thought  first  of  what  could  be  done  for  the  Esqui- 
r^aux  women   a^nd   children.     In   his   testimony  before   the 
commissioners,  one  of  the  men  said:  '*  ^ap^^"?  J^^^^^^^ 
command  on  the  ice ;  but  he  never  seemed  to  take  much  of  a 
lead.     Everything  seemed  to  go  on  very  well.     There  was 
not  a  great  deal  of  commanding;  it  was  not  wanted.     When 
we  did  not  do  as  he  directed,  it  turned  out  wrong. 

Let  us  now  return  to  that  portion  of  the  expedition  re- 
maining  on  the  Polaris  after  the  sudden  separation  on  the 
?.th  of  October,  1872.     For  a  long  time  she  had  been  leak- 
nf  so  badly  that  it  was  evident  she  could  not  float  many 
da^  and  it  was  resolved  to  abandon  her      Everything  which 
could  possibly  be  of  use  in  a  sojourn  in  that  wilderness  of  ice 
Zd    snow  wL    taken  out.      The  hawsers  which  held   the 
steamer  to  the  ice-floe  parted,  and  she  drifted  away  in  a  help- 
less manner.     The  lives  of  those  on  board  were  in   great 
danger.     It  was  clear  she  was  in  no  condition  to  reach  port 
so  i1  was  determined  to  keep  her  afloat  and  beach  her  at 
some  point  where  the  stores  could  be  saved^    Her  engines 
.  were  useless,  having  evidendy  frozen  up.     Fo^^^^^ely  ^^^e 
ice  cracked,  and   an  opening  was  made,  through  which  a 
favorable  wind  blew  her  to  the  shore,  distant  about  twe  ve 
miles      The  beaching  was  successfully  accomplished,  and  the 
work'  of  providing  shelter  for  the  winter  was  immediately 
<:ommenced.     The  ship  was  stripped  of  all  her  mater^las 
rapidly  as  possible,  and  soon  became  a^  mere  hulk.      Ihe  tim- 
bers between  deck  were  taken  out,  and  all  the  planking  and 
boarding  removed.     From  this  material  a  hut  was  biult  and 
roofed  over  with  sails.     A  party  of  Esquimaux  made  their 
appearance,  and  for  some  strips  of  iron  he  ped  to  carry  the 
provisions,  coal  and  stores  from  the  dismantled  Polaris  to  the 
hut      Having  been  extremely  succcsn^tui  xn  .^..-tr  n..,u.Hj,  — 
peditions  th?y  had  a  large  surplus  of  skins  which  they  dis- 


THE    POLARIS   EXPEWTION    OF    1 8? I. 


'     ■  III 

posed  of  to  the  party   an<)   fr,,™      u-  i 
warm  clothing.     During  ?he  iZ^  ^ ."'''  T'  "manufactured 
The  snow  which  fell  blnkeduDtiTr  '^y  ^"ff^^^d  little, 
mates  from  the  cold,  while  the  Po^,^    ?"''  protected  its  in- 
wood-pile,  where  the.  obtlin  Jin  ./"T^f*  ^  ~nvenient 
Ther  provisions  were^mpfe  fo^  aL^K'^'^'u^^y  "^^ded. 
would  soon  be  exhausted  and  W=,v''"*.  ^"^^^  ^"^^  they 
They  knew  that  for  at  St  a  vear  n'!^''  ^'^"^"l  °^  "''='■•  f«e- 
loss  of  the  Polaris  would  reach  tL  7  r^""!,  "i  *<^  P^^able 
should  they  escape  > "  ^^  the  tr«.    ^"'  ^''  ^'^f^-     "  How 
each.    There  is  alwayla  man^fof  i'""'"""  P^Pounded  by 
the  present  instance  Chester  th.  „T  "'"^■■g'^n'^y.  and  in 
Assisted  by  the  carpenter  Coffin  k  "^'^vPfoved   the  hero. 

boats,  or  sc^ows,  from  the  •bo^rlswhicthad"^  *'"■"'"§  =°"'« 
lining  for  the  cabin.     The  worktl       .•      ,'"^^"  "^^^  ^^  a 
and  as  summer  drew  near  ^h^lZT  P^"««'y  persevered  in, 
.^  Scurvy,  that  dreadeTdisete  of 'thTlr'cri ''''•- 
■te  appearance,  but  followin..  the  teaching      f''  T^?"''  "^de 
the  men  abandoned  the  use  of  salt  fond  ^^  °^  *^  ''"^''  "«". 
A  "fortunate"  thin""''^''^  ""'  eradkated  '"*  °"  ""  ™'™^ 
appearance  of  goodfwlaVer^  'fivV^'-i'jf  ""«"ally  early 
commenced  giving  way  and  at^^^^  ?  "^  ^""^  *^  *"=^ 

thereafter  thiy  toSk  to^ihe  boats  ann"''^''  P^^^^^  "o^ent 
age  in  search  of  transportation  hnm.  ™"T"'=^<*  ^^"  ^oy- 
a,?ainst  their  success*^  wS  AeT'J'*  *'  ".'''^^  ^^''^'""lly 

Tigress  and  Juniata  were  beit  feted  ^u't  to"  '^-^  "^^  *^ 
them.  &  ""^<^  out  to  go  in  search  of 

anItSy°'''j5tit"rdTv1h'  ''^"^ '?  ?™-«<^  =>-'y 
night  the  boats  were  ffauled  uo  onT°"^''  ^  °"g'  ^"^  each 
warm  meal  for  the  day  was  enioved  tI'  "''"^"  "''^  °"'y 
slight  improvement  on  d.^^  LoS5 ,  ^^''"  T""  ^^^  « 
was  oil,  while  their  wicks  were^trTo^nf^P'  ='"<J  '^eir  fuel 
place  a  remnant  of  an  iron  kettle%  .n^^"'  ^""^  *^  "■•'=- 
them  several  days  at  HakIm,M!i'  J      u  ="°,"'-storm  delayed 

auks,  which  were  at  th«  L'!'\"it'''''''1.'"S^-P''"=^  f"- 'he 
which  supplied  them  an  IbuTdance  o;"fL?r''  -^T^'  -"d 

their  powers  of  consumption  and  ,1-  "'^'       °"'''  ^^ 

away,  ""iption  and  the  means  of  carrying  it 


112 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


floes  until  July  20th,  and  just  two  days  before  the  Tigress  left 
New  York  in  search  of  them,  they  sighted  a  vessel,  which 
soon  discovered  them,  and  took  them  on  board.  She  proved 
to  be  a  Scottish  whaler,  the  Ravenscraig.  Not  having 
secured  a  full  cargo,  and  wishing  to  do  so  before  he  returned 
home,  the  captain  of  the  Ravenscraig  transferred  the  party  to 
another  steam-whaler,  the  Arctic,  homeward  bound  and  on 
the  afternoon  of  September  17th  they  landed  at  Dundee, 
Scotland.  Their  arrival  was  at  once  telegraphed  to  London, 
and  the  safety  of  the  crew  of  the  Polaris  was  announced  the 
following  morning  in  the  American  papers. 

Thus  ended  one  of  the  most  wonderful  voyages  on  record. 
Out  of  the  forty  men,  women  and  children  comprising  the 
expedition,  only  one  death,  that  of  Captain  Hall,  occurred,  a 
most  marvellous  preservation  of  life  amid  the  greatest  danger 
to  which  mariners  were  ever  subjected.  The  unfortunate 
decease  of  Hall  in  the  infancy  of  the  enterprise,  prevented 
the  accomplishment  of  such  results  as  were  desired  and  ex- 
pected With  the  commander  died  the  hope  and  heart  of 
the  expedition,  and  no  further  attempt  at  discovery  or  origi- 
nal exploration  was  made.  The  loss  of  so  brave  and  skillful 
a  navigator  may  well  be  an  occasion  for  the  deepest  sorrow 
and  regret  amongst  all  who  reverence  and  admire  American 
prowess  and  heroism. 


ress  left 
;1,  which 
;  proved 
having 
returned 
party  to 
,  and  on 
Dundee, 
London, 
iced  the 

1  record, 
sing  the 
:urred,  a 
it  danger 
brtunate 
revented 

and  ex- 
heart  of 

or  origi- 
d  skillful 
t  sorrow 
Vmerican 


("3) 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE   GERMAN    EXPEDITION    UNDER   KOLDEWEY. 

Departure  from  Bremerhav.n-Sepamtion  from 'the  Hansa-Wreck  of  the  Ilnns.-Adnft 
on  the  Ice-Danger  of  Starvation- Return  lo  Fredei.cksthal. 

The  first  German  Arctic  expedition,  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Koldewey,  and  originated  by  the  celebrated  scientist, 
Dr.  Peterman,  of  Leipzig,  departed  from  Bremerhaven  on  tlie 
I  sth  of  June,  1869.  The  ship  Germania  was  especially  built 
for  this  expedition,  and  nothing  was  overlooked  to  make  the 
outfit  as  complete  as  possible.  The  ship  Hansa  was  to  ac- 
company the  Germania  as  a  tender.  The  vessels  sailed  up 
throuo-h  the  North  Sea  together,  and  did  not  separate  until 
January.  Maycn  Land  was  passed,  and  the  Arctic  Ocean 
actually  entered.  On  the  1 5th  of  July  the  Germania  entered 
the  ice-circle  of  Greenland.  The  two  vessels  became  sepa- 
rated, and  met  again  on  the  i8th,  but  through  some  misunder- 
standing of  signals  they  became  once  more  separated,  ana 

never  met  asfain.  ,  .       j. 

Meeting   with   impassable    ice   to   the   west,   the    Hansa 
steered  to  eastward  out  of  the  ice,  and  began  afresh.     Hav- 
ing reached  open  water  a  second  attempt  was  made  at  pene- 
trating to  the  coast  in  the  latitude  corresponding  with  the 
instructions.     Until  the   lOth  of  August  the  Hansa  experi- 
enced good  weather,  and  with  a  favorable  wind  sailed  along 
the  edee  of  the  ice  in  a  northerly  direction,  until,  reaching  the 
desired  latitude,  it  was  once  more  thought  best  to  attempt 
the  desired  coast.     But  disappointment  again  met  the  crew. 
After  sailing  westward  one  night,  they  found  themselves  on 
the  mornincr  of  the  14th  hemmed  in  again  on  all  sides;  fresh 
ice  formed  between  the  floes,  besides  filling  up  every  passage 
so  that  the  Hansa  was  fast  again ;  and  from  this  time  forward 
until  the  complete  blocking  up  of  his  vessel,  the  captain  s  log- 
book unfolds  a  series  of  troubles  dangers,  and  reverses 

For  a  long  time  it  was  hopca  tnat  tae  wv^^^  ,rv.^!K.  i— -  —^ 
allow  the  unfortunate  craft  to  make  toward  the  coast.     Land 

(114) 


BXreWTION    UNDER    KOI.DEWEV. 


could  be  seen  at  a  r?'  f  "^ 

and  a  boat  journey  oterV/,""'  ""T^^^^"  *irty.five  miles 
as  occasionally  p  Jented  hemselve,  *™"^''  '"^^  ^haS 
a  fme  that  slender  expectatfo^  i":^'^'^'"^''  '°  confirm  for 
were  taken  to  abandon'^'tt  ship  i  "it  "iL"??''"'-'  -"eaTu;:: 
sary.    The  sailors'  winter  cln(h  „  .?"'''  become  necp, 

were  made  ready,  and "£>  °  neftil"'  ''"""'""-d  ■'  ^e  boats" 
plan  of  the.r  winter  house  w^s IwL'^''^"''  •°'''  °'^'  ='"''  ">« 
rt°:  trsrfS;V°  --  -  on:''  -  --^  °f '"«  P°3si- 
October  the  pressure  nf  1h  '?°"  "'^'''''^^d.  On  the  ,o,h  r 
tremendous.  Hueelce  Wort''f"P°"  *«  "'""a  beean'to  ?I 
bow,  and  though  ^liesTw:  e  JS'd  ^--'ves Tder^.e^ 

Aeyra,sed  the  forward  part  of  th'li    ''^  "''^  '"'"  sheeting 
water,  or  rather  out  nf  ill  i  ^"'P  seventeen  feet  n„f  „f' 

over  the  ice  to  a  safe  d?  [ance  frl  Pt^'"'™'   "«^e  d'a^d 
oX  ,1,''-"^^1^y  been  c?„s  r^ct^d  f^om  "'"'"'"^  ^^^=^'      ^ 

In  thl       °"'y  '•^^°«'  'bey  were  obto."^""  "f  '=°«''  ^nd 
n  the  meantime  the  floe  ^J   °?' ff^?  'o  repa  r. 

lalT  *'■'■"■"=  ^'^adfly  to  ,he  ,:;;?  %t  ^^^'dence  was 
black  house  soon  becanie  estiwLl,  5'     T*"^  ''"""'ne  in  the 
sembled  that  on  board  sWp  thHon..    '  ^^"^  ^^  ''  <^'o=eIy  re 
themselves  to  it.     Care  was  tak  °    ^  '^'  °"  '"'^^dily  adapted 
ment  as  conspicuous  as  possbtl     "!''''*'  "'^  '''«le  se?de 
seen  by  any  Esquimaux'^ho    houu"""^"^  "'^  "  might  be 

^a^^^rr  r  a'-^^-rtn  -a S 
S^-.  sour.,  from  wh  W^a-^ttl^-d^- i? 

lfan;esSrt&es^:rth?irV^n"^^    '"''ring   sad 
M T.^'r:-/"'?  *?  .norfcwit?"d^„:'*  "'<=-—        ■ 

patch,  burst  m  with  the  alarm  ^'AU  ht^^,^"^^   ^°  ^^^ve  the 
I  "^'    ^"  "ands  turn  out!"     An 


Il6 


ARCTIC    KXPLORA'JIONS. 


again  to  break  up  on  all  s.dct.     U.>^  t        p  ^^^^  ^^^^^^ 

house  and   ""^^  1"  ^^"^    '  P„  ^^^ udd^nly  Opened  a  large  gap. 
^a^hld  ;r.>- T'ot'Xltv^s,  it  seeJedL  if  the  piece  just 

drawn  nearer  the  middle  ^f  the  Hoe  ana  g^  ^^^^  ^^.^^  ^^ 

as  possible,  provided  tor     ^.°,;"    ^''J^^;^^  being  in  the 

the  south  continued;  the  ^-^ jl^^^^^y^^^^^^^  ^un  and  the 

'°^T  "'ra^tid:  fouM  ^pen'a  channd  in  the^ugged  pack^ 
southern  l^^fdc  should  op^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^^. 

The  month  ot  iviay  at  labi  an        ,  ^ 

ers  on  the  ice  release  -emed  as  far  off  as^  e^^ 

T  ".''rmted   W  6  °-a  d    t^n^e'  of  nearly  700   mile. 
they  had  moved   to  01       ^  ^  provisions 

spent  some  days    °°kmg  in  vam  for  traces  ol  U 

h^abitations  o.  the  |XS^cecoXo   be  sustained  here  for 
had  found  here.     Existence  coma  ^^  ^^^^^  ^^j 

any  protracted  period,     tvn^he  amma^^.^  ^^  ^^^,^  ^^^^^^ 

qea  seemed  shy,  ana  unwuuuj,  i-v^  _.,fc„;..nf  tn 


I'.XI'EDITION    UNDKK    KOLDKWJCY. 


117 


the  sea  was  no  nirtre  terrible,  than  slow  starvation  unon  a 
rocky,  barren  .slet.  Accordingly,  on  the  6th  o  June  "he 
boats  were  launched,  sa.ls  were  extemporized,  and  {he  Vrtv 
were  once  more  m  motion,  glad  in  the  consciousness  ITZ 
least  makmg  an  effort  to  save  their  lives 

The.r  aim  was  Frederichstahl.  the;  nearest  colony  on  thr 
southwest  coast  of  Greenland,  but  they  hoped  soon  to  mi? 
one  or  the  other  of  the  Esquimaux  seJi-boits  search  n<  the 
F.ord.  No  such  fortune,  however,  awaited  thertS.  1  e 
mcreasmg  warmth  and  signs  of  vegetation  along  he  coast  as 
.hey  saded  by  gave  promise  of  c^omfort  and  ^entyT  the^ 

Rounding  Cape  Farewell,  they  came  in  sight  of 'the  long- 


.VIISSIONAKIES   IN   GREENLAND, 


wished-for  bay  of  Frederichstahl  on  the   i,tl,  of  Inn.      -ru 
little  settlement  situated  on  this  bay  was  the  s,  ar  nf  ,^'      ^^ 
.souther  y  of  the  Moravian  missions^orGreenland       n  ri^'T' 

::tdi:dta  .f^'Ss  r  t  'r  ^P'^'^ 

almost  savage  natives  orthis  fro   "'"""S.'he  ignorant  and 

sight  of  theif  ho^eT/red  ho  L^l^Vd  ourTind  of°"  ''" 
.voyagers,  and  how  sweet  to  them  soimdeH  ,  L  '"?"''>' 

to^^^spoken.by  warm-heart:" cortr^,*""  °""'  "'°"'<^^- 

we^Too'^aE?rt'otoa;'re'pa"'°''^™^^"--''•    Tl-V 
Copenhagen.     F^mTdty^t^fsp'^d^''^"'"^  ^^^^-^l  '° 


:  «j WW..,      \,iLy       I 

and  once  more  trod  German  soil 


omeward  by  rail, 
on  the  3d  of  September. 


,,g  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

Let  US  now  retrace  our  steps  to  the  northward  where  we 
left  tie  Germania  struggling  with  ^  r^/'L^/^Wpv  c"": 
and  compare  lier  experience  with  that  of  her  unhappy  con- 

^°To  be  separated  for  a  short  time  from  the  sister-ship  under 
exSne  dr?umswnces,  caused  no  uneasiness ;  so  that  at  noon 
of  tKy  th«  die  Hansa  disappeared  in  the  fog,  the  Ger- 
ma*a  se?\ll  sail,  but  soon  striking  upon  ice  vjas  oU^ed  « 
turn  The  horizon  was  eagerly  scanned  for  the  Hansa,  but 
without  success.  A  whalin|  vessel,  however,  was  discovered, 
rd  thLTa"  opportunity  of  sending  letters  hon^  was  eageriy 
embraced.     The  ship  was  found  to  be  the  BienenKoro  oi 

^'"  ofheHeck,  confined  in  a  large  cage  was  a  bear  and  her 

two  cubs    fortunately  for  them,  on  board  a  whaler  they  were 

not  likelv'to  want  for^food.    One  would  think  that  a  creature 
not  iiKeiy  to  wa  ^      ^,       j^^j  q„  ,ts 

run'ritpedftirnnmong  the  drift-ice,  it  frequently  trust, 
itsel  w  th?water,  and  herl,  in  spite  of  its  endurance,  man  is 
mo  e  ac  ivc  and  c  ever,  and  with  a  well-managed  boat,  a  lucky 
rjtirnnnse  p-enerallv  falls  on  the  neck  of  the  swimming 
W  then  halfSed  and  half-swimming  he  is  hoisted  on 
deck  Hke  any  otherfnimal,  the  noose  round  its  neck  being  a 
Guarantee  for  its  good  behavior.  On  their  return  they  are 
lenera iTv  so°d  to  fome  menagerie  or  zoo  ogical  garden,  the 
pice  of  a  a,n-grown  bear  being  lOO  thalers  (75  American 

''when' the  Hansa  disappeared  in  the  fog.  the  Germania 
set  all  sail,  but  soon  struck  ice  and  could  not  Pfoceed  any 
farther  S  rone,  northwesterly  winds  prevailed,  which  delayed 
Aeve;sers  progress  toward  the  coast.  The  easterly  winds, 
on  the  otherS,  drove  the  ice  toward  the  shore  which  thus 
b^cte  so  picked  that  it  was  -possible  to  reach  die  mam- 
land  Several  weeks  were  spent  in  meeting  these  obstacles, 
but  the  efforts  of  the  ship's  c^ompany  were  at  last  rewarded 
and  on  the  5th  of  August  they  planted  their  flag  on  Green- 

'*  The°group  of  islands  which  they  had  now  reached  known 
as  the  Pend'ulum  Islands,  were  first  discovered^by  Claverin^, 
in  t827  Far  to  the  nortii  was  seen  cnauw^ix  .  -ai.-,  -i-- 
argest'of  th^  coast  islands  of  Greenland  while  south^an^  lay 
Sabine  Island,  only  a  few  miles  from  the  mainland.    Along 


jcrmania 


EXPEDITION     UNDER    KOLDEWEY.  !l  „ 

wMiferlTaJitgr/cS  toTh^'f  '°  -■'-?  -way  north 

ine  straits  between  Sab  ne  IslanrI  an^  ,r,         •  i 
a  so  between  the  several  kl^!  and  the  mainland,  and 

what  appeared  tXalTLniTce  rA-^^^P't.' ^'V  "ocked  with 
Island  7nd  the  mainland  a  far  IttT""'  ''"T/"  Shannon 
:.nd  was  firm,  and  the  conc^stt;^t:r-!;l^  ^l',: 


HUNTING  THE  WHALE 


would  be  no  breaking- up  that  vppt      ai  , 

advance  was  impossibL  andfh/'   i      ^'^?§: ,1^^^'  coast,  then, 

times  esp'd:ramon'.'inl°ndr'','''"^  ''■=-'  --<^  -veral 

work  my  w^y  tlfrothTrnorV^^  ""-■  P^ck  and 

again  try  to  reachfhe  coa°?    Th  '  '"'''  '"  "  '"«''«^  '^'""de, 

me  coast.    Ihis  ,s  opposed  to  all  expe- 


I20 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


rience  ;  it  has  long  been  known  that  in  a  stream  of  heavy  ice, 
in  fact,  in  the  so-called  pack,  never,  nor  at  any  place,  with  the 
strongest  and  best  steamer,  has  any  considerable  progress 
been  made  without  the  support  of  the  coast,  or  the  coast 
islands  Had  I  wished  to  have  reached  the  coast  at  a  more 
northerly  point,  I  should  have  had  to  penetrate  the  ice-barrier, 
again  to  steer  ^long  the  northern  border,  and  force  my  way 
into  the  pack  once  more  in  78°.  Such  a  proceeding  would 
certainly  never  have  been  followed  by  the  desired  result,  and 
it  would  have  been  unjustifiable  to  give  up  a  basis  reached 
with  so  much  trouble,  to  follow  a  phantom."  ,         ,, 

After  some  fruidess  attempts  to  make  their  way  along  the 
coast  in  the  Germania.  the  party  returned  and  found  winter- 
quarters  on  Sabine  Island,  a  few  miles  to  the  south  and  west 
of  Pendulum  Island,  the  land  which  they  had  at  first  reached. 
It  was  now  planned  to  devote  the  winter  to  sledge-journeys. 
The  first  of  these  was  organized  at  once  and  was  ready  to 
start  on  the  14th  of  September.     As  on  the  departure  from 
home  the  general  expectation  was  that  the  greatest  and  most 
substantial  discoveries  must  be  made  with  the  ship    their 
instructions  spoke  only  of  probable  glacier  excursions  to  the 
interior  of  the  country,  and  not  of  extensive  sledge-journeys 
along  the  coast  and  the  banks  of  the  Fiord.    For  the  particular 
necessities  of  these  journeys,  therefore    no   provision   was 
made  at  the  outfitting  in  Bremen,  and  the  s  edge  apparatus 
(tents,  -coverings,  and  so  on)  was  not  quite  what  was  needed 
They  had  learned  from  experience  during  the  summer  tha 
the  round  tent  with  a  pole  in  the  centre,  which  they  had 
brought  from  Bremen,  was   not  practically  useful ;    it  was 
therefore,  changed  into  a  four-cornered  one,  and  proviu^d 
with  a  roof.     At  each  corner  a  pole  was  placed  perpendicu- 
larly, and  fastened  by  ropes  held  and  propped  up  with  stones. 
Their  further  apparatus  consisted  of  necessary  vvooUen  cover- 
ings (for  they  had  not  yet  taken  to  furs),  provisions  for  eight 
days,  of  instruments,  notably  the  theodolite,  that  essential  in 
all  coast  surveys,  and  the  customary  barometer  and  ther- 

"""^nTe  Pledges,  which  carried  about  six  hundred-weight,  were 
drawn  bv  six  men.  the  captain,  First  Lieutenant  Payer^  Irau- 
witz.  Krauschner.  Kleutzner,  and  Eiiinger,  travciiiug  wuh 
comparative  ease  over  the  almost  snowless  ice. 

Fligdy  Fi"«*^^  w^^  explored  and  surveyed  up  to  where  its 


EXPEDITION    UNDER    KOLDEWEY. 


121 


en  cover- 


inland  boundary  becomes  a  part  of  the  rawed  mainland  h^ 

Sceedin?rvt'h?   d^'  V-^f  "='"k'  P^V-  "o^rcedT  ol'oT 
exceeding  y  light  color,  which  on  the  south  side  of  the  island 

formed  solid  overhanging  crystals,  to  at  least  2,000  feet  ,th 
Leaving  the  sledge,  to  his  great  astonishment  he  stumbfed 
upon  a  layer  of  coal,  its  strata  alternating  with  sanrtone 
Further  investigations  proved  the  existence  of  the  carbon' 
iferous  deposit  in  large  quantities-possibly  a  use  ul  factor  in 
the  future  development  or  .■ubjugation  of  East  Greenland 
0^33  mUes°°"  "'"™''  "=  *^  ^'>'P'  ''^'"8  -Iked  a  distnt 
The  months  of  September  and  October  were  spent  in  mak 

refersTfrom"fhl°-  "^^j, -"-S -'"'e^-     The  G^ermania  was" 
released  from  the  icy  bands  which  the  early  fall  had  cast 

about  her,  and  was  drawn  closer  to  the  body  of  Sabine  Island 

fZ^'th^u"^  I"  ^  '""^^"i^"'  W.  she  cot^id  fearlessly  wi*' 

Sett  cMe  nuT'"°VrA''^'  '^'"'^""g  *itL  the 
Arctic  circle      On  the  nth  of  October  the  ship  was  snr 

rounded  with  a  wall  made  of  blocks  of  fee  frozeS  together" 
and  a  sort  of  breakwater  or  boundary  to  the  litde  harbor  wa^ 
constructed  of  the  same  material. 

The  winters  spent  by  most  American  and  British  explorers 
,n  Arctic  regions  have  been  somewhat  ameliorated  by  cor^ 
panionship  with  natives.    The  consciousness  that  other  hum^n 
bemgs  can  and  do  live  in  these  desolated  regions  is  a  o-H 
r/l-n  •'f  ,Tf°«  '°  sojourners  in  the  north,  Ispecially  when 

of  he  i^e     l5p  to  T:1^^'.  r*"''  '°"'"^'  '^'^"'^  de'nl-s 
or  tne  ice.     Up  to  this  point,  however,  our  explorers  had  seen 

no  trace  of  natives,  nor  indeed  any  signs  of  their  having 

formerly  occupied  this  portion  of  Greenland.    The  conclusion 

hcrefore  was  that  the  Esquimaux  had  either  deserted  tS 

former  abodes^  or  had  become  extinct.     Clavering  in  182 

had  found  an  Esquimaux  settlement  on  the  island  b^iarinlhfs 

a"r:d      A  fl  "Trr^  '^f  ''="'''^'i°"=  h="J  now  lap! 
peared.     A  few  skeletons  and  rude  implements  alone  re 
raained  to  tell  the  story  of  the  decayed  community. 

Fall,  winter,  and  spring  found  the  voyagers  usefully  em 
ployed  ,n  exploring  and  surveying  the  fiords^nd  gulfe  of  Ea« 
'^t^:il±%  r?"«.-  ---dings,  and  in  co^m^t,  tat 
;rZ™""';j"i",?."'  '■'"'"'  ,s<:ientinc_discoveries.    The  absence 


0   dogs  and  reindeer  made  their  labors 


^      -    -^^.  «wv.  x..u,ucc.  niaue  tneir  labors  very  severe      ^nn 
where  its  ■     plies.  tents,  instruments,  all  the  paraphernal^  of  an  Arctk 


122 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


sledge-journey  had  ta  be  dragged  through  the  snow  by  the 
men  themselves,  the  officers  participating  in  this  labor  with 
appropriate  enthusiasm.  In  this  way  several  degrees  of  the 
eastern  wall  of  the  continent  of  Greenland  were  accurately 
explored  and  laid  down. 

It  is  probable  that  no  expedition  has  had  so  varied  and 
thrilling  an  experience  with  the  animal  life  of  the  north  as  the 
party  of  our  present  narration.  Almost  no  journey  was 
undertaken  without  more  or  less  danger  from  the  immense 
bears  which  inhabit  these  regions,  and  sometimes  the  creatures 
approached  the  vessel  itself  with  great  boldness.  An  inci- 
dent occurred  on  the  6th  of  March,  in  which  a  valued  mem- 


ATTACKED  BY  BEARS. 


ber  of  the  expedition  nearly  lost  his  life  from  the  boldness  of 
one  of  these  beasts. 

"  We  were  sitting,"  writes  Lieutenant  Payer,  "  fortunately 
silent  in  the  cabin,  when  Koldewey  suddenly  heard  a  faint 
cry  for  help.  We  all  hurriedly  tumbled  up  the  companion- 
ladder  to  the  deck,  when  an  exclamation  from  Borgen,  'A 
bear  is  carrying  me  off,'  struck  painfully  on  our  ears. 

"  It  was  quite  dark ;  we  could  scarcely  see  anything,  but 
we  made  directly  for  the  quarter  whence  the  cry  proceeded, 
armed  with  poles,  weapons,  etc.,  over  hummocks  and  drifts, 
when  an  alarm  shot  which  we  fired  into  the  air  seemed  to 
make  some  impression,  as  the  bear  dropped  his  prey,  and  ran 
forward  a  few  paces.     He  turned  ai^^ain,  however,  dragging 


KXPEDITION    UNDER    KOLDEWEV.  '         ,23 

his  victim  over  the  broken  cU^,^^  : i  ^  . 

stretched  in  a  souther  ydTre     on      Alf  den '°H%''"''^  ^^'"^ 
coming  up  with  him  beLel"':Luld'  elr?httTd°Lr 

Ke-airhi^p—-^"  '*'-"-  bJtr^^-tS 

hi;cYbin!liirXh  war;:'ntrrd°di',^:  \it  i'''^'-^  ^ 

and  uneven  surface  of  the  ice      But  aftf  ti V  X  ""=  "''PP^^ 
at^3:r^Srol:l:7rurtr  ^n^^^^^^^^^^^ 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE   AUSTRIAN    EXPEDITION. 

Weyprecht  ui<d  Payer  set  out  in  the  Tegetthoff— Great  F-iscoveries — Fall  of  a  Sledge — 
Franz  Joseph's  Land— March  to  the  Sea— Rescued  by  a  Russian  Whaler— The  Result? 
of  the  Expeditions. 

The  failure  of  the  German  Expedition  of  Koldewey  directed 
the  attention  of  after  navigators  away  from  the  ice-paci-cs  of 
Greenland  to  the  more  open  seas  of  Nova  Zembla.  Although 
for  many  reasons,  among  them  her  comparatively  inland 
position  and  political  relations,  the  government  of  Austria 
had  been  prevented  from  taking  any  active  part  in  the  great 
geographical  problems  of  the  times,  an  interest  in  polar  re- 
searches gradually  developed  into  a  determination  to  send 
her  flag  upon  the  peaceful  quest  of  new  discoveries  in  the 
frozen  north.  A  large-hearted  nobleman,  Count  Nilczek,  con- 
tributed 40,ocx>  florins  to  such  an  enterprise,  thus  not  only 
confirming  but  endowing  the  resolution.  In  order,  however, 
not  to  waste  a  large  amount  of  money  and  labor  upon  an  im- 
practicable scheme,  it  was  determined  to  send  out  a  so-called 
pioneer  expedition  under  the  joint  command  of  Lieutenants 
Payer  and  Weyprecht.  The  knowledge  and  experience  thus 
gained  induced  the  government  to  send  out  another  vessel 
with  a  more  extensive  outfit  to  spend,  as  the  need  might  be, 
two  or  more  winters  in  the  Arctic  seas. 

Both  of  the  officers  in  whose  charge  the  enterprise  was 
given  were  men  of  sterling  qualities  and  undoubted  ability. 
Weyprecht  had  been  given  the  command  of  one  of  the  Ger- 
man expeditions,  but  a  fit  of  sickness  had  prevented  his  carry- 
ing out  the  plan  which  made  him  the  commander  of  the  parly. 
Lieutenant  Payer  has  already  been  mentioned  as  a  participator 
in  the  German  expedition  which  returned  in  1870.  Having 
also  been  previously  employed  in  the  survey  of  the  peaks  and 
glaciers  of  the  Alps,  he  was  the  better  prepared  to  enter  upon 
a  life  of  active  service  in  the  snows  and  hummocks  of  Nova 
Zembla.  He  shines  as  the  historian  of  the  expedition,  his 
(124) 


THE    AUSTRIAN    EXPEDITION. 


125 


'  commanded  by  the  sk  Ler    kI  «  ^^JV'T  °^"^^  ^"^ 

harpooner.  fouLalLrs  aTarpe^i:^ Ind'alook'  ^1  ^'^  " 
were  Norwe<^ians  '^'^pencer  and  a  cook— all  of  whom 

the  foundation  ohJeTSU^tinLl7°T''-  '^™''' 
the  propriety  of  another  an7r„Te"pr:tentious%oTaee^  "^he 

jce:HKrpp^— ^^^^ 

2  The  time  most  favorable  for  navigation  in  this  sea  f;,lk 
at  the  end  of  August,  and  lasts  during  fhe  month  nf  lU 
ber-this  period  being  considered  as  fmtadnTth:  mtnfnf^^^ 

3.  The   Nova  Zembla  sea  was  found   to  be   shallow 

fotS'oUT"-""';  "^"''' '""' '  -""nuation  "Hi;; 

o^'.felf  ■''="''•     '"  "'  -'--«  "°"h  its  depth  wa! 

.tttmpfeVrpltrte'tPr'"'^""''^^"'"'--'™''-'^ 
Zembll  failed  fe^JsTtheyCe  upo 'The 'pi:::  of  "i  ''°^" 

.he^fat!:^^rcotitfon'LfSaStr^^ 

Sea,coud  not  yet  be  positively  dftermined  but  the  s"ate  of 

favor  of  the  action  of  this  current  in  those  rerions  ^ 

These  conclusions  seemed  to  justify  the  determinn.""  - 
I'-h  the  proposed  project  of  a  prolonged  voyage '  of  di^: 


126 


ARCTIC    EXI'LORATIONS. 


covery,  and  it  was  thus  that  the  Austro-Hungarian  expedition 
originated. 

It  was  the  plan  of  those  who  had  the  expedition  in  hand  to 
penetrate  east  and  north  during  the  latter  half  of  August, 
when  the  north  co.ist  of  the  great  island  of  Nova  Zembla  is 


ON  BOARD  OK.  THE  TEGETTHOFF. 


free  from  ice.  The  places  for  wintering  were  left  undeter- 
mined ;  they  were  to  be  chosen  according  to  circumstances 
of  need  or  progress.  In  case  of  the  loss  of  the  ship  the  ex- 
pedition was  to  endeavor  to  reach  the  coast  of  Siberia  by 


THE   AUSTRIAN    EXPEDITION.  ,27 

means  of  boats,  and  then  to  o-ii'n  tu^  -  .  •  , 
gigantic  water-^ourses  of  Northern  A"f'°M''^  °""=  °'  *"> 
with  Europe  was  to  be  dependedon  ^r  weU  savT^Th" 
motives  of  an  iindertakine  so  lomr  =„rl  1,1  ■  ^  ^^ 
found  in  the  mere  lovl  J  A-  ,"^.-  '^^"°"^  cannot  be 
object  must  noX Ihe  Idmltion  n?     "    u    «f^^"'"^e.     The 

thi  domain  of  knowi:dge    X  g  a^deu/ nf''  '^'^""°"  °^ 
alone  can  support  him  for  otlULE  fi     J    °^  ""''^  purpose 

wid,outcanSLbe;Virge:fXSl^^^^^^^^^ 

^'^^^^^'^j;^'^!^^'^^^  'he  Tegett. 

.'::>^Trrr-L?briS^^^^ 

so  that  the  avanaWe  snacrw=rr  w^f  ''>'*''°"'  thirty  tons. 

to  be  made,  and  thp  la=f  „i;,     "'"="-  ■^"'^  'ast  repairs  were 
brethren.     The  crew  numbe  ^d'  ^''^^T^  ^"h  European 

Germans,  Italians  and  Hut7rlnrt"ht°r%??-'^  "'"''■■^'^'^ 
langnaage  in  which  the  orders°w"re  give^^     ""''"  ^"^  ^^ 

Lo^dr,lTd:^^T^gtL^was\t'^^^^^^^^^  .^"'^  *<= 

to  her  long  abode  amonfrfebTrgs^U  Novalm"b^  ?^^ 

the  temperature  mpfcilvWerS  ''r'  '"'°  '^".  '^2'°"  °f  '^<= 
from  the  leads  i^ffiefieU=  ^°?^  ^"^<= '"  "'e  distance 

M-ith  cloudless  skies  and  genial'  sun    T.^TT  ^''^?^'"' 
observedthe"!rehl,-„l  •■   K™'?'.'""-     l^^r  to  the  north  w?.s 

-aiwa;fa'\,'t\ti''lni:;';v"T<5iSic'°K!;r'^'^ 

elements  of  thaw  Td  frost  InH  '"'°"  "P""  ""■'  '"^"^  °f  the 
ghostly  than  the  p'roces  rC^'  o  IceTei'es^floatin'""^.^-^''.''"'* 
white  biers  toward  the"  south  "Greft  fan.  ?  '"''^  """Se 
flowed  down  the  side^  of  tf,»  •    V  ^  °'   thaw-water 

them  with  a  noise  as  of  thunStT  .7«:''  =°'"<='™es  rending 

But  when  thTsun  came  o"ut.he^  IT.-"""'"'  "7""?- 
the  horizon,  and  the  whole  tin.  ^    ^'sappeared  toward 

golden  splendor  the1ce„yL1Xsir' 1^1.^' H-""  '"  ?'y''"'^ 
flood  of  li<xht     bcca-sionX      'f ="'".?  I'ke  diamonds  m  tiie 

water  like'-a  ere^Xr'^^^.^t?  <^  -'."'d  rise,  out  of  the 

"  I'fuain,  auu  men   diving  deep 


128 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


beneath  the  surface  make  tlie  ocean  tumultuous  with  his 
awkward  gambols.  The  icebergs  presented  some  curious 
shapes.  Some  were  chiseled  as  if  by  a  trained  sculptor  into 
fantastic  forms  of  Gothic  architecture,  with  quaint  little  peaks 
and  towers,  and  grotesque  gables.  Others  represented  mam- 
moth structures  supported  by  regular  columns,  apparently  of 
solid  glass.  Rarely  were  the  regular  prisms,  so  common  in 
he  North  Adantic,  observed  in  these  Arctic  Seas.  Such 
were  some  of  the  sights  which  greeted  our  voyagers  as  they 
entered  the  Polar  Ocean. 

They  had  sailed  over  one  ice-hole,  and  now  again  a  broad 
and  lofty  barrier  loomed  up  before  them.  They  succee<"'  ^d  in 
forcing  their  way  into  it,  but  after  using  all  steam  of  which 
their  vessel  was  capable,  they  found  the  Tegctthoff  actually 
beset,  and  the  floes  crowding  together  gave  an  unbroken  field 
for  miles  around.  On  August  ist  the  vessel  was  still  beset 
by  the  ice,  and  there  being  a  complete  calm  no  efforts  to  re- 
lease her  were  availing.  They  were  now  in  latitude  74°  39', 
longitude  53°.  At  length,  on  the  2d,  they  broke  through  the 
ice  which  separated  them  from  the  open  water  around  Nova 
Zembla,  and  penetrated  about  twenty  miles  towards  the  coast. 
A  belt  of  ice  105  miles  broad  lay  behind  them,  while  before 
them  rose  the  mountainous  coast  of  Nova.  Zembla.  Sailing 
and  steaming  on  along  the  coast  of  Nova  Zembla  toward  the 
north,  they  came  on  the  9th  of  Augusc  to  another  Ice-barrier, 
in  latitude  about  75°  30'  north.  In  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Pankratjew  Islands  the  crew  of  the  Tegetthoff  were  surprised 
to  descry  a  ship  on  the  horizon,  which  they  soon  recognized 
as  their  old  friend,  the  Isbjorn.  It  was  a  matter  of  the  greater 
astonishment  that  a  sailing  vessel  should  have  followed  a  ship 
which,  only  with  the  aid  of  steam,  and  even  thus  with  great 
difficulty,  had  been  able  to  penetrate  so  far  in  the  icy  seas  of 
the  frigid  zone.  The  object  of  their  friends  of  the  Isbjorn 
was  to  establish  a  depot  of  provisions  at  Cape  Nassau,  at 
wnatever  risk  to  themselves.  The  two  ships  remained 
together  until  the  20th  of  August,  when  they  parted  com- 
pany, the  Tegetthoff  steaming  away  to  the  north,  and  the 
Isbjorn  soon  disappearing  in  the  mist  that  arose  from  the 
more  southern  water. 

On  the  evening  of  this  day,  the  20th,  a  barrier  of  ice 
stopped  all  further  progress.  As  usual,  the  ship  was  an- 
chored to  a  floe,  and  awaited  the  parting  of  the  ice.     "  Omin- 


<v?';v:ri4rii:>^5- 


x:-'' 


mm. 


^?^ 


m^ 


t^ 


piER  SCENE  iN  NORTH   GREENLAND—DEATH  OF  THE 


POLAR   BEAR. 


% 

ifB'ffll 

m 


'    ( 


ous/'  s: 

ately  af 

ice  clos 

in  its  g\ 

again  w 

Septe 

opened 

lease. 

northwa 

Thus 

lioff  and 

bring  ne 

day,  as  t 

was  atta( 

"  Rush 

were  sun 

the  ship 

which  wa! 

but  as  its 

were  con! 

supreme, , 

in^  togetf 

The  loi 

they  were 

hundred  i 

those  terr 

in  readinej 

to  the  wor 

manned,  ai 

They  slept 

called  up 

whither  sh( 

grinding  fa 

whirled,  ov 

chasms  ope 

sledge,  or  t 

hwas  forti 

curred  whih 

them  amid  I 

have  taken  ; 

able  to  mak 

The  press 


THE    AUSTRIAN    EXPKDITION. 

.ce  closed  in  upon  u.  from  a?l  s^E.°f  '^^l '"  "'»'  ""e.  the 
in  its  t-msp.     ko  water  "as  to  be  L^o"    ""=  ''^?='"''  P"'^'>''^rs 

"'teiz^:  ti^'j:  -  ~ '"  ^-"" "  ^"^  "''"' 

opened  with  its  really  winTrv  wo-i;!,'""''"'^^  ""^^  •  October 
lease.  The  ship,  as  \2\yllln^iL  w?.t  '^^  "°k  ^'§"'  "^  ^«- 
northward  with  the  11,,,.  wWch  fori  J  Us  pr  ™n  ''='"''^' ''^"'"^d 

i  Jtdtrct:Vrti;rt"^f  j;'^^^^^^^^^^  ^^e  Xe^et. 
bring  new  and  exciting  experfe„ces  1^^'  "^^  '?''^""«^  "> 
day,  as  the  men  sat  at  breakfe^^^h'  n  mornmg  of  that 

were  surrounded  and  squeezed^by  the  L    thr^.''  *"  "« 
the  ship  was  a  ready  ninned  anrl   T        J        ,  '^^'"'^  P»«  of 

which  was  the  first  to  enZnter  ft"  ass'l'uT'l'  ^^''  "^  '•"^''"' 
but  as  its  great  weight  did  not  nermt  "JV  1°°''  '"','  S"aned; 
were  content  to  lasf  it  firmw'  ^No"  l  and  ^T  -''"PP^-^'  ^^ 
supreme,  and  step  by  steo  delf,-„I°  j  ™nf"sion  reigned 
ing  together  of  tL  Mds  of  fee  "  "'^''  '"  "«=  ^"'»''- 

.i.ey'':erdrii!;;They'tl::tt^°'H' r^  •'^f°-  'hem,  and 
hundred  and  thirty  days    thTv  were  Z'?'"    ,'^^"y'  ^"^  °"« 
those  terrible  oncomings  of  the  fee     Tl '"'f  '"  ^"P^rience 
■n  readiness  for  retreat  from  the  sh^n  in     ^^    tP'  everything 
to  the  worst.     Their  sledges  we 'eVaded^l  "^^  T'^'  ^™^ 
manned,  and  their  clothing  and  n  J  •  •      '  """''  ^"^^  ™ere 
They  slept  in  their  wet   fro  "n  P™"''°"=  "ere  distributed, 
called  up  at  any  time   and   drivf^forr'  """r^''^^  '°  ^■ 
whither  should  they  go  ?    The  sea  ^ho„^^^  °"   "'^ .  "^-     ^ut 
frinding  fa,  beyond  ^,e  view      Great  himmocr^  ^'^''"S  ^"'' 
whirled,  overturning  at  times  wi[h  L  J^^'  i^""^"^  ^"d 

chasms  opened  on  Iverv  hand  ZLT^^"^""^  f"™'  "hile 
«ge,  or  boat,  or  person  venl.ri^^"'^^  '°  ™^"°"  "P  any 
It  was  fortunate  that  theslfiist  ei  "  ?'  ""'"r"'"  ^"'^f^^^ 
curred  while  it  was  yet  ifght  Had  X  '"  ""?  "'^  '«  °'^- 
fliem  amid  the  polar  darkness  cnnfi  •  ^''^.V'^  surprised 
l«ve  taken  the  place  of  the  calm  n°"  • "''  ^'^°"i^'  "ould 
able  to  make     ^  ''*'"'  Pi^eparations  they  were  now 

The  pressure  meanwhile  continuing,  it  was  thought  best  to 


I30 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


make  some  kind  of  a  habitation  upon  a  firmer  floe,  to  which 
thev  mio-ht  betake  themselves  in  an  emergency.  Armed  and 
provided  with  lanterns  they  removed  two  boats,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  logs  of  wood,  fifty  planks,  and  a  supply  of  coal,  to 
the  port  side  of  the  vessel,  and  there  built  their  house  ol 
refuse  But  even  this  hope  might  fail  them  A  storm  miglv. 
carr?  away  the  planks  which  formed  its  roof,  fire  might  con- 
sume the  combustible  substance  of  its  walls,  and  at  any  time 


TRANSPORTING  WvWD  ON  SLKPOKS. 


a  fissure  might  open  from  beneath  and  swallow  up  the  whole 

community.  .  j  o  ,  u,. 

The  winter  of  1872-73  slowly  crept  away,  and  the  sun,  h) 
its  reappearance,  gave  promise  of  summer.  Summer  came, 
but  the  months  of  May  and  June,  in  temperate  climates  he 
glad  harbingers  of  growth  and  life,  brought  no  relief  to  the 
Litincr  travellers.  "  Nichts  als  Eis  "  (nothing  but  ice)  was 
the  oft-repeated  answer  of  tliose  who  eagerly  scanned  tne 
horizon  in  every  direction.     The  second  summer  of  the  voy 


THE    AUSTRIAN    EXPEDITION. 

agfe  had  come  and  nearly  eone      It  h.^  u 
of  liberation,  but  the  tin/e  of  T;eatlH      ^P."  ^''^  P^^^'^e 
no  sign  of  the  predicted  rereas^eh.H         ""'  ^^r^  §^°"^  ^y.  *nd 
coveries  had  utterly  passed  out  nAu  '"""^^'^    ""  '^^^  °^  ^'^- 
and  yet  discoveries  Cond   thdr  t'  ""^ '^^  ^^plorers, 

■     awaiting  them.  ^  ^^""'^  "'"^^'^t  expectations  were 

August  30th  brought  them   in   u.'.  ^ 
surprise.     «At  mid-dfy^  say?P^^^^^^^  ""^^^^  S°°'  ^  Joyful 

the  bulwarks  of  the  shin  ^/nH^  '  ^'  '^^  ^^''^  leaning  on 
through  which  the  rays  ^hTe^r^h^'"!?  '^^'  ^^^^'"^  "^'^^s! 
wan  of  mist,  lifting  itsdf  up  suddenlv '^^^  7f  ^"^  ^"^"'  ^ 
in_  the  northwest  the  outHnes  of  h  i^/  '^""T^^"^  '°  "^  "^^^^  off 
minutes  seemed  to  erow  intra  rLl...  Tf^V^'  ^^'^^  in  a  few 
we  all  stood  transffxedT  and  ha'd  v  "hi ^^'"f  ^^^^'  ^'  ^''' 
Then,  carried  away  by  the  realitv^nf  "^"'^  'f"'^'  ^^  '^^' 
burst  forth  into  sho^,ts'^^f  joy'l'/Snd  ]^^^^^^  ^^""^-  -- 

•  .  For  thousands  of  vppJ^i  •  1  .  , '  ^"'^'  ^^"*^  at  last! ' 
knowledge  of  men  and  now'>'  5  ^'^"^  '"'"  '^""^^  ^om  the 
lap  of  a  ?mall  band,  themseTvS  ^llTr7'  '^^  ?"^"  ^^^  ^he 
far  from  their  home,  remembered T.  ^^  '^  '^^".^°^^^'  ^'^^O- 
sovereign,  and  gave  to  Z  n.^l  ^  '^'""^-^  ^"^  ^o  their 
--^'Kai-rFrL Joseph  rianT'-"'"  territory  the 

ine  tall  and  winter  of  thr^  r.,- 
determining  more  fully  the  extern  an^'  T'^  °^^"P'^^  ''" 
island  or  Arctic  continent  just  found  TM  '°"^^"^^tfon  of  the 
chiefly  by  means  of  sled^  ournev.tn  'T^  ^"^^  conducted 
surface  of  the  country  which-^tlev  h^H  ^  ^"."^  .°^^''  ^^^^  ^°"gh 
of  their  emperor.     One  exD^iL^^^  ^'^^^  ^^e  name 

was  named  Middendorf  Glacierl  eJ"  •  ^f  ^''"?'  ^^  ^^at 
The  party  after  a  brief  half  l^'P^^'^^^X  worthy  of  note, 
when  the  snow  gave  wTy  b^LTh'th^rV^r'"^^  ^"^  ^^-•"' 
driver  dogs,  and  vehicle  were  precinifi  L     '^^'^"'"""^^^'  ^"^ 
depth  below.     Payer  first  hear^  ^h^       r"^  'T  '°"^^  "nknown 
man,  mingled  witl^the  ba\^^  n:Vnd  iZ  ""^  /^""^'"^  ^^  ^^e 
the  bottom  of  the   crevasse'm.       f       ?  ?^  ^^'^  ^^°.?s  ^om 
says  he.  "was  the  imDrlsX;    f  ^  ^^^'  ^^^°^^-     "A^  this" 

-if  draped  backC^bT  t  e  .o^pe"' St "''  "''^^  ^  ^^^^  -y- 
seeing  the  dark  abyss  benelfh  n?^  t     ^^ffS^^'".?  back,  and 

^'^ou  d  be  precipitated  into  !t    he  n^xt""^^  "°'  t"^^  ^^^^^  ^ 
providence  arrested  the  faH  of  t  e  sledV"^  ^"S  '"^  wonderful 
t^rty  feet  it  stuck  just  between  1    ^'^J  ^^  ^^^P^^  ^^  ^^out 
just  as  I  was  being  dra  rged  To  'he  ^^^  ''"^f  -^^  '^^  ^^^^^^^e,         , 
^      ^^^k^a  to  the  abyss  by  its  weight.     The 


132 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


sledge  having  jammed  itself  in,  I  lay  on  my  stomach  close  to 
tjie  awful  brink  :  the  rope  which  attached  me  to  the  sledge 
tighdy  strained,  and  cutdng  deeply  into  the  snow." 

By  incredible  tact  and  perseverance  Payer  at  last  freed 
himself  from  the  sledge,  and  set  about  recovering  the  store 
of  lost  provisions,  the  manuscripts,  which  could  never  be  re- 
placed, and  above  all,  about  the  rescue  of  the  fallen  comrade 
who  was  the  "  pride  and  gem  of  the  party."  Being  the  only 
one  of  the  party  accustomed  to  glaciers,  Payer  was  of  neces- 
sity almost  alone  in  his  exertions.  Rushing  back  to  the  tent 
where  most  of  the  men  had  remained,  he  hurriedly  explained 
what  had  happened,  and  all  hastened  to  the  spot  of  the  dis- 
aster, leaving  the  tent  and  stores  unwatched.  They  found 
their'poor  ccTmrade  nearly  dead  from  the  cold,  but  sufficiently 
conscious  to  be  pulled  to  the  top  of  the  ice-cliff  over  which  he 
had  fallen.  The  dogs  were  found  uninjured  and  quietly 
sleeping  near  him. 

Franz-Joseph's  Land  was  found  to  be  almost  as  large  as 
Spitzbergen,  and  to  consist  of  two  main  .masses — Wilczek 
Land  on  the  east,  and  Zichy  Land  on  the  west— between 
which  runs  a  broad  stretch  of  sea,  of  ice,  called  Austria 
Sound.  At  the  dme  of  this  exploration  the  sound  was  cov- 
ered with  ice  for  the  most  part  not  more  than  a  year  in 
growth,  crossed  in  many  places  by  fissures,  and  piled  up  with 
huge  hummocks.  The  fact  that  here  many  icebergs  were 
seen,  which  had  not  been  the  case  in  the  Nova  Zembla  seas, 
warranted  the  supposition  that  they  floated  away  from  the  ice- 
packs in  a  northerly  direction. 

The  experience  of  two  winters  in  the  ice  had  forced  the 
party  to  the  conclusion  that  the  liberation  of  the  Tegetthoff 
was  too  remote  for  them  to  hope  to  save  themselves  by  navi- 
gating the  path  over  which  they  had  come  by  its  aid.  Her 
abandonment  was  therefore  universally  agreed  on,  and  the 
20th  of  May,  the  very  day  on  which,  in  1854,  Kane  had  left 
the  Advance  on  the  coast  of  Greenland,  was  chosen  for  the 
first  seeps  of  their  present  enterprise.  Their  stock  of  instru- 
ments, which  had  done  them  such  good  service,  together  with 
die  litde  museum,  which  all  had  taken  so  much  pride  in  en- 
larging, had  to  be  abandoned,  as  the  journey  southward  to 
the^pen  sea  could  only  be  made  by  relieving  the  men  and 
dogs  of  everything  except  absolute  essentials. 

Boats,  sledges,  everything  that  could  be  taken,  were  at  h?' 


II 

■ 

1    : 

! 

1     if 

\ 

■■■ 

• 

(^33) 


i 


134 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


removed,  and  the  march  begun.  For  the  first  few  days  the 
burdens  had  to  be  dragged  over  hummocks  and  through  fis- 
sures without  even  the  variety  of  water  upon  which  to  launch 
the  boats  In  a  short  time,  however,  narrow  leads  appeared, 
produced  by  the  advancing  summer  and  a  fortunate  combi- 
nation of  other  circumstances,  into  which  the  boats  were 
placed,  and  a  sort  of  doubtful  navigation  was  begun.  But 
these  leads  were  limited,  and  great  masses  of  ice  must  be 
continually  thrust  out  of  the  way.  Moreover,  a  south  wind 
arose  which  tended  to  destroy  what  progress  they  had  been 
able  to  make,  so  that  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  two  months  of 
indescribable  efforts  the  distance  between  them- and  the  ship  was 
not  more  than  nine  English  miles.  It  was  a  joyful  day  for  our 
explorers  when  at  last,  on  the  15th  of  August  in  latitude  77 
40';  they  bade  farewell  to  the  frozen  ocean,  and  launched  their 
barks  on  the  more  genial  waters  of  the  Nova  Zembla  Sea. 
There  being  no  room  for  the  dogs  in  the  boats,  nor  other  pos- 
sible means  of  conveying  them,  it  was  thought  humane  to 
kill  them,  which  was  done  to  the  infinite  sorrow  of  the  entire 

^^The  problem  of  their  rescue  was  now  simple  compared 
with  the  difficulties  which  they  had  just  successfully  combated. 
It  was  not,  however,  until  they  had  reached  and  passed  the 
Admiralty  Peninsula,  on  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Zembla,  and 
were  nearing  Ganse  Land  toward  its  southern  border  that 
the  welcome  sight  of  a  ship  greeted  their  longing  eyes.  Here 
they  met  on  the  24th  of  August  two  Russian  vessels  cruising 
for  fish  and  reindeer  on  the  shores  of  Nova  Zembla  The 
services  of  one  of  these  vessels  were  readily  engaged,  and 
the  long-suffering  crew  were  soon  on  their  way  to  Nor;N^y, 
after  a  ninety-six  days'  experience  in  the  open  air  On  the 
.d  of  September  they  landed  at  Vardo  on  the  Norwegian 
coast,  and  on  the  5th  embarked  for  Hamburg,  where  they  ar- 
rived amid  the  congratulations  and  applause  of  thousands  ot 
friends  and  countrymen. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

EXPEDITION    OF    CAPTAIN    GEORGE    NAKES. 

King   ^nU.r.'^ZtZ^^ZV^'^^-^^^'^.  '"^'-^''^'^  Expedi  Jn-I„ 
McClintock  Found-Safe  Return  D.scovered-The   Records  of 

A.  H.  Markham  afd  CaptSn  ^"^^'i?'-S«  ^ares,  Commander 

by  the  British  G::tjstH'7^T;:rti;r-^i 

officers  and  men  of  both  vessel   nnrnK^  %r        ^^'     ^"^ 
west  instead  of  hu|gir;X''aS,nd?hol%L\",^^;S- 

:»;hlr^;tSert'M£Sl 

into  open  water— a  f^af  n^„«.  u  r  ""^'"§^/"rough  the  pack 

indtat^C^''^'  ^r.  '^\"  ^g™""d  and  close  y^crowded 
hev  S/^h      ?^^  *°"'''  P,"''''P=  "<"  "^^^^  '■="-«d  so  well  had 

cape     Push°n/2d/H™"-'  ^*'"^  Bay,  and  around 
^dpc.     rusning  north  they  soon  arrived  at  Cart-xr  TcUn^ 

Wn"**'^'^'?^"^  and  established  a  depot  of  suppie^s  Inof' 
't  ng  the  usual  record  under  a  rairn     pUinr  i   -?         f?    •' 

Mv'-^  ''^'f''  'ri'-  ^"^  P-'  Fo^te'"w1,ich'Nrs':  rs 
the  Elysmm  of  the  Arctic  regions,"  they  made  for  Cape  Sa! 

(■35) 


136 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


bine,  the  easternmost  promontory  of  the  Ellesmere  Land  of 
Inglefield,  in  78°  45'.  Off  that  point,  July  30th,  they  saw  the 
ice  in  great  quantities,  but  in  the  middle  of  Smith's  Sound  it 
consisted  of  detached  floes,  five  or  six  feet  thick,  with  occa- 
sionally an  old  floe  of  twice  that  thickness,  but  much  decayed, 
and  presenting  no  serious  obstacle  to  their  onward  progress. 
At  length,  however,  their  way  was  blocked  by  impenetrable 
ice,  and  they  were   detained  three  days  in   Payer  Harbor, 


SIR  GEORGE  NARES. 


awaiting  a  practicable  opening.  Several  fruitless  attempts 
were  made  to  bore  through,  but  at  last  success  crowned  their 
efforts,  and  on  the  4th  of  August  they  forced  their  way 
through  twenty  miles  of  Hayes  Sound.  Soon,  however,  they 
got  entangled  in  the  pack,  making  but  little  headway,  and 
finally  were  completely  beset,  barely  escaping  collision  with  a 
huge  iceberg,  and  finding  it  necessary  to  unship  their  rudders. 
W^ith  great  labor,  and  amid  many  dangers  for  three  weeks 


EXPEDInoN    OF   CAPTAIN    GEORGE    NARES.  ,  37 

l-ady  Franklin  Sound  *      ""^  ^"^"^''  ''"'^  «'"«'-«'l 

good  fortune,  .hey  saw  on  thrrexTmornfn^^aterd'o'f  It 
musk-oxen  peacefully  cropping  the  f?esh  an.?  shorflf  ,  a 
t.c  vegetation,  all  of  which  we?e  killed  fo.™;„  ^''°"-''^^''  Arc- 
able  addition  to  their  stores  notw  hstkndir^h7fl''^ '"f""" 
so  very  musk."  Before  th  ■  loth  nf  O./ i?  *?  ^T"",  ^'^ 
thirty-two  of  them,  and^lS^t' oL  tfm^Tv  ftlueTttttl 
EtrLti^iSToS^^^^ 

heat,  kept  the  'em^  er^t^^r;  ^'th  '  owt 'S  •'aT:rto%^o^ 
throughout  the  winter.  The  period  of  darknes?  that  is  1' 
sence  of^suKhght,  set  in  on  the  ,oth  of  October:  and  h'ste'd 

tio!;:rifn7r's;='pti;idr  I'^t^  tr ''"-  p^^p^- 

3.st  of  August  'reached  fat  tude  IV  JZ  Robe  ''""rl"  "'! 

ir,^treto='^'^;^H 

ice  fringed  theshelv.W  lefe  in^t'o''/ J'^^'^''  P?^'P^'°f 
about  twenty  fee,  intefrLptfd^rimfrl^h^^Se  "^ta"' 
:^"':he  :  Ht«Ta'd"b:  ''°'"' "'  '^^^-^  Late  ^und'llil- 
ofthrOpen  Polar  si  oTth?f  ^""'""^  '°^^''^'  ^"'  '"^'^^^ 
of  Ancient  Ice'-i^p^retlbt'andZbrjdit'""^!'''-''"^^^ 

tZTt'^'  -"  'j-kness;  for  intld'ofthJtr^r"?: 
leet  ot  the  commnn  floe    -ynrl  th-  --,  ^     i        "y^y^  !>ix 


138 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


and  twenty  feet — resemblirig  a  connected  chain  of  low  ice- 
bergs rather  than  the  floes  or  packs  of  more  southern  lati- 
tudes. In  the  shelter  of  such  ice,  where  the  submerged  por- 
tion, extending  to  the  land,  left  a  sufficient  waterway  for  the 
ship,  Nares  found  safe  though  not  inviting  winter-quarters ; 
and  here  they  were  soon  frozen  in  by  the  newly  formed  shore- 
ice. 

While  most  of  the  ship's  company  were  briefly  engaged  in 
the  usual  labors  for  the  safety  of  the  ship  and  stores  Lieuten- 
ant P.  Aldrich,  accompanied  by  Adam  Ayles,  set  out  Septem- 
ber 2 1  St,  with  two  dog-slcdges — dogs  and  sledges  for  the 
expedition  had  been  secured  at  Disco — under  orders  to  pio- 
neer a  route  round  Cape  Joseph  Henry,  on  the  north  side  of 
Grant  Land,  for  a  larger  party  which  was  to  follow.  Four 
days  later,  Commander  Markham,  with  Lieutenants  A.  A.  C. 
Parr  and  W.  H.  May,  started  with  three  sledges  to  establish 
a  depot  of  provisions  as  far  to  the  northwestward  as  would 
be  found  practicable.  On  the  27th  Aldrich  and  Ayles,  from  a 
mountain  top  two  thousand  feet  high,  in  latitude  82°  48',  de- 
scried the  wide-extending  land  to  the  northwestward  as  far  as 
83°  7',  with  lofty  mountains  to  the  south.  They  returned  to 
the  Alert  on  the  5th  of  October,  ai"ter  an  absence  of  fourteen 
days.  A  week  later  they  entered  on  the  Arctic  night,  the  sun 
having  disappeared  below  the  horizon;  and  on  the  14th 
Markham  returned  after  a  trip  of  nineteen  days,  having  es- 
tablished the  depot  at  82°  44',  and  tracing  the  coast  two  miles 
farther  to  what  might  be  regarded  as  the  exact  latitude 
reached  by  Parry,  elsewhere,  nearly  a  half  a  century  before. 
Markham's  party  comprised  twenty-one  men  and  three  offi- 
cers, of  whom  seven  men  and  one  officer  returned  badly 
frost-bitten,  three  so  severely  as  to  require  amputation,  the 
thermometer  ranging  through  the  trip  from  15°  to  22°  below 
zero.  Meanwhile,  from  the  2d  to  the  12th,  Lieutenant  Raw- 
son  had  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  open  communication 
with  Captain  Stephenson  in  Lady  Franklin  Sound.  The  ice 
was  found  impassable  within  nine  miles  of  the  ship,  being 
rotten  and  unsafe  in  the  channel,  and  piled  up  thirty  feet  high 
on  the  shore,  while  the  deep  snowdrifts  in  the  ravines  made 
the  overland  route  equally  impracticable. 

The  usual  efforts  to  amus?^  rid  instruct  the  ship's  company 
were  inaugurated  under  the  auspices  of  the  commander,  who 
says  that  of  fifty-five  men  who  composed  the  crew  of  the 


IiX..Kl.,„ON    OF   CAPTAIN    GKORGE    NAKES.  ,39 

and  theatrical  represenSnTTI,  J"*"'' /'^'"^'"2»'  '=°"««s, 
devoted  to  thesl"  eme^TaSnTs^The'  tsT thJIr'  ^'"^ 
formarice  was  g  yen  on  the  iRth  Af  NT  u     ^^^^^'^•cal  per- 

formally  announced  :'4he    R^va    A-^^^^  '^'''^ 

opened  on  Thursdav  „ext  the^SMT  .'  T^^f '^  ^'"  ^^^ 
Dramatic  Company  k  the  Hvn  k  '"'^•'  ^^  ^^^  Powerful 
guished  patrona^^of  Captain  ^N.'^f'  ""^^'^  '^^  ^^^^m- 
Arctic  Explorint^ExDediHnn  .  ^  "if'',  '^'^  "^^nibers  of  the 
of  the  neighborhotr-  On  Vhe  rv"  '^^'  "^^'^'^^  ^"^  ^^"try 
ments  were  giyen  ts  theatre  h  ^'^^^^^''y  ^  "^i'ar  entertain- 
and  the  plays^elg   Ld;"^^^^^^  ist, 

Each  vessel  had  a  small  nrinf-  ^  by  officers  and  men. 

issuing  progral^es^™!!  b       of  fC^:;,t cashes  o^''  '°^ 

vr£r  3t?".ht  h\"d"'rs  °'  the  gI--:;--;.-*  . 

Fawlces  in  the  ap^proved  stvk    '^1° "  .""^  "'•  ^l"  ''"'•"'  Guy 
•■First  of  all,  in  Eorn^f  we  hav<  rfT'  "^"'^  °''="^«'^^ 
usual  manner.     A  sero-eam^n7™,  •     ^''"='"V?^  "'^"te  in  the 
mate,  and  three  mher?  wem  arZ-T^l '  \'''''?^  boatswain's 
mas  carols  suited  to  ihe  oSn  .^f      '?  ""^'"S^  Christ, 
outside  the  captain's  cabin      0„;i,f  '"^''';  \  ^^^"^^  s'='y 
noon  there  were  praveTs  ^nH  J,       ,  '°""^''  ''^^  i"  "'<=  f<"-e- 
visited  the  mess^rtltriower  derk   f'"''!?'^^"  ""''  "^^^--^ 
spected  the  decorations  vvlTicl,  had  h       *'''  '^^  ?'"'*"&  '"- 
Then   the   boxes  of  presents'  by  We^d"  T'^''  ^  °"-  ' 
brought  out,  the  name  of  him  for  Xm  ;,         England   were 
mg  been  already  fixed  to  eTch  W       ^   T"'  '"'™ded  hav- 
then    distributed^  by  the    can  -tin     '  R       ""=  P["'*'="''  «<=■•« 
sounded  strange  enou"h  -m^Z,         T"^    ''"^<=''^'    ^^ich 
■he  donors,sof,eof  dd  verydeir"ln?''/'""f  S'^™  f""- 
were  so  far  away  frqm  tl^ir  home,      ru     '^  '°  ""=  P'^"  "^o 
for  the  caotain  inH  f„,     u  '"""*^^-     (-"eers  were  a  so  given 

choirwatC  formed  InH-n'  u'"''"^^'  ""  *<=  Alerf  A 
liad  its  virtues  prised  a^ain  Tif  °^''  Beef  of  Old  England  ' 
-Ive  oVlock.  Ld  thIXVs  Jl":get'r  S'^^  - 

NovII^Tb     'drFru^ry  °:;i;,'rth^"  '^^' ^  "^^^     ^rom 
and  0        i  „     J'-^^^^ 

^"apiam,     noc  by  any  mean*;  df»nc«  k  *       ^  V"     ,  '    ^a^=  "-"c 

excuse  one  for  passinThv  .   f  •    '  ^        f  "^^'ently  murky  to 

lor  passmg  by  a  friend  without  knowing  him  *' 


140 


ARCTIC    KXP1X)UATU)NS. 


And  now  the  time  for  sledge-exploration  was  near  at  hand ; 
and  it  became  important  to  establish  an  und(;rstanding  be- 
tween the  two  ships,  so  as  to  secure  concert  of  action. 
Accordin«^dy,  on  the  i2tli  of  March,  1876,  sub-Lieutenant 
l^gerton  and  Lieutenant  Rawson,  accompanied  by  Christian 
Petersen,  interpreter,  were  despatched  to  attempt  once  more 
to  open  communication  with  Captain  Stephenson.  Four  days 
later  they  returned  to  the  Alert,  Petersen  having  completely 
broken  down,  his  hands  were  paralyzed,  and  his  feet  so 
badly  frozen  as  to  require  amputation,  which,  however,  did 
not  save  him,  as  he  died  some  three  months  later.  I'^gerton 
and  Rawson.  accompanied  by  two  seamen,  resumed  the 
attempt,  and  were  successful;  and  communication  as  well  as 
co-operation  between  the  sledge- parties  of  both  vessels  was 
established.  _  , 

Lieutenant  Beaumont  of  the  Discovery,  in  command  ot 
eight  men,  crossed  Robeson  Channel  with  great  difficulty  over 
tlie  broken  and  moving  ice,  and  explored  the  Greenland  coast 
to  latitude  82°  18'.  Scurvy  broke  out  among  his  men,  and 
two  died  before  reaching  Polaris  Bay.  Beaumont  pushed  on 
to  his  limit,  but  four  others  succumbed  soon  after  turning 
their  faces  to  the  ships.  The  three  that  were  not  disabled 
hauled  the  sick  with  tl-  provisions  on  the  single  sledge, 
always  making  the  journey  twice,  and  often  thrice,  over  the 
rough  ice.  '  The  gallant  band,"  says  Nares,  "  struggled  man- 
fully onward,  thankful  if  diey  made  one  mile  a  day,  but  never 
losing  heart."  While  they  were  tnus  laboring  on  in  the  heart 
of  alfrozen  desert,  a  search  party  consisdng  of  Lieutenant 
Rawson,  Dr.  Coppinger  and  Mans,  the  Esquimau,  was  de- 
spatched, and  had  the  good  fortune  to  fall  in  with  them  when 
the  remaining  assistants  of  Beaumont  were  on  the  point  ol 
also  succumbing  to  the  disease.  The  three  officers  had  now 
for  a  time  a  monopoly  of  the  hauling  business,  but  no  lives 
were  lost,  and  the  party  reached  their  depot  of  provisions 
on  Polaris  Bay,  where;  the  well  succeeded  in  shooting  game, 
and  the  invalids  soon  recruited.  Including  a  lengthened  stay 
at  that  point,  they  were  absent  from  the  ship  one  hundred  and 
thirty-two  days.  Lieutenant  Archer  surveyed  Lady  Franklin 
Sound,  and  found  its  head,  sixty-five  miles  inland,  surrounded 
by   lofty  mountains   and   glacier-filled   valleys.      Lieutenant 

Uiiiord  ana   \)t.  L-ojjpmger  v.-.piun-vt   i  v.ceii!u<.n.!    1. — 

Bay,  which  also  was   found   to  terminate  in  a  steep  glacier- 


I 


KXPEDITION    OF    CAFTAIN    GEOKGE  *NARES. 

front.     Some  good  coal  was  found  on  Discoverv  Rn„ 


141 


twenty  miles  "<;  "ew.^n'fV'P'"?''  '"'°  '"'"^'-'^d  ''"d 

when  met  bv  a  relief  narfT,  ,,n^  '^  i  •  ^-     °"  ■"=  '''=""•'>> 

of  his  men  was7„  a  condition  T.  ""'^"^"f  'I^J''  ""'^  ""'^ 
abled  comrades,  vhife  the  other  ?  ^'TV/'  ''^"''"8^ ''°"'-  ^''- 
by  the  side  of  the  sledc^r  '"'°  '^^^'^'^  ='™§^«'«^'  ^'°"g 

escVed  r 's™':':y:':il}:  f/rjl^  =•»"--  s'edge.jo«rneys 
Captain  Nares  was  s"  verelv  chLT  ^  '"1"  *'^''^  attacked, 
expedition,  for  ane'ed''ne'le^rTf  I '  °"  ""=  ■•""■■"  "^  '^e 
ing  to  provide  hbe?al  2^£y     "f  ,«an,tary  precautions,  in  fail- 

Aert.    Itwas  therefore  nr„K,i  11  '^^"'-'',3'  °"e  time  on  the 

physical  conditio 'td'^het?'ei"eV°se^'h^f";7"y^"P'="<'' 
officers  that  the  disparity  was  due  and  !^'f-''"='Pf"'"«^  °f  the 
may  be  noticed  in  any  ep  de  Jc  '  ^thJ^T  P''™°'"«non 
lectually,  morally  and  oCklL  J^^  '«="f-kept  men,  intel- 
percentage  of  deaths     ^''^-''^'^y-  ^'"^^ '  ^how  the  smallest 

by^'cL^rndtrt^^L^'slt  T*"°"  -s  performed 
tenant  Parr,  Dr.  Moss  and  M^r  \^hite  reTtX:     °^-  ^'"'■ 

-so  calld  becarTach°""'"'  °' IT  "'«'"-"-  ''4° 
officer;  two  boats  for  00  llhf  """"""^  ''^  ''<=^"="  '^<="  ='"d\n 

fourtents,  eleven  feeHonflnH''T"'°"  '"  "°"'>^^"  ^^'^'^^ 
betwren  i yoo  wl  ,sL!    ^'   j     "J"'"'  ='=^'="  ^^  "We;  and 

The  siedges  were  namerM"'"'  °p  'f  "V/?'""^  '°  '^^'^  ^'^dge 
Alexandra  The  cosu,me^f  rh  '°'  ^'"°"=''  ^""^"S  '"'^ 
thick  woollen,  w'ankc^jSke'mlj?,,'",!^..!"'!  ^i^P?'^''  P^  « 
repei  external  moisture  nr.~lu"-"'c"  ,  ^,''"''^  ^^  ^'^^"^  to 
^o^e,  were  worrket^p'-pTr/^d^-^^^^^^^^ 


142 


ARCnC   EXPLORATIONS. 


wore  spectacles  as  a  protection  against  snow-blindness.  Each 
slept  in  a  separate  bag  of  the  same  heavy  woollen  material  as 
the  day-clothing,  and  the  eight,  in  the  compass  of  the  eleven 
feet  of  tent,  which  was  of  the  same  warm  material.    Breakfast 


.-,TAK  .  :NG  ON  A  SLEUCIE  JOURNEY. 

was  taken  before  quitting  the  bags,  and  consisted  of  a  panni- 
kin of  cocoa,  some  pemmican  and  biscuit.  After  five  hours' 
travel  a  lunch  of  biscuit,  vvtlli  lour  ounces  of  bacon  anu  a 
pannikin  of  hot  tea,  was  taken ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  day's 
journey,  varying  from  ten  to  twelve  hours,  when  the  tents 


EXPEDITION    OK    CAPTAIN    GEOKGE    NARES.  143 

served       W.>h   fK«  .^upper  of  pemmican  and  tea  was? 

ture  rather  low  for  comCron  t  e  fi^h "  '  ^"''  "f  !'-™P'='^- 
On  reaching  the  deTt  of  orovk^n      ,  r""'  -',5°  ^elow  zero. 

ostablished%efore  t?e  close'^f  I  he  nr/-  '''"  •'°''=P''  "^"'>'' 
was  rearranged.  Fiftet^^et  with*"  E^df^fa 'd7tS 
woisht  in   provis  ons  and  sunnlies  of  rt  «,„   "       j  '^' 

panied  Markham  and  Pa  r  ove  t he  h^h^^nPTl'''-  ""T" 
of  the  "Sea  of  Ancient  Ice."     On  the  ,oth  °  H.,!'"""""'.^' 

f  mp<j  vari'«:.<-l  k,,  *  i  f-  •       .     fe^»J"''u,  anu  ttiis  was  some- 

lighten  the  burden  by  Veavn.o'ne  of  Tl"  btatT  h' r'7""'= '° 
not  likely  they  .shoui'd  need^^^ore  thafone  for  at",e~0:f: 
Polar  Sea     they  won  d  fall  in  ivith      ^^i  •         •   ,     ,    ,      ^P^" 

pounds,  but  two  of  the  n  en  J^re  pro  'traTeThv'.h^""^  '°° 
and  had  to  take  its  nWrt^      "  nlr      P'^ostrated  by  the  scurvy, 

was  lashed  to  its  mast  .nd  fu     ^^  ^"'"^"-  '^^^  b^^^'  ^"  °^r 
for  the  next  .strnct,-],.      a  ^    "^"''^5^^.  ^^imulatrng  them 


th 


Strug 


A 


passage-way  had 


nSV^^'^"^^'^^■"P  '"^  ^^th  pickcxes.  an 
earned  for  the  purpose,  and  an  incline  picked 


axes,  an  extra 


144 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


pendicular  side  of  the  high  floes,  or  roadway  built  up,  before 
the  sledges — generally  one  at  a  time — could  be  brought  on. 
Instead  of  advancing  with  a  steady  walk,  the  usual  means  of 
progression,  more  than  half  of  each  day  was  expertded  by  the 
whole  party  facing  the  sledge  and  pulling  it  forward  a  few 
feet  at  a  time."  On  the  last  day  of  April  they  were  compelleti 
to  halt  in  the  presence  of  a  new  enemy,  the  fog,  which  endan- 
gered their  becoming  entangled  in  a  labyrinth  of  hummocks. 
This  weary  work  was  continued  through  the  first  third  of 
May,  with  a  constant  increase  in  the  number  of  the  sick,  when 
it  was  decided  to  leave  them  behind,  while  the  stronger  ones 
were  to  make  a  final  push  for  the  highest  point  attainable.  A 
camp  was  established  for  the  invalids,  provisions  and  sup- 
plies on  the  1 1  th,  and  left  in  charge  of  the  cooks.  On  the 
morning  of  the  12th,  Markham  and  Parr,  with  such  of  the 
men  as  were  still  in  a  condition  to  venture  forward,  set  out, 
encumbered  only  with  a  few  instruments  and  the  national 
colors.  Markham  thus  relates  the  last  advance:  "We  had 
some  very  severe  walking,  through  which  the  labor  of  drag- 
ging a  sledge  would  be  interminable,  and  occasionally  almost 
disappearing  through  cracks  and  fissures,  until  twenty  minutes 
to  noon,  when  a  halt  was  called.  The  artificial  horizon  was 
then  set  up,  and  the  flags  and  banners  displayed,  these  flutter- 
ing out  bravely  before  a  southwest  wind,  which  latter,  however, 
was  decidedly  cold  and  unpleasant.  At  noon  we  obtained  a 
good  altitude,  and  proclaimed  our  latitude  to  be  83°  20'  26* 
north,  exactly  three  hundred  and  ninety-nine  and  pne-half 
miles  from  the  North  Pole.  The  leaders,  Markham  and  Parr, 
though  they  had  reached  the  highest  point  ever  attained, 
were  no  more  than  half  content  at  the  meagre  result  of  so 
many  hardships.  But  they  were  destined  soon  to  find  that 
the  decision  to  return  was  the  salvation  of  the  party,  as 
almost  all  the  men  were  stricken  down  with  scurvy  before 
reaching  Depot  Point,  near  Cape  Joseph  Henry.  By  forced 
marches  and  indomitable  energy  they  succeeded  in  getting 
the  men  to  camp  on  June  7th ;  and  while  Markham  watched 
and  labored  for  their  comfort,  Parr  set  out  for  the  Alert, 
thirty  miles  away.  Equipped  with  only  a  walking-stick  and 
a  couple  of  light  rations,  he  trudged  off  alone  to  hurry  up  a 
relief  nartv.  stimulated  by  the  consciousness  that  on  his  exer- 
tions  depended  the  life-chances  of  those  he  had  left  behind. 
Fortunately  he  proved  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  in  tv/enty- 


)re 


iw 


r»45) 


146 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


four  hours  reached  the  ship.  Before  midnight  of  the  8th 
Captain  Nares  was  on  the  way  to  Depot  Point  at  the  head 
of  a  relieving  party.  Lieutenant  May.  Dr.  Moss  and  a  sea- 
man, with  a  light  dog-sledge,  were  sent  forward  as  a  lightlv 
equipped  advance  party,  and  reached  the  camp  in  fifty  hour, 
from  Parr's  departure.  Short  as  had  been  the  interval,  one 
of  the  sick,  George  Porter,  had  died,  and  was  already  buried 
in  the  snow ;  but  no  other  life  was  lost.  9  the  fifteen  men 
who  left  Depot  Point  two  months  before  with  Markham  and 
Parr,  only  three  were  able  to  assist  in  dragging  the  sledges 
back ;  three  others  struggled  along  behind,  often  falling  and 
sometimes  fainting ;  while  nine  had  been  utterly  prostrated 
and  had  to  be  carried  on  the  sledges  in  the  tedious  manner 
already  described.  They  had  reached  seventy  miles  north 
of  Grant  Land  over  the  Pal^socrystic  ice,  as  Nares  called  it 

Captain  Nares  concluded  to  return  to  England,  where  he 
arrived  on  the  27th  of  October.  1876.  after  an  absence  of  six- 
teen months,  with  his  ships  uninjured  and  with  only  the  loss 
of  life  already  mentioned.  o  u      .1      tt  c  a 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1878  Lieutenant  Schwatka.  U.  b.  A., 
who  had  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  subject  from  boy- 
hood, asked  for  leave  of  absence  from  his  place  of  duty  on 
the  plains,  came  to  New  York  and  asked  permission  to 
organize  a  search  party,  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  the 
supposed  records  of  Franklin's  last  voyage.  After  listening 
to  his  proposition.  Judge  Daly,  of  the  Geographical  Society, 
aave  him  all  the  information  in  his  possession  concerning  the 
probable  whereabouts  of  the  missing  treasures ;  commending 
him  also  to  General  Sherman,  and  indorsing  his  application 
to  be  detailed  to  command  the  exploring  party.  Ihe  lieu- 
tenant also  conferred  with  Messrs.  Morrison  &  Brown,  of 
New  York,  concerning  the  use  of  a  whaling  vessel  for  the 
transportation  of  the  party  to  the  scene  of  their  labors. 
Their  only  available  ship,  the  Eothe-i,  was  at  sea.  but  upon 
her  arrival  her  owners  offered  her  for  the  use  of  the  cxpedi- 
tion,  and  she  was  refitted  in  the  best  manner  for  the  comfort 

of  the  party.  ^  ,        ,  •      1  :„ 

■      Prior  to  his  departure  Lieutenant  Schwatka  received  in- 
structions for  his  procedure  as  follows,  from  Mr.  Morrison: 

..IT ^^ou"  ^rrk-al   at  Reoulse   Bay  you  will  prepare  tor 

yo^irTnlaVd  journey  by  building  your  sledges  and  taking  sucn 
provisions  as  are  necessary.     As  soon  as  sufficient  snow  is 


EXPEDrriON    OF   LIEUTENANT   SCHWAHCA.  ,^j 

*e t.f7Blffa.™''lKroJ'''^^  '^'"'■^'"'^  Land  and 
you  discover  any  e^ror  in  Lv  i^  observations,  and  whenever 

the  same,  marlcing  thereon  also  Lvn  '^T  ^°"  ^'^^  '=°"«t 
be  fortunate  enough  to  m2ke"  H»  *^T"'^^  y°"  '^Y 
to  carefully  preseA^  aUremH^  f  T^  'i''.*"  a^monishea 
in  his  own"  posse7s?o„  or°o1ntru"  the"'  ^T  *.""  ^'"■'^'^ 
mterpreter.  Finally,  he  was  advised  evlrhr  ^T'""^" 
peduion  proved  a  failure  in  its  oarSnl  J  }"^^  ^'^  «"" 
gogjaphical  success,  as  his  S^^^^^J^j^^ 

taming  the  friends  and  relatives  n?'^,^ ''^T^'  tugs  con- 
officers  and  crew  were  as  f'^U  n^  -^^plorers.  Her 
Bar,y;  Jeremiah  BoZpus  chie  raUS'aCT'p^'""^^  ''• 
ond  mate;  James  Kearney,  boatswain -H  o'PPf' '"'^- 
cooper;  Frederick  Woern  bladcsmth '  ni  ^""""li^"^". 
carpenter,  and  ten  seamen  Th.'  ^''*'''^"  Dudley, 
posed  of  five  persons    rt^'.^.n!  ^^P  °"."?  Pany  was  com- 

mander;  Cologne  WHGMer'M'''^?.""^  ^^''™"^^-  ^°"'- 
Joseph  Ebierbing  Esouim;.  ,  „  i'.^^^/o*  correspondent; 

i  K^lietchak,  cifil^^^Ter.i'i'd'^^r^'nk'Srrf  ^   "^"'>' 
engineer.  x^ranic  iviellers,  assistant 

adv\n?;;riri"eVothrrif:j'"aU^7  V'^  =--  of  .heir 
and  finally  returned  to  New  London         "  "'^^  '  *°«  '™^- 

and  wilhngness,  both  of  tl,^;^  „„•  •  ^""'^V'  'ntelligence 
had  brought,  and  also  nf  M^  p  "^  mterpreter  whom  they 
which  the|  were  examrniip"  ^f„T'"''  °^  "'"^  neighborhood 
interestini  relics  of  ^rankfjn  l^A^-  "'"""^'  °^  '^^o  many 
There  were  many  p,^™  'f  wooH  •'  P^^V  y'^'^f  ^'^coycrj. 
which  by  names  maE  unonXL"°"K^"''u°"'"^  "'=«^"'^'' 
proved  to  have  belonged  ^nV„'r'L''>'  °*«''  ^'S"^'  were 

articles  with  private  Ss'^wer  d°i  covtreT  'tT     '^'"', 
testimony  borne  K„  p-,^  :_  .«     ^  ajscovered.     The  general 

and  many  additlo^lTro^VroMhrfote^^^^^^     confirmation. 

ir.enwere  unearthed      Not  on  I J  t°^  Frankhn  and  his 

•iruiea.     j\ot  only  was  the  record  of  M'CIin- 


148  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

tock's  discovery  in  1859  found  where  he  had  deposited  it,  but 
the  camp  of  Captain  Crozier,  which  had  been  found  and 
occupied  by  his  whole  party,  was  discovered,  with  many  relics 
of  interest.  There  were  several  cooking-stoves  with  their 
accompanying  copper  ketdes,  besides  clothing,  blankets,  can- 
vas, iron  and  brass  instruments,  and  an  open  grave,  where 
was  discovered  a  quantity  of  blue  cloth,  part  of  which  was 
wrapped  around  a  body. 

On  his  return  late  in  the  summer  of  1880,  Schwatka  re- 
ceived great  homage  from  the  American  government  for  his 
discoveries,  and  also  from  the  English  nation,  for  his  delicate 
and  humane  service  to  the  remains  of  the  lost  English  sub- 
jects. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

nordenskjold's  polar  voyages. 

byl>im  at  a  supper  ptty  in  "sTh^''""'^"^  ^'°««  g'^en 
Russian  Governo?-GeneS  of  a  t^^^n    ffi  •',  ^^P^Y^-i  by  the 

in  the  museum  of  his  nS  ve  rifv  ="m°*"'''  P°"''°"  ^"^  ''«'<i 
country,  and    took    sei^lce   w^  h^' l"''i°"'*l'5"^"''y '<=f'  *e 

mineriogist  in  .858;an"d7rom'%59T:'r878''trrL".^  ^*^"= 
ess  than  seven  ArrfiV  *:.vr^o^v•    ^^  7     ^^'^  P^*"^ '"  no 

These  expeJtlonfwlre  to'^sS'r"'°"'y  "/  "'^'^  '^^^er. 

an  attemp^o  reaclX  Pde  i^  ?ste  r    '^1'  5"^  '«^4' 

S1:^^r.,T:  '"   l«'   -73  f'to'^h^Te-ntf  RVe'/^ 

voyages    the    information    in    relation   fnQ^f  l?'^        ""^"^ 
Greenland  and  the  adjoinin  "sels  w^la  "ely'iSe'd"    '"' 

south,  in  latitude  6oot'fli     ^^'"^>'^,^  peninsula  far  to  ti-,e 

to  the  land/Stu^e  of  evt^tLTbu  U 1""^/^^^^ 
to  fall  in  with  n  <;o.p^,...i  ,.)Z     "^'  ^"^  ^'^^  the  good  fortune 

*> .00.  ^^^,i>-^oi£rt2Z^ZnL'^-^ 

(*49) 


ISO 


ARCTIC     EXPLORATIONS. 


route  taken.  "  We  saw  no  inhabitants,"  says  Nordenskjold, 
"  but  everywhere  alontr  the  beach  numerous  tracks  of  men — 
some  of  them  barefoot— reindeer,  dogs,  and  Samoyed  sledges 
were  visible.  On  the  top  of  the  strand-bank  was  found  ^ 
place  of  sacrifice,  consisting  of  forty-five  bears'  skulls  of  vari- 
ous a<Tes  placed  in  a  heap,  a  large  number  of  remdeer  skulls, 
the  lower  jaw  of  a  walrus,  etc.  From  most  of  the  bears' 
skulls  the  canine  teeth  were  broken  out,  and  the  lower  jaw 


SAMOYED   ENCAMPMENT. 


was  frequently  entirely  wanting.  Some  of  the  bones  were 
overo-rown  with  moss,  and  lay  sunk  in  the  earth;  others  had, 
as  the  adhering  fiesli  showed,  been  placed  there  during  the 
present  year,  "'.i  the  middle  of  the  heap  of  bones  stood  four 
erect  pieces  of  wood.  Two  consisted  of  sticks  a  metre  (3.28 
feet)  in  length,  wit'?,  notches  cut  in  them,  serving  to  beaj  up 
the  reindee'r  and  beats'  skulls,  which  were  partly  placed  on 
che  points  of  the  st°'jks,  or  hung  up  by  means  of  the  notches, 


NORDENSKJOLD'S    POLAR    VOYAGES.  ,51 

or  spitted  on  the  sticks  by  four-cornered  holes  cut  in  th. 
sku  s.  The  two  others,  whicii  clearly  were  the  proper  idoU 
of  this  place  of  sacrifice,  consisted  of  dnTt  ood  roo  s  o" 
which  some  carvings  had  been  made,  to  d°s^  uS  the 
mouth,  eyes,  and   nose.     The   parts  of  fh^  r?;L      ^^    r  , 

intended  to  represent  the  evL  .IT  lu^  ^J^""^^  ""^  ^°o^ 
besmeared  witirbTooc u"d  t^ere  sdllZ"  t  t  h'^^^i^K'^"" 
the  entrails  of  a  nevvly  killed  reind^^^^^^^ 
found  the  remains  of  a^e  plL  Ln^^^^^^^  ^^  beside  were 
of  reindeer  bones  of  vari^ Tinl%t,%r  c:;::;rTar  of 
bears  Sa.hng  on  at  some  distance  from  the  coast  and  at 
one  place  passing  between  the  shore  and  a  Ion?  series  of 
blocks  of  ground-,ce.  which  had  stranded  alone!  the  coa  t  in  I 
depth  of  nine  to  sixteen  metres  ^201/  to  cli/  f  .?  f  •  ^ 
.he  night  we  passed  a  place 'Xerll<fe  SaL^dl^^t  Trf 
pasted"  "'"'^  -ishborhood  a  large  n.JeTo'rrXd'eZ 

the  recent  dS^  1         <=^P'°n"g  ^^Ped.tions,  which,  during 

no:tri;t'!™fagra:cj;r:,°r.rl"\;ir''^r  "'^'"'  ">' 

througl,  the  lively  i,.err-that  "^    ^ TaenTn^S 

I  e  rn'slderahr"'  "'  *f  '=  "'"""  "^  f'^'herland  ;  throu!.!^ 
the  considerable  sums  of  money  that  have  been  LDen7nn 
t  lem  by  the  state,  and  above  all  by  private  oer^nr"    ?1  u 

the  practical  school  they  have  foTnfed  fo7mo  e    lia   '  thirf, 
Swedish  naturalists;    through  the    imporar  scientific  3 

SfSfor  s"""-fi    ""^'  ''r    >'^'''^^^    and  Trough  te 

mateiiai  lor  scientific  research  which  Kv  fK^.,^   i        l  ^        , 

lected  for  the  Swedish  RoylAwl'V ^  1  ich^'ar^l" 

To  ,h,s  shou  d  be  added  discoveries  and  investi.>ations  "  S 
are,  or  promise  in  the  future  to  become  of  nrSr,\ZT 

TJ  ofTh  "'"'"'''P  ■""  ---^""li-randTyrc-'riZS 
«ork  of  the  expeditions;   their  comprehensive  inquiries  re 
j;a  d,ng  the  seal  and  whale  fisheries  in  the  Polar  seas     Z 

iirco"a1t: of  So![l'"^™"t  ^"^"^P«"^^  "■<*"-  i    fol>  of 

s  itr.^en^t^t^d:rJbS^'^trrtrc:i''=c;:r  "^  't"'r' 

™...erals  which  are  likely  to  be  oTl^reat  e^oln  ^  i^  ITt'r"- 
;u  neighboring  countries;  and,  above  all,  the  succesrof"?h^ 
'V'o  last  expeditions  in   reaching  the   m'o    hs  of  the  la^ 


J52 


ARCTIC    EXPLOUAIKJNS. 


Siberian  rivers — the  Obi  and  Yenisei — navigable  to  the  con- 
fines of  China,  whereby  a  problem  in  navigation,  many  cen- 
turies old,  has  at  last  been  solved." 

On  the  22d  of  June,  1878,  the  steamer  Vega,  purchased  at 
Bremerhaven,  for  the  seventh  and  most  celebrated  ArcUc 
voyage  of  Professor  Nordenskjold,  left  the  harbor  of  Karls- 
krona.     Besides  the  Vega,  with  her  company  of  thirty  per- 


CUTTING    ICE-DOCKS. 

sons,  of  whom  only  four  were  seamen,  the  others  beinc^ 
officers,  engineers,  and  scientists,  three  other  vessels  which 
belonged  to  the  merchant,  Sibiriakoff,  were  at  the  disposal  of 
the  commander  of  the  expedition,  consisting  of  quite  a  little 
fleet,  with  the  Vega  as  a  sort  of  flag-ship.  They  were  th:^ 
steam-tender  Lena,  Christian  Johannesen,  captain ;  the  steamer 
Fraser,  Emil  Nilsson,  captain,  and  the  sailing-vessel  Express, 
under  Captain  Gunderson,  with  their  respective  corps  of  petty 


nokijknskjoj.d's    volar   voyages.  IB, 

two  merchantman  were  to  me^f  th,.  u  t"e  owner      ihe 

was  slow,  and  ,t  was  not   until  the   ,7th  thaVshe "^readied 

h„„i.,and-suc„  sp^e^cia^l  ^^:^:^ ^^^^i;^ 
besides  coal  and  water      On  fli«  ^r/I     u        j'"-'""^  ^r  sKins, 

they  were  to  have  their  la  t  mail  1     it  L      H  ^f  ,^^^  '"''"'^ 
t^i  iXtd.^^  -verse-wirdil-La^^oT  tt^^; 

crp!;?^^  ^1°''''"^  °"  f'^^  '5th,  they  steamed  through  Mar- 
g^eroe  Sound,  between  the  i<ilnnrl  r^f^u^,.  ''^^'••r."  ^^I'lr- 

first  nurhf  In  r  u  %  ^^^  ^^"^  Pa^ed  company  the 
aroL  "ti  a  ^'^'  ^"'  ^^^^'  proceeded  on  its  way  o  Chat 
arova.     The  \/ega  was  steered  due  east  to  within  a  few  nViJes 

t  "atioo^3T  b:^^o°?/^'f -^^  t'^'^  ^^-y  sightiroirt^ 

fromMoI       ^^   -T^^.^'     54' east,  in  about  seventv-five  hours 

a  fresh  interest  has  been  awakened  bv  the  recent  wt'co've^v 

"'  the  winter-house  erected   hv  him   oA.i  ,  .    "-"-^"^  •  ■•^covcxy 

Ice  Hivpn    In    I         Y*^c"-a  oy  him  and  his  companions  at 

Haven.  ,n    [ic,r.nt.   Ray.  on   the   east  coast  of  Barentz 


J 54  ARCTIC    KXri.()KATIC)NS. 

Land,  i  few  minutes  nortli  of  latitude  76".  On  the  9th  of 
September,  ^871,  Captain  Carlsen,  a  Norwegian,  while  cir- 
umnavigating  Nova  Zembla,  discovered  the  house,  with  many 
interesting  relics,  in  a  remarkable  state  of  preservation,  and 
brought  them  honivi,  whence  they  found  their  way,  dirough 
die  zeal  of  Barentz's  countrymen,  to  the  Hague,  where  they 
are  carefully  preserved.  "No  man,"  says  Markham,  "has 
entered  ;:ae  lonely  dwelling  where  the  famous  discoverer 
sojourned  during  the  long  winter  of  t  596,  for  nearly  three 


DARKNTZ'   aOUsK 


centuries.  There  stood  the  cooking-pans  over  the  fireplace, 
the  old  clock  against  the  wall,  the  arms,  the  tools,  the  drink- 
ini;-vessels,  the  instruments,  and  the  books  that  beguiled  the 
weary  hours  of  that  long  night  275  years  before.  Perhaps 
the  most  touching  relic  is  the  pair  of  small  shoes.  There  was 
a  litde  cabin-boy  among  the  crew,  who  died,  as  Gerrit  de 
Vere  tells  us,  during  the  winter.  This  accounts  for  the  shoes 
|,ri,,;.,,r  bf?en  l<"ft  behind.  There  was  a  flute,  too,  once  played 
by  that  poor  boy-,  which  still  gives  out  a  few  notes." 


NORDENSKJOLD'S  POLAR  VOYAGES.  155 

land,  beca.,3e  o  ,h^  £^',^,^1^.°""'?"^  "  """"f"  ''^  Ganse- 
breed  there.  By  the^end  of  h?nf  •";"■''  ^^  ^™''"'  "W-^l' 
|>art  of  Gooseland  is  fret  of  .^n'  •'Y'^  '"  ■'"'>'•  ''""=  &'•««'<-•■■ 
liiscloses  all  Us  splendor  for  »f'  ""?"  '°°,"  ""=  ^"^^"^  "°ra 
plenty  of  sea^room   but  in  the  iv'  "?'»'•  •  ^'T^  ""^^'"»elves 

land  /[hey  proceTded'^V"  ^r  ea°  Tnd -'^rtl,!""™'  "'  '"^ 
southeast,  to  VaiP'ats  Uhnr]  ,  ."";V7^' f"^  (aitlier  on,  tast- 

view,  the  air  beTnf  L!^e'  ^i'on^  y^l^ ',  '1^,  '^^^^  -«"-* 
Sea  to  the  west  i>  c^^^r,.    i       i       ,   '"^-     ^^rom   tlie   Miirman 

proachin,  ^lolL^iZ'^^^^'SItljt'li^'  T  T 
which  were  regarded  bv  Nnrrlt.noi.--u        i     ,    ^'^''  ^^"^^  ""^"^^y 
<.^reat  Ural  raf /e      ThW  fot^^^^ 
diem  when  the?  arrivV^L  r  1 '^'"^  merchantmen  awaiting 

iw^y  drnve  .  at  Cnabarova  on  the  trttU  or.^  *i 
Lena  put  in  an  appea  ance  the  next  div      Thi  P  '  ^^'1 

Express  had  left  Vardoe  IsbnH  off  .i    ^        ,  ^  ^''^^^''  ^"*^ 
Norway  on  the  i'>th  ITfi     lu        ?  ^}'''  "o^^^ieast  coast  of 

waters  of  the  Kara  Obi  -IVnn'lv  '  ""'"'V'"'  '""'^"'"ii  "« 

bearing  the  san^.^nan^,'''  't'^^as  fo/.^d  t'ir.?''  "^^  ^"^^ 
portion  of  the  mass  of  fresh  ^^^^t     u-  ,     ,  "°  "oiable 

pour  into  the  Kar  Sea  flot  throf.irv' '  ""c^  S'''^^'  "^^'•^ 
Atlantic  Ocean  •  ind  ^hn^  H  •  °  '  ^^'•"'"'^  ^°"'"'  i"t°  "'« 
available  for  nav  gain  "'  On"LVd?K'  "'"  '^^'^  '^  1"'"= 
tl.e  3d  only  ,ce  th?t  wasVery  operand  oUen^n  "°  "'■'  °" 
obstacle,  and  in  the  evenin.rTrr;>,»^  •  •^'  P'^"'^""''.?  "o 
island  of  Beli  Ostrov  ThJT  """^^A'"  "p'^'  °f  "'=  '^'•'.'e 
witn  three  of  the  naturaSts  ^nd^  ^^i^'^"  despatched  aheSd 
sound  which  sepantesfrnlfr  ""^"^'^  ',°  P^'^  ""-"''kI'  'he 

.be  6th,  ,-ssiS'4\;ff^,  ll^1n'^tT:rou^h'of''l"  Y-     °" 
fliey  anchored  in   TVrr  n;^i  "-"^noutn  ot  the  Yenisei, 

4werer.™l"dly;hl'fc:;,'^;;if-"   '^-^1.  »'- 

Jmi;i  V  Ur::tfh':n"br:.'"';1'/f^  °"  ""--  ""h  'Ley 
u  ,  ^         ,S^'  ^'g^"'  unbroken  field  of  ice.  PYf^n'^-n-  ^— -• 

;:  thev-r  th"i::r  s:^:,°f.";:  rr-^-'^-  ~^""«'"^a;;,^; 

tie  ^oo.i   fortune   ^o  find,  just  west  of  the  low- 


i  } 


156 


AKCTIC    KXl'lyJKA'lIONS. 


jutting  promontory — or  rather  in  the  fork  of  it — an  open  bay 
which  they  named  Kin^r  Oscar,  and  in  which  both  steamers 
came  safely  to  anchor  in  the  cveninor.  They  had  nowhere 
met  such  old  drift-ice  as  is  encountered  north  of  Spitzbergen. 
*•  We  had  now  reached  a  goal,"  says  Nordenskjcild,  "  which 
for  centuries  had  been  the  object  of  unsuccessful  struggles. 
For  the  first  time  a  vessel  lay  at  anchor  off  the  northernmost 
cape  of  the  Old  World.  No  wonder,  then,  that  the  occurrence 
was  celebrated  by  a  display  of  flags,  and  the  firing  of  salutes, 
and  when  we  returned  from  our  excursion  on  land,  by  festivi- 
ties on  board,  by  wine  and  toasts.  The  north  point  of  Asia 
forms  a  low  promontory,  which  a  bay  divides  into  two,  the 
eastern  arm  projecting  a  little  farther  to  the  north  than  the 
western." 

Both  the  cape  and  the  immediate  tongue  of  land  back  of  it 
are  now  distinctively  known  as  Cape  Chelyuskin  and  Chely- 
uskin Peninsula,  both  in  the  honor  of  the  Russian  explorer 
of  that  name.  The  great  Taimur  Peninsula,  of  which  this 
tongue  and  cape  form  the  extreme  northern  projection,  is  now 
further  divided  geographically  into  a  West  and  East  Taimur 
Peninsula  by  the  Taimur  Lake  and  river;  and  it  is  to  the 
eastern  half  that  Chelyuskin  Peninsula  belongs. 

On  the  nicrht  of  the  28th  of  August  the  Vega  and  Lena 
parted  company  in  die  open  sea,  in  about  longitude  128°  30', 
off  Tumat  Island.  While  they  followed  the  coast  they  found 
open  water,  always  at  a  safe  distance  from  the  land  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  ice-pack  on  the  other.  It  was  therc^fore 
demonstrated  that,  at  least  in  seasons  as  favorable  as  1878, 
the  whole  voyage  may  bc^  made  without  meeting  any  serious 
obstruction  from  ice.  The  Lena  reached  Lakoutsk  on  the 
2 1  St  of  September  amid  great  rejoicings,  being  the  first  ocean 
steamer  that  had  ever  reached  that  far  inland  city,  about  800 
miles  from  the  sea. 

After  i)arting  with  the  Lena,  as  stated,  the  Vega  kept  on  to 
the  east,  reaching  132°  at  noon,  and  sighting  Stolbovoi  Island 
in  the  afternoon.  On  the  i  st  of  September  they  were  at  1 50°, 
about  one  degree  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Indigirka,  and  on 
the  2d  the  temperature  fell  to  one  degree  below  zero.  On 
the  3d  snow  began  to  fall,  and  when  they  arrived  off  Bear 
Islands,  north  of  the  mouth  of  Kolyma,  both  vessel  and  land 
■were  lighdy  covered  with  it.  The  channel  west  and  south 
of  the  islands,  through  whicii  tl;ry  passed,  was  almost  free  of 


i'57) 


I 


158 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


ice,  but  a  little  farther  out  ice  was  abundant,  and  on  the  4th, 
east  of  the  islands,  heavy  masses  were  found  to  have  drifted 
south,  compelling  the  Vega  to  bear  down  nearer  the  coast 
toward  the  Greater  Baranow  Rock.  Indeed,  ever  since 
doubling  Svlatoi  Noss,  the  ice  seen  was  more  like  that  to  be 
met  off  Spitzbergen,  than  any  they  had  hitherto  encountered 
on  this  voyage ;  but  no  icebergs  or  large  glacier  blocks  nad 
been  met  or  sighted.  On  the  5th  they  were  off  the  mouth  of 
the  Baranicha,  so  often  mentioned  in  the  account  of  Wran- 
gell's  sledge-journeys.  Passing  the  entrance  to  Tchaun  Bay 
m  the  night,  they  reached  Cape  Schelagskoi  at  four  o'clock 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  6th. 

On  the  1 2th,  beyond  Cape  North,  the  Vega  at  last  found 
her  way  blocked  by  the  ice-pack,  and  turning  back,  found 
temporary  refuge  near  the  cape,  where  they  were  detained 
by  the  untoward  condition  of  the  ice  until  the  i8th. 

On  the  29th,  finding  no  lane,  lead,  or  outlet  through  the 
pack,  the  Vega  was  moored  to  a  mass  of  ground-ice,  130  feet 
long,  80  wide,  and  20  high,  which  afforded  a  fair  shelter,  but 
no  proper  haven.  This,  however,  proved  to  be  the  v/inter- 
quarters,  except  that  later  on  ship  and  shelter  were  pushed 
by  the  outer  ice  to  within  seven-eighths  of  a  mile  of  the  coast. 
Soon  the  ice-belt  which  had  obstructed  their  advance  grew 
from  six  or  seven  to  eighteen  or  twenty  miles  wide,  and  there 
was  no  longer  any  hope  of  getting  away  until  the  ensuing 
summer.  Their  exact  position  was  ascertained  to  be  in  lati- 
tude 67^  4'  49"  north,  aiid  longitude  173''  23'  2"  west — 180" 
east,  half  the  circumference  from  Greenwich,  had  been  passed 
at  Cape  North. 

During  the  winter  months  many  excursions  to  interesting 
points  were  made  by  members  of  the  expedition,  by  which 
valuable  information  was  obtained  about  the  country  and  its 
inhabitants,  the  Tschuktchi. 

At  length  the  moment  of  release  approached.  The  tem- 
perature had  remained  below  freezing  point  to  the  middle  of 
June.  On  the  14th,  however,  there  was  a  sudden  change  to 
milder  weather.  A  heavy  thaw  set  in,  and  the  coast  land  was 
so  covered  with  mud  and  slush  that  all  excursions  had  to  be 
discontinued.  But  the  ice  which  bound  the  ship  was  still  so 
strong  that  the  explorers  did  not  expect  to  be  able  to  leave 
before  Aucyust,  Throiighoiit  their  stay  there  had  been  open 
water  seaward,  but  usually  at  a  great  distance  from  the  ship. 


NORDENSKJOLD'S    POLAR    VOYAGES..  ,5 

shore;"  and  the  next  day  the  v^17"JT  '^VT<=>  to  the 
to  break  up,  but  the  -rounTice  w;,!  '5,,^™""''  'he.n  began 
wasjudged  that  several  davVwouTlel»  ""^^'^bed,  and  it 
get  clear.  So  the  comn,an'der  determfe ,'  "T  '^^  ^°"'^ 
launch  to  sea,  and  visit  some  »hnU  '° ,''"'"'  '''^  "'•am- 

to  be  off  Serdze  Kamen      BuT  bv TV^P"'?''  ^^  "-^  "="'ves 
most  ready  to  set  out,  there  was  ^nnif    ?"  "''=  '^"^'  "''™  =>'- 
ice  which  held  the  Ve<^a     An  L     i       *  ™°^ement  of  the 
prepared  for  every  eml?;ent    had  stl?'    '''""i"'''  *''°  "^^ 
hour  the  ship  was  free  ^  At  '^  ,o  J,     ""  "''•  !"^  '"  another 
little  to  the  west  to  4  dear  of 'd?.  H^  ''"Tl^  ^"^J"'  ("''  ^ 
direction,  eastward  fof S 'X  kten  :'nd"Beb '"  in  the  right 
countering  no  further  obstruct  onTom^lT   ■       u^  ^^'^"'  ^"■ 
the  dose  of  the  voya<.e      The  1  ^m-       •"'''  '^^n'^eforth  to 
had  lasted  293  days.  detention  ,n  winter-quarters 

theteToufeth^yaSolcl"  4''™^^-''  ='-""=>' 
on  the  morning  of  the  to  b  anH  n^?"  ^'".' !"  ^"^""S  Strak 

midway  betweln  th^  A°  tic  and  Pndfi?  n''°^'^''  "^^V"^  '"'out 
greeted  the  Old  and  New  Worli  h  P'T"''  "'^^  ^ega 
.he  firing  of  a  SwedisirsaTu^"  Thus  Ll^^^^  "^  ""S^'  ^"^ 
jjoal  toward  which  so  manv  natlnnl^  j  "^  ""^^  '■<==«='"^d  "'e 
'rem  the  time  when  Sir  Hifcrh  Win  fu  ^'"'ggled.  all  along 
salutes  fron.  cannon,  and  w?l'  hu  :hf 'V'^"'^,''  "f  '"'"'^S  of 
seamen,  in  the  presence  of  ,n    Z  [?"'  '''^  festive-clad 

men,  certain  of  "^ucce^s? ushered  inThTlo'  "°''^  "^  J""^"^"' 
east  voyages  326  years  before  °"^'  '*'""  "^  "°"h- 

o.iS;srmu:r^d:L:d'  t^"-"  rii-^^  ^  '-^-g. 

market-place  of  the  nolar  ^'•.'^"^'".'=''«  'f'^nd.  the  famous 
part  of  the  straits,  nearly  h.lwrv'b'l'"^''''A'"  "'^  "^""'^''^^^ 
and  p..obabIy  before  the  thneL^r"  f"'""  ^"^  America, 
traffic  betwee'n  the  "Old  anTNew  W^  ,1^."%-?  ^'^'""  f- 
anchor  ,n  St.  Uwrence  Bay,  where  varlo-  r  ^'''  "^^^ 

investigations   amoncr   the  frib?  i  ^''Peditions  and 

Tchuktd,!  Peninsula  were  .ealo,  slv"«l  ''  "^'',  '"'''  "^  '^e 
ii'nRle  day.  as  the  comm-inH^.      ^  ^■'"'  "P'  '^"'  ""'v  for  a 

i  t«i:rr/-=?~^^^^ 

H    steaming  -.rto^^he  Aml^i^ 'sidTthfraS^l^e^r'in'^^S 


i6o 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Clarence,  where  they  were  soon  called  upon  by  the  Esqui- 
maux for  interchange  of  civilities,  gifts,  and  barter.  Here 
they  remained  until  the  26th,  when  the  Vega  recrossed  to  the 
Tchuktchi  Peninsula,  farther  to  the  south  than  before,  and  an- 
chored in  Konyam  Bay  on  the  28th.  The  mountains  were 
high  and  split  up  into  pointed  summits  with  deep  valleys  still 
pardy  filled  with  snow ;  but  no  glaciers  were  seen.  The  inner 
bay  was  still  covered  with  an  unbroken  sheet  of  ice,  which 


ATTACKED  BY   I'OLAR   liEARS. 


suddenly  breaking  up  on  the  30th,  they  beat  a  rather  precipi- 
tate retreat,  just  in  time  to  escape  the  last  chance  of  conflict 
with  the  great  enemy  of  Arcdc  expedidons. 

Steaming  away  to  St.  Lawrence  Island  the  Vega  anchored 
in  an  open  bay  on  the  northwest  coast  on  the  31st.  Notwith- 
standing its  very  considerable  size,  eighty  by  thirty  miles,  the 
island  has  no  good  harbor,  and   the  Vega  left  her  exposed 

Thi'    next  a!ichoraL''e  was 


r\4-ij~\r\       r^t 


^h. 


wl 


A  1  imicf- 

'iS' 


made  on  the  14th  in  an  almost  equally  exposed  bay  on  the 


NORDENSKJOLD'S  POLAR  VOYAGES. 


Belri^^^a^d'  Lp^ions  'l^  <^--y. --less  land,  where 

hills,  and   rav:3  Cs    Norrl"?,^'  f'°^^^'°"-  ^and- 

tl>riv|„g  colony  of   American  tfCsta"'  T/J  '"'""'■  t 
dwellinof-houses  offirlal  K.,n.i-  J^^ussian    traders,   with 

andchufch.  BehrinSperfnd'r''°r^^^^^^''°°'-''°"-- 
several  islets  and  rocks  coS,.  J  P°''''°'^,'''^"'^='  ''^^^es 
mander's  Islands.  "^,e  part  of  '^^.S™"?  kn°T"  ^=  Com- 
saw,"  says  Nordenskjoir-forms  a  wih'nf  ■  ''^"''-  *''''=''  "-« 
canic  rocks,  which,  howe  -erTs^MerruStS  I"  ""'""^  °"  ™'- 
deep  kettle  valleys  the  botfoml  ,!f  ^'^  u''  "'  "^"^  P'aces  by 
pied  by  lakes,  wh'fch  co™"S  ^i  h 'thrsfa  "b","  ^  "''' 
small  rivers.  The  banks  of  the  lakes  and  ri  i^  ^'^?  "^ 
h.lls  are  covered  witli  a  luxiirtnf  ,  f  •  "  ^  °P^^  °f  'he 
grass  and  beautiful  flowers     "T"'  "."S^^"'"".  rich   in  long 

larcje  herds  of  catt  e  pTrha;.  ",=     ^^'"  ""*°'"  '"'"^"y  feed 
sea-cows  that  forS;;^3tSLd^onr;hores^.^  "^  "^'^^  °^ 

P.itfovSrNor„Tk^ld''"  ""'^^'^^  ^rP-y  bound  for 
anxiety  to  reach  a  te le' "'&"'  T'^^^'  ?'"'=^^''  °f  Ws 
of  the  safety  of  the  expeS  Aft^™'\'°  '*^=P«'^h  news 
sojourn  at  th'e  civilizedTolo  ;"tkey^etthei'^°"  ''•'"  P'^''^^"' 
19th,  and  on  the  25th  struck  the  r, If  Q,  ™°°/'?S^'  °"  *e 
On  the  ad  of  September  at  o  ,0  in  ,h  """  ?^  *^  ^^"f""- 
anchored  in  the  harbor  of  Ynlt^,  f  *^''^"'"8''  '^e  Vega 

skjold  at  length  had  a"  tlt^fcfei  ^^  N-^e"- 
little  experience  of  official  ^k..  '=;<=graph  station,  and  a  so  o. 
off.  Here  he  learned  ?hatf"'r°?  '"  ^'"^"S  his  messages 
name,  had  been  semforward  L  V  /•  "'T^L-'-  <^^"'='^  ^y  his 
ten  stranded  on  "he  coast  ofVj  "T"^  •'"'"r  akofi;  and  had 
of  liie^and  with  a  ^^'r'^s^IZTlV:,''^:^^^^^ ^^  '- 

po!^a"G:iif  7d^^*t"  r  r  "5  It"-  -  ceyio„, 

Boulogne  Paris,'  and^^ptha'ge"  vSeT  '  tht^'^L''."'^^'":.' 
by  magnificent  receptions  and  testivities     '"^^  *^'^*  '•°"°'-ed 


II 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


THE   UNFORTUNATE   EXPEDITION   OF   THE  JEANNETTE. 

Uenteiiant  DeLong's  Expedition  sets  out  from  San  Francisco  in  the  Jea.inette— He  reaches 
St.  Lawrence  Bay,  East  Siberia,  where  he  learns  that  the  Vega  had  gone  South— Lieu- 
tenant Danenhower  in  Danger  of  losing  the  Sight  of  his  left  Eye— /  n  Operation  Per- 
formed—Two Winters  in  the  Pack— The  Jeannelte  Crushed  by  tht;  Ice— Retreat  South- 
ward—Discovery of  Henrietta  and  Bennett  Island— Melville  and  his  Party  Saved— 
DeLong  and  his  Men  die  of  Starvation,  and  Chipp's  Boat  Swamped  by  the  Sea— 
DeLong's  Last  Records— How  Noros  and  Nindemann  were  Saved— Search  for  DeLong 
and  Chipps — Ret  irn  of  the  Survivors. 

The  American  Arctic  Expedition,  commanded  by  Lieuten- 
ant George  W.  DeLon-j,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  which 
left  San  Francisco  July  8th,  1879,  was  projected  by  James 
Gordon  Bennett,  proprietor  of  the  New  York  Herald,  After 
the  return  of  the  last  of  the  two  successful  expeditions  which 
he  had  sent  to  Africa  under  Henry  M.  Stanley,  Mr.  Bennett 
decided  to  send  out,  at  his  own  expense,  an  expedition  to  at- 
tempt to  reach  t'-e  North  Pole  by  way  of  Behring  Straits. 
Lieutenant  DeLong  became  interested  in  the  undertaking, 
and  the  Pandora,  owned  by  Captain  Allan  Young,  was  se- 
lected and  bought  as  a  suitable  vessel  to  convey  the  ex- 
plorers.    • 

The  Pandora  was  built  in  England  m  1862.  She  w^s  a 
bark-rigged  steam  yacht  of  4rv  tons  burden,  with  an  engine 
of  200 "horse-power,  and  a  wide  spread  .of  canvas.  She  was 
strongly  constructed,  and  had  seen  considerable  service  it:  the 
northern  seas.  In  1873  she  conveyed  her  owner  to  the  Ar 
tic  regions  for  the  purpose  of  searching  for  records  ot  -^:r 
John  Franklin's  expedition;  and  in  1876  Captain  Young 
cruised  in  her  about  the  northern  part  of  Baffin  Bay— having 
been  deputed  by  the  English  Admiralty  to  search  for  Captain 
Nare's  expedition. 

By  special  act  of  Congress  the  vessel  was  allowed  to  sail 
.,_.j„^  A -f-j^-:.^.o»|  r>/-xiQj-o  trs  RKRiirne  a  new  name-— the  Teannetts 
^and'to  be  navigated  by  officers  of  the  United  States  Navy, 
(162) 


UNFORTUNATE    EXPEm-nC„   OK  THE   JEANNe™..  ,53 

with  all   the   rlo-hts  anH   r»r;,M-T  r 

The  Secretary  Vf  the  NavTwa^s''.,!  ^  .^^^""^^"^  ^^^^^I. 

take  charge  of%he  ship  for  (hru^eo^^^^^^^^       '°  "T?^  ^"^ 

tion.  and  to  use  any  material  proposed  expedi- 

on  hand  in  fitting  her  for  the 

voyage;    but   upon   condition 

that    the    department   should 

not  be  subjected   to  any  ex 

pense  on  account  thereof. 
Tlie   Jeannette   was    taken 

from  Havre,  m  France,  throucrh 

the    Straits    of    Magellan   1o 

San  Francisco   by  Lieutenant 

DeLong,  with  Lieutenant  Dan- 
enhower  as  navigating  officer 
and  there  delivered  tr  the  na 
va  authorities  at  Mare  Island. 
Alter  a  thorough  examination 
It  was   deemed   advisable,  on 
account  of  the  hazardous  na- 
ture of  the  contemplated  voy- 
age, that  her  capacity  to  resist 
the  pressure  of  the  ice  should 
be  increased. 

The  officers  and  crew  of  the 
Jeannette  were  as  follows :  •  ^'eutfnani  geo.  w  d^long 

Lieutenant  George  W  Del  nnrr  r  t   c   m    ^ 

Lieutenant  Charfes  W  Chipp  ^U  S   M^i^  ^^"^'^ander. 

Lieutenant  John  W.  DanenW  U  ^"  n""  m"''- "  ^^^^^• 

George   W.    Melville.    Chief    Pn   •  '       ^"  Navigator. 
Surgeon.  '^'   ^^'^^    Engineer.      J.    M.   Ambler 

NatlsV'  ''°""^'  Meteorologist.     Raymond  L.  Newcomb 

claf  ^r^m^n.^if^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^;  Bartlet,  Flrst- 

chinist.     Alfred  Sweetrr^n  r."^^'"-     ^'^^^^^  Lee.   Ma- 
Waiter  Sharvell,  Flemen        ''^'"'''-     ^^^^^^^  Laude^back. 

A.gSL^i7^;^^^^^^^^^  Erickson.  Carl 

Wa;ren;S7^,^-i^os.  Edwa.S' Sta^^El;^ g; 


1 64 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Ah  Sam  and  Charles  Tong^  Sing  (Chinese),  Cook  and 
Cabin  Stewards. 

Lieutenants  DeLong  and  Chipp  were  officers  of  the  United 
States  steamer  Juniata  on  her  northern  cruise  in  search  of 
the  crew  of  the  lost  Polaris.  Mr.  Melville  was  engineer  of 
the  steamer  Tigress  when  she  went  north  on  the  same  errand. 
All  of  the  crew  were  voluEteers,  selected  with  great  care  from 
many  applicants.  Nindemann  was  a  member  of  the  Polaris 
ice-drift  party. 

The  Jeannelte  proceeded  direct  to  Ounalaska,  one  of  the 
Aleutian  Islands,  and  anchored  in  the  harbor  of  Illiouliouk, 
August  2d.  Additional  stores  and  -supplies  of  coal  and  fur 
from  the  storehouses  of  the  company  were  taken  on  board. 

On  the  6th  of  August  the  Jeannette  resumed  her  course, 
and  on  the  12th  of  August  anchored  opposite  the  little  set- 
tlement and  blockhouse  known  by  Americans  as  St.  Michael's, 
Alaska,  and  by  Russians  as  Michaelovski.  A  drove  of  about 
forty  trained  dogs,  three  dog-sleds,  and  fur  clothing  were 
taken  on  board  ship,  and  two  native  Alaskans,  named  Anequin 
and  Alexei,  were  hired  to  accompany  the  expedition  as  dog 
drivers  and  hunters.  Alexei  was  a  married  man,  and  botli 
could  speak  a  little  English. 

On  the  1 8th  of  August  the  schooner  Fanny  A.  Hyde,  con- 
veying coal  and  extra  stores  for  the  expedition,  arrived  from 
San  Francisco,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  21st  both  vessels 
resumed  the  voyage  northward. 

On  the  25th  the  Jeannette  arrived  at  the  St.  Lawrence  Bay, 
East  Siberia,  some  thirty  miles  south  of  East  Cape,  where 
DeLong  learned  from  the  natives  that  a  steamer,  supposed  to 
be  the  Vega,  had  gone  south. 

After  rounding  East  Cape,  Lieutenant  DeLong  touched  at 
Cape  Serdze,  on  the  northeast  coast  of  Siberia,  and  left  his 
last  letter  home.  It  was  dated  August  29th,  and  reached 
Mrs.  DeLong  over  a  year  afterward. 

On  the  29th  DeLong  attempted  to  land  at  the  Cape,  lat. 
67°  12'  nortii,  but  found  so  much  ice  moving  about  as  to  make 
this  impossible.  On  the  30th  Lieutenant  Chipp,  accompanied 
by  Dunbar,  Collins  and  the  native  Alexei,  landed  and  learned 
through  Alexei  from  an  old  squaw,  that  the  steamer  hiid  win- 
tered on  the  east  of  Koliutchin  Bay;  and  on  the  31st  the 
same  party,  together  with  Master  Danenhower,  at  last  made 
sure  by  a  landing  on   the  bay  that  the  Vega  had  certainly 


UNFOKTUNATE    EXPEDITION    OF  THE   JEANNETTE. 


wintered  there  and 


i  certamiv 


'65 

sian  buttons  fouled  if  the'huf„n^T*''^'  ^f"'^  ^""^  R"»- 

Lhem  the  word  Stockholm.  Swedish  and  having  on 

On  the  sixth  following  dav  the  sliin  w^c  un- 
closed off  by  the  pack-ice    Lrr.^-?  beginning  to  be 

observation  to  be  1^710  .L^  m  .^H  1     "  ^^%^^t^blished  by 
c     *      u  ,         '      55  i>l.  and  long-,  lyc^  c'  aq»  \\t 

on  the  floe  with  a  sled  and  eight  do^  to  attemnff I  /"' 
on  Herald  Island  ;  but  the  parfy  retu?n;d  w^o^lav  n^  mef 
with  any  success;  no  place  could  be  seenXnlanf^^!' 
ection  for  a  ship,  nor  any  driftwood.  Alexei  sho"t  seal  and 
brought  It  back  in  the  boat,  and  on  the  second  dnvf^fi  • 
DeLong.  with  Melville.  Chipp  and  Dunbar!  shot  LoL""^^ 
after  their  escape  of  some  miles  from  tlie  traps  ' 

But  at  the  close  of  the  month  the  Jeannette's  position  was 
far  from  being  such,  as  she  was  still  held  between  tie  floes 
as  .11  a  vice  and  drifting  with  the  pack  ^ 

Christmas  day  was  the  dreariest  day  ever  exDerlpnr.^ 
The  crew  came  aft  to  wish  the  officers  n  m.nrf  ^  experienced. 
music  for  them  in  the  deck  house  The  V^'u^' 11  ""^  "'^"^^ 
night  of  -.he  31st  calleltllTands  Igedt' to'^ve^Xee 
cheers^a.  tne  ,uarter-deck  for  the  ne^  ;:arafrfo:'[h\^ 

Lieutenant  Danenhower  was  now  unfortunately  niaced  on 

tressed  a<.  the  news,  as  the  Lieutenants  Ifforsh'ad  rent  off" 
the  moping  fof  many  an  hour,  and  he  feared  the  efferf  nT!    I 
confinement  on  the  mind.     The  sick  man  did  nn^ 
during  the  month  of  January  "^  "°'  '"^P^^^^ 

On  the  1 5th  the  floe  was  found  to  have  cracked  nnrl  r.r.^     a 


1 66 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


west,  the  ice  began  to  move,  and  the  ship  evidently  received 
tremendous  pressure  amid  the  groaning  and  grinding  tloes. 
The  ice  moving  to  the  eastward,  piled  up  large  masses  of  the 
floe  under  the  stem,  breaking  the  fore-foot. 

To  add  to  the  anxieties  of  the  ship's  company  two  streams 
of  water  an  inch  in  diameter  then  began  to  flow  through  the 
filling  which  had  been  put  in  below  the  berth  deck,  and  th(r 
water  soon  stood  eighteen  inches  deep  in  the  fore-peak  and 
thirty-six  inches  in  the  fore-hold,  while  in  the  fire-room  it  was 
over  the  floor-plates  on  the  starboard  side.  The  deck  pumps 
were  at  once  rigged  and  manned.     At  last  the   leak  was 


ALONE   IN  THE  ICE. 


diminished,  although  the  steam-pump  had  to  be  contmually 
kept  to  work,  pumping  out  250  gallons  an  hour. 

Marcli  ist  Lieutenant  Danenhower  had  the  sixth  operation 
on  his  eye  performed,  with  the  surgeon's  statement  that  others 
would  probably  be  necessary  at  short  intervals ;  he  still  kepi 
his  health  and  spirits.  The  ship  had  again  drifted  northwest, 
her  position  being  determined  by  Chipp  on  the  6th  to  be  lat, 
72°  12'  N.,  long.  175°  30'  W. ;  by  the  13th  the  drift  was  again 
thirty-three  miles  north  and  55°  W.,  and  by  the  27th  fourteen 


DeLong  thought  that  he  was  extremely  fortunate  in  lying 


UNFORTUNATE    EXPEDITION   OF   THE   JEANNETTE.  ifiT 

SO  long  without  serious  disturbance.     The  uoner  oart  of  .!,» 
propelTer  frame  l,ad  been  uncovered  by  digging  awaj  the  ice 
under  the  stern    and  no  sign  of  any  damage  was  aVparen! 
there.     Tl,e  .ce  also  had  been  dug  away  undtr  the  bows   o  a 
point  on  the  stem  where  the  draught  would  be  six  and  one 
half  feet,  at  which  depth  diligent  search  could  dete  t  noin^^ 
to  the  bow,  and  DeLong  came  more  than  ever  to  the  cS 
opimon  that  the  ship's  fore-foot  was  the  seat  of  the  damage 
Unhappdy  at  midnight,  after  the  digging,  the  pres  ure  oftie 
water  underneath  was  too  much  for  the  thin  layer  of  remain 
.ng  ice,  and  holes  were  broken  through  sufficient  to  flood  the 
large  pit  under  the  bow.     At  the  same  time  great  confused 
masses  were  piled  up  thirty  and  forty  feet  in  height  and 
Sharvell,  one  of  riie  crew,  reported  that  he  saw,  a&ut  Hve 
miles  northwest  of  the  ship,  ice  piled  up  as  hich  is  the  mast 
head;  he  tliought  the  destruction  of  the  ship  bv  Us  reaS 
that  mountain  of  ice,  or  by  that  mountain  of  L  reacWnt  h"? 
merely  a  question  of  time.    On  the  24th  and  25th  ei-htfimes 
as  much  water  as  before  had  come  into  the  fire-room     no 
greater  amount  seemed  to  come  in  forward,  but  it  was  neces" 

tTm^  aft    Tt  'tl'-'^"'-"'T''  'T"'  g°'"S  nearly  alf  the 
time  alt      It  was  impossible  to  discover  what  could   have 

gone  under  the  ship  to  affect  the  leak  in  this  wav 

I  he  hopes  of  release  for  the  ship  from  her  icy  cradle  seemed 

"n  InThe  fi'rlt  Iv  :f"'r'"°"r^  ''"''"^  37».  witlfa  f:":f 
rain  on  the  hrst  day  of  June.     Fires  were  discontinued  in  the 
abin  and  berth-deck,  and  the  record  could  be  made  that 
there  was  a  gradual  resuming  of  ship-shape  propoAtns  to 
be  ready  for  a  start  northward  and  eastward,  or^nothward 
and  westward    whichever  the  ice  and  winds  Would  permTt 
and  DeLong  had  been  again  hoping  strongly  day  after  "Lv 
for  some  indication  of  a  coming  liberation.     Tlie  decks  were 
rapidly  clearing  and  he  thougfft  he  was  sure  y  approachr„! 
he  tune  when  nothing  would  remain  but  to  hang  Ae  rudde? 
and  make  sail  for  some  satisfactory  result  of  the  cruise     From 
the  first  day  of  the  month  to  the  longest  of  the  vear  fop-? 
snows  and  gales  were  almost  the  dailylog  entry      The  drf 
contrary  to  all  expectation,  had  been  generally  w  the  sou  h 
ast     For  more  than  nine  months  the  ship  Iiad  been  driven 
here  and  there  at  the  will  of  the  winds.     On  the  30^,  her 


position  was  72°  iq'  ai"  N    itRo 


itl-l'     '»/-v" 


E. 


ac 


9  t,.  of  her  place  on  the  first.     She  was  heel 


y  in  lies  souLii, 
ing  4°  to  star- 


i68 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


board  (3°  all  winter),  and  her  doubling  on  that  side  was 
about  four  inches  above  the  water.  From  the  crcv's  nest  it 
could  be  seen  that  she  was  in  the  centre  of  an  ice  ■  land,  a  lane 
of  water  in  some  places  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide  surrounding 
her  at  the  distance  of  about  a  mile.  Much  effoi  had  been 
made  to  liberate  the  sc  rew  without  success.  The  drift  on 
that  day  was  only  one  mile. 

The  journal  of  July  8th   makes  special  reference  to   ti 
thickness  of  the  floes  around  and  underneath  the  Jeannette. 
It  recites  the  facts,  that  "in  September.  1879,  after  ramming 


ARCTIC  BIRDS— GULLS. 


the  ship  through  forty  miles  of  leads,  she  was  pushed  into  a 
crevice  between  two  heavy  floes  subsequently  found  to  be 
thirteen  feet  thick;  a  depth  caused  by  the  overriding  and 
uniting  of  one  floe  with  another  by  regelation  under  pressure. 
When  she  was  pushed  out  into  open  water  November  follow- 
ing she  was  afloat,  but  the  next  day  iced  in."  By  January 
17th,  1880,  the  ice  Jiad  a  thickness  of  four  feet  around  the 
vessel,  later  measurements  being  rendered  impossible  by  the 
confused  massing  which  took  place  two  days  afterward.  As 
the  leak  had  now  almost  subsided  more  firmly  and  correctly, 
DeLong  believed  that  he  was  buoyed  up  by  a  floe  extending 


UNFORTUNATE    EXPEn.noN    OK   THE  JEANNETTE.  ,69 

down  and  under  the  keel      "  I  nf  ..     i 

one  of  these  days  the  ma  s  wH^'bUl  ^:''!  j'^"™'?'  "*« 
our  bearings."  How  sad  th^JL^I-  P  ^  ''^'  "'^  "^ow"  to 
forefoot  wa%  irre",e:ably  wr:^che;'"^Th"'=';'=. '°  P™^^'  ^he 
mediately  on  tlie  ■■  brealdnrup  '  ^'"'  ''"!'  ""^f  si"l<  ™. 

routine  duty  on  board  shio  ind  „f    i  -r    previous  montlis  of 
the  ice,  remained  wi^h  sci^cerv  .  L  "'^^  ""'9  "°  "'^"^''^  f™"' 

September  ist  tlie  shb  at  hst       "  °"  ''""^  ''^^  '°  ^ay. 
this  had  occurred  very  oKvan  I      ?,  °"  ^?  ^^™  '''^'^''  «"d 
large  chunks  of  iceros^^n   he  "    7"^'°"'/^°'^  '  °"'=  °'-  '»o 
The  sl,ip  was  yet  imnmva  Iher  kc^':  "ff  "7"  'I  ™^  ■^•'"• 
m  the  cradles.     After  sawing  Lh  ^^'"''^"°'  ''<='"S  '■'^Id 

feet,  in  the  hope  of  mtiu™  oie  m'/  "  '^"'■",''<'°'  "^'-^  °'-  -'=' 
found  that  mCre  wtte?am"!n  a,  H  Te""'-  ■'""■•"•'' "^^ 
arrested.     Before  the  close  of  Vi;  u    f*'""«  '""''t  be 

water  was  abandoned  mdur/ ',""'""'  "i"^  ''''^^  "'"  °Pen 
winter  in  the  pack  P'-<=parat,ons  made  for  a  second 

the'^^attteJ^MSt::  Du„r  rKT  '"  ^^^'  ^««'-  "" 
clearly  enough  an  island  b«.. in"  bv  SK,i^'°°^r  ^'"'.^■ 
observations,  S.  78=  45'  (magnetic) 'N  8,°  ?,  Vf^  "'f^ 
first  and  to  greet  the  eye  since  March  it,\^;'?^-*^ 
months  before.  What  it  InH  tn  ^„ '  .r  ^  '  ^^°'  'ourteen 
standing  desolate  amonL  the  t,  "'"^  ^'^°"°'">'  °f  ""'"re 

tion  ;  it  might  be  the  s„o?  to  wiS  ,'??"'?  ^^  ""'  "'«  <!"«- 
been  flyi„|,  and  if'thT°ship  "^  geVsomro"f'tf  "^r"'^" 
change,  what  a  treat  I     "  pJ^„«         *"       ,  °'  '"^™  for  a 

to  look  at  but  ic,  ^n  Iskv  anf  ?°'"'''  r'""""'  ='"yAi"g 
pack  will  make  a  hS'e  !:;I;3^"^  iTanic"' ro"cf  if,:!''""^  '",  4 
Si '"""■?  '°::'^"  ^y^  ^"^  =>"  oas  in  the  de  ert  ■• "  n  '^f 
0  gT^.tMlo^^'r-'  Pl?ced  the  ship  i'n?ar76"  4^  -  'g' 

witf  a'-snolctU:d  Z^t  ll^L  t dt".!  '''-''' 
seeming  to  be  a  volcano  to.,      Tiff  ^^'■^^''^''  ^^'■"er 

on  the  north  side-  the  ire  vL.  Lr.  k     1   J'''*""?"^  drifted  past 

ning  so  rapidly  tharDeUZ  did'^rihfnk   >"  ^^f  '""' 
make  an  attempt  to  la'nd.  '^  prudent  to 

ah^d'^^;j,eli^|:S:;Xcif  w  ''"7^"'  "^-^  ^-"d  -as 

ice  very  slack,  with  many  large  lanes  of  water 


e>. 


'.V^   ^ 

v^.^^' 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


A 


C// 


j?5^ 


..«*'A 


.f#:4^ 


<^ 


f/. 


4fl 
-^ 


!I.O 


I.I 


■so    ""^™ 

:^   U£    12.0 


j25 
2.2 


1.8 


• 

125     U      1.6 

=     — =    ^ 

^ 

6" 

► 

'/] 


m'  ^■ 


'^^^y  m 


Sciences 
Corporation 


V 


<v 


\ 


^^ 


iJ    .,^  *!.■'• 


^1-^ 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.V.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


"%" 


V 


i/.J. 


/ 


I70 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


var^'ing  in  length  from  an  eighth  of  a  mile  to  three  miles,  and 
in  width  from  twenty  to  .one  hundred  feet.      The  lanes  were 
very  tantalizmg ;   they  seemed  to  be  within  a  radms  of  five 
miles,  but  the  islands  were  from  diirty  to  forty  miles  off,  and 
from  that  five  miles  radius  to  them,  the  ice  was  as  close  and 
compact  as  ever.     On  the  31st,  estimating  the  distance  to  be 
but  fifteen  or  twenty  miles.  Engineer  Melville,  in  company 
with  Dunbar  and  Nindemann,  and  three  other  seamen,  set 
out  from  the  ship  with  a  fifteen-dog  team  to  visit  this  second 
island.     They  landed  on  it  June  3d,  and  took  possession  for 
the  United  States,  naming  it  Henrietta— the  name  of  a  sister 
of  Mr.  Bennett;  a  cairn  was  built  and  a  record  was  placed 
within  it,  and  a  limited  examination  made  of  twelve  hours. 
It  was  found  to  be  a  desolate  rock,  surrounded  by  a  snow 
cap  which  feeds  several  glaciers  on  its  east  face.     Within  the 
inaccessible  cliffs,  nesting  dovekies  were  the  only  signs  oi 
life.     To  reach  the  land,  the  party  left  their  boat  and  sup- 
plies, and  carrying  only  one  day's  provisions  and  their  instru- 
ments went  through  the  frightful  ice  mass  at  the  risk  of  life, 
dra<ygincr  the  dogs,  which,  through  fear,  refused  to  follow  their 
human  "leaders.      ?,Ir.   Dunbar  returned    badly  affected   by 
snow-blindness ;  Chipp,  Newcomb,  Dunbar,  and  Alexei  were 
now  on  the  sick-list,  on  which  Surgeon   Ambler  had  kept 
DeLong  also  for  several  days,  in  consequence  of  a  severe 
wound  'In  his  head  received  incidentally  from  a  fan  of  the 
windmill.     A  general  order  was  made  out  giving  the  names 
and  positions  of  the  two  islands,  Jeannette   Island,  lat.  76° 
47',   long.   E.   158°  56',   approximate;    Henrietta  Island,  lat. 

77°8',  bng.  E.  157°  43'.  ,    ,     .  ,    ,       u- 

On  the  very  day  last  named,  the  ice  around  the  ship  was 
broken  down  in  immense  masses,  the  whole  pack  being 
alive,  and  had  the  ship  been  within  one  of  the  fast-closing 
leads  she  would  have  been  ground  to  powder.  Embedded 
in  a  small  island  of  ice,  she  was  as  yet  protected  from  the 
direct  crushing  on  her  sides,  but  felt  a  continual  hammering 
and  thumping  of  the  ice  under  her  bottom. 

On  the  1 2th  of  June,  at  midnight,  in  a  few  moments'  time, 
she  was  set  free  by  the  split  of  the  floe  on  a  line  with  her 
keel,  and  suddenly  righting,  started  all  ^ands  from  their  beds 
to  the  deck.  By  9  a.  m.  the  ice  had  commenced  coming  in 
on  her  side  ;  a  heavy  floe  was  hauled  ahead  into  a  hole  where 
it  was  supposed  die  ice  coming  together  would  impinge  on 


UNFOKTUNAIE    EXPEDITION    OF  THE   JKANNETre.  I71 

itself  instead  of  on  the  sliip.     Tlie  pressure  was  very  heavy 
and  gave  forth  a  h.ssmg.  crunching^ound,  and  at  3^40  pT 

tankers  "^ArT"  M  'i'"'J!^  '^'""^h  the  starboi'd     oa 
bunlsers.     At  four  o  clock  she  was  lying  perfectly  quiet  but 

d:;n'xrgT  ''™^"  "p  =°  ''^'  ■" '"'  -■  •'-  '-X'^^ 

the  water  tlie 
injury    to    her 
forefoot  made 
January    19th, 
1880,  could  be 
seen.   Melville 
went    on    the 
floe  to  take  her 
photograph, 
but  on  return- 
ing to  the  ship 
heard  the  or- 
der to  prepare 
to    leave    the 
vessel  by  get- 
ting   out    the 
chronometers, 
rifles,  ammuni- 
tion, and  other 
articles  to  the 
Hoe.    Lieuten- 
ant Chipp  was 
quite    sick    in 
bed,    but   was 
notified;  Cap- 
tain    DeLong 
"  was      every- 
where,  seeing 
that  all  things 
went 


o  n 


ABANDONING  THE  JEANNETTK 


smoothly  and  quietly,  without  the  least  haste  or  consterna 

^ann^raf  ILT ''  '^  ^^"^  ^'°"^  '''^  ^^^  ^^  "^^  -- 

tried  to  have  thf  o^^  '""^'^ '"   "o  danger  whatever,  and 

'',u  °t!!^^^  ^^^  o'^ce*-^  and  men  feel  as  collected  ^<=  he 

S  nJ"''1  ""S'  ^T^^  ''"^^  '*'°^  ^»  persons 'to  gel"  out 
^eir  personal  effects,  but  to  get  a  barrel  of  lime-fuke.  so 


172 


ARCTIC     EXPLORATIONS. 


necessary  to  prevent  scurvy  on  their  march,  Seaman  Starr 
waded  into  the  forward  store-room  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 

When  the  order  was  given  for  all  hands  to  leave  the  ship 
at  about  eleven  at  night,  her  water-ways  had  been  broken  in, 
the  iron-work  around  the  smoke-pipe  buckled  up,  the  rive.s 
sheared  off,  and  the  smoke-stack  left  supported  only  by  the 
guys.  Three  boats  were  lowered,  the  first  and  the  second 
cutter,  and  the  first  whale-boat ;  and  the  ship's  party  of  thirty- 
three  made  their  camp  on  the  floe  in  six  tents,  but  within  an 
hour  were  compelled  to  move  still  farther  from  its  edge  by 
the  breaking  up  of  the  floe  in  their  camp. 

At  4  A.  M.,  June  13th,  the  cry  of  the  watch  was  heard, 
"  There  she  goes ;  hurry  up  and  look,  the  last  sight  you  will 
have  of  the  old  Jeannette!"  While  the  ice  had  held  to- 
gether, it  had  held  her  broken  timbers.  When  it  opened — 
with  her  colors  flying  at  the  masthead — she  sank  in  thirty- 
eight  fathoms  of  water,  Stripping  her  yards  upwards  as  she 
passed  through  the  floe.  At  3  a.  m.  her  smoke-pipe  top 
was  nearly  awash ;  the  main  topmast  first  fell  by  the  board  to 
starboard,  then  the  fore  topmast,  and  last  of  all  the  mainmast. 
The  ship  before  sinking  had  heeled  to  starboard  about  30°, 
and  the  endre  starboard  side  of  the  spar  deck  was  sub- 
merged, the  rail  being  under  water,  and  the  water-line 
reached  to  the  hatch-coamings  before  the  ship  had  been 
abandoned.  The  next  morning,  a  visit  to  the  place  where 
she  was  last  seen  showed  nothing  more  than  a  signal  chest 
and  a  cabin-chair  with  some  smaller  articles  afloat.  This 
happened  in  lat.  77°  14'  57"  N. ;  long.  154°  58'  45"  E. 

Daylight  found  the  party  encamped  on  the  ice,  about  four 
hundred  yards  from  where  the  ship  went  down.  The  <;lay 
was  spent  in  arranging  the  effects  and  in  gaining  rest,  which 
was  very  much  needed.  Many  of  the  crew  were  incapaci- 
tated for  active  work  by  reason  of  severe  cramps,  caused  by 
tin-poisoning  from  tomato  cans.  Among  the  sick  were  Lieu- 
tenant Chipp,  Kuehne,  the  Indian  Alexei,  Lauderback,  and 
the  cabin  steward. 

The  doctor  recommended  delay  until  the  sick  party  should 
have  recovered ;  but  the  time  was  not  wasted,  and  the  rest  of 
the  crew  began  the  work  of  dividing  the  clothing,  and  stow- 
ing the  sleds  and  boats.  There  were  as  provisions  3,500 
pounds  of  pemmican  in  tinned  canisters  of  45  pounds 
weight  each ;  about  1,500  pounds  of  haid  bread,  and  more 


UNFORTUNATE    EXPED.T.ON    OE   THE  JEANNETTE.  ,  73 

sides  these  .here  was  a  larrqua°[i 'v" nM  ''k'  .^-"P-  ^^- 
niost  important  element  in^he  Xrofri,»  ^""^f  ^"'•''".  » 
"ty  of  alcohol,  which  wLrinf^nTj  ^  '^'■''"  •  ^  '^rge  quan- 
ing  during  the  retre^  n.  '  ,  r '°  "^"^  =■=  *■"«'  ^°'-^°ok- 
equ:pmenr  of  rifles  kfT^"^  ammunition,  and  a  good 
sleds,  each  having  a  tier  of  alcohol' •  ^'l"  ''°"^''  ""five 
either  side  a  tier  l{  pemmican  tni^  '"  *?  '"';^'"^-  ='"d  on 
loaded  with  bread  and  "™'^,i  '^'■'-    Another  sled  was 

There  were  S^ree  b^ats'mo^.^rj""^  °^  ™g"-  ^"'^  <^offee. 
each  of  which  consisted  otvToTt  "^°"  \^'F-™ade  sleds, 
bone  The  g,.„d  toSl  we  ght  ^fbX^V''"''/'*  whale- 
was  about  15,500  Dourds  *t„  j    "',  ^'^''=' and  provisbns 

working  forci^herthe  .etrl^t  conTmrV''^P""y  ^'"^  ^ 
men;  and  the  dogs  were  emn?n.,^°r,''^'''  ?f  'wenty-two 
drag  a  large  amoul  uf  TtorTs'^fe  th;!  '  '""'  l'^^'-  ^'^^^'  '° 
to  those  permanently  stowed  nnl  t  P"^  ''*''  '"  ^««s 
man  had  I  knapsack^s  owTd  awTin  ri,  ""l^"'  '^^'^'-  ^ach 
sack  contained  one  chanffeof  ^^^^'^  .  "i^  ''°'"^:  each  knap- 
matches,  one  plug  of  tobfcco  on.  °*"-^''  ?""=  P^'^'^^ge  of 
and  one'spareVfr  of  moccls'ins     """  P^""  °f  ^"°w-go|gles. 

bre?k  camp'"' £  ^'^^a"  tb^'  "h*^- f *^  ^^  ?'-"  «<> 
the  dmg-rope  of  the  first  cutterT,  "'*  ^"""'-iasm,  and 
At  the  end  of  the  first  ZH  T  •'  '"""^'^'ately  manned, 

that  the  drift  of  thence  had  moreTh'"  '"""^  "^^  observation 
covered  by  his  adv:,;c:,  a^'d  TaWn't"  IT^T'';  "'^  ^^ 
seven  miles  by  the  drift  tn  fl,»  „     !?  .    ''  '°='  twenty- 

march  to  the  south  The  orlr  "°"r"'?'  ■"  ^^'^^•"  'o  bis  ■ 
land  was  very  slow  but  inXZ,°-  "'"  P?"y  '°"«^d  '^^ 
became  visible.  On  ^^  T^V^Tl^"'^  water-courses 
point  not  more  than  two  m  it  rfistai  '?±  ,^7  T^^^<i  ^ 
men  were  so  exhausted  that  th^v  hllS  5  """  '^"^'  I'"*  'be 
•"S  it  was  found  tha  thev  hVn  7y,^  '"  f^^P'  ^ext  morn- 
tl.e  southward,  and  1„X  11^^^''  Vl^'^  ,"'^^^  ""^^  'o 
27th  dav  of  July  an  islfnd  v^.  /    t  °T*^  '^'^"''-     O"  'he 

rock  and  a  laLLe  s^tand  on  the\th  aT-iT^'^'  °''  '"P" 
on  the  new  discovery      Caotrin   n^f  "'''"^ '^'^^  "ade 

body  on  the  island,  u^ifurled'^a  silk  fl^°"?    T''^'^'^  ^^-Y- 
the  island  in  the  name  ofThe  Ltden^^;/:^.'  ,'?°-<=M°"  "f 


'ailea  It  liennett  Island      The\'nntU  "  ''^^^*^^' 

t"u.     ine  south  cape  was  named 


(174) 


UNFORTUNATE    EXPEDITION    OF    THE   JEANNEITE.  175 

Cape  Emma,  after  the  captain's  wife,  and  was  in  lat  70°  ,R- 
north,  long.  148°  20'  east.  .      u  wds  m  lat.  70    38' 

The  ship's  company  now  encamped  for  several  dav.;  n^^^ 
mg  rest  and  change  of  diet.  Their  first  surfeh-^  An  fh 
numerous  birds  readily  knocked  down  bro'  Tt  t'n^e  ^ick' 
ness  compelhng  a  return  to  pemmican.  Dunbar  and  the 
two  Indians  explored  the  east  side  of  the  island?  findinfthee 
several  grassy  valleys;  Lieutenant  Chipp  and  Mr  Cohlns 
explored  the  south  and  west  sides ;  a  box  of  geological  sped 

hre^^D^  Serlta""!''  'T^  ''  Lie^iten^l^TDren: 
nower.     ur.  Ambler  obtained  amethysts,  opals,  and  oetrifar 

.ons;  t,dal  observations  were  made,  the  greatest  rise  and 
fall  noted  bemg  about  three  feet.     The  party  left  the  Land 
August  6th,  and  made  fair  progress  until  Sae  20th    when 
after  dnft.ng  along  the  north  cSast  of  Thadeoffskv  Mand' 

hey  were  impnsoned  nearly  ten  days,  after  which  they  found 
of  tTSirnr  ""^^"'^  -'-.-"  ^^unded  the  souTh  point 

The  three  boats  and  their  several  occupants  were  the  fir,, 
cutter,  holdmg  Captain  DeLong,  Surgeon  Arb'ler  Mr 
Collms,  and  eleven  of  the  crew  includin.?  AI,  cV     .u  , 

and  the  Indian,  Alexei ;   theTe^o^ttifwftrUeu'ternt 

a'-aardlatlt'u'::  "^^^^^  C^ine-e- 

feMe'^-     ^'^"'^?«  Chipp  and  some  of  hTs  sailofs  tis  'ed 
«periirce   "P- '"'  "P""^'* '""  "'^y  ''='<'  had  a  ver^  rough 

whtnfpJrtvtd*'  "'■■^!,''°«\'«ft  Semenovski  Island  on 
»ortS  "^h  ci  by^Tp  M^'fo^ce'drh'anr-'^r^"  h"."^"^ 

itotfe-s  r P  Thf cou:L%t^':^r 

.ant  C'Sn,e^rCh?;p';°i^Ste,?  ^^t  t 
n..t  cutter  destined  to  land  her  party  and  make 


176 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


the  sad  experience  of  their  intense  suffering  to  death  by  cold 
and  starvation  ;  tlie  second  cutter  to  leave  no  record,  but  the 
blank  to  be  filled  by  the  reasonable  supposition  of  her  being 
swamped  by  the  sea  ;  and  the  whale-boat  to  be  saved  only  by 


ANNEXATION  OF  BENNEIT    ISLAND. 


the  successful  use  of  a  drag  or  sea-anchor,  and  the  incessant 
baling  by  almost  exhausted  men. 

The  course  of  the  party  in  this  boat  will  be  first  traced. 
Engineer  Melville  was  in  command,  but  relied  on  the  profes- 
sional ability  of  Lieutenant  Danenhower,  still  on  the  sick-list. 


incessant 


UNFORTUNATE    EXPEDITION    OF   THE  JEANNEm.  ,7, 

Steering  was  by  the  sun  or T!  '    V-  ""^  unavailable, 

hower  carried  the  watch  and  ctr.*"""!"-     \i^T'^"<-  Danen- 

of  the  boat  by  *rLtrings'':r;he"'r«tir'''-'°"'^^t 
period.     September  i  cfh  on^  ^V  Vu    "  ^"'^  equinoctial 

Lena  was  en  ^ed  and  L T.  •  f  ^^''";:"  '"^"^^^  ^^  'he 
the  party  pushed  url^vrra'ndor^  a  T,„g,3  -j^^^ 
small  village,  in  whfch  HveTa  stbeHan  exUetleTr^'K" 
proved  very  useful  in  opening  theTav  ^ 
teaching  the  Lieutenant  RussL  nhrlJ.  intercourse  by 
tained  at  this  place  waiting  foTthe  growth  of  tleTceTr^led" 
ding,  and  while  another  RJssian  evit  j7^1  ,J  °'  ^'^°" 
with  the  chief  of  the  v^llaire  wLmx    '^°°''"?,'^  Gerrymahoff. 

the  Russian  authoritielofth^r  arrllT'''' '°  "*"'""  '°  '"f"" 

a  d^^t^JifS  l?ir The'^^atZ^i^r"  '''^  T^'^  ""^ 
was  unable,  from  ^he  cMnTVtZ^'^^±"t  '"' 
any  direction,  and  returned  without  results'      ^        ^  '^*'  '" 

Un  the  29th  the  two  messengers  retiirn^H    K,;„  ■ 
news  that  on  their  way  back  thev  h?H  Z^,      ,'  ''""g',"g  ''le 
sleds,  who  had  Nindemann  and  Nofo^  of  n  J'  *•'*  ''""'- 
conducting  them  to  Bulun      The  two  tf  ^eLong's  party, 
note,   stating   that   the   caotaivfl  ,  "  ''^'' ""-'tten  a 

needed  immediate  assistrn'ie      ?<o'^,i.\™^''^   ^'^'^'^S'  ='"d 

note  to  Engineer  MeS,  whotm^dttr^tarted''',^'"" 
native  and  dop--teaiTi  tn  fin^  tU^     '""icuiareiy  started  with  a 

captain's  ^^InS  ^rry  food  to  "1,1^"  n'  P°f '°"°f 'he 
ordered  to  take  charge  o7the  oartv  .^H '  P.f '^"''ower  was 
possible  to  Bulun.  November  ,  It'  th^  If  I  ^•''"  ^"°°"  ^^ 
brought  to  him  a  eood  sunnhf  .f  K      a  ?"'""  '^"■"mandant 

and  a  document  aldressWNoro?^i''M^T"^''  """^  '^' 

't  v°  I'^'^rb  ?hi:hr;:aii"Se  ^6°;':^°  Is,  ''"■ 

Se^r  ti'^ofthe'^Na"^  Trdf  ^"t*^  fi-t  de:;a?ch%r  ".he 
frozen  to  a  mMer  chma«  I  ."^ .''""  'V^"''  *«  ^i<=k  and 
went  forwar™  thereW    ^^  L'eutenant  Danenhower's  party 

by  die  rSu  ocuHr,i,a°  /?!^'ul^-...."^'<=>,h-g  -dvisej 
^^  '-^^  ^i^  "g"«-  eye  wouia  be  well  in  a 


178  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

few  days,  he  telegraphed  to  the  department,  through  the 
American  Legation  at  St.  Petersburg,  asking  permission  to 
hire  a  steamer,  and  search  for  Lieutenant  Chipp's  party  dur 
ing  the  spring  and  summer;  also  for  two  line  officers  to 
assist.  He  received  a  reply  through  the  Legation  that  two 
officers  would  be  sent.  The  entire  party  of  men  of  which  he 
had  charge  volunteered  to  remain  for  the  search,  six  of  them 
being  in  excellent  condition ;  February  5th,  however,  he  re- 
ceived further  orders  from  the  Navy  Department  that,  owing 
to  his  condition  of  health,  the  order  to  remain  and  search  for 
survivors  of  the  Jeannette  was  revoked.  The  oculist  allow- 
ing him  to  start  on  the  1 3th  of  March,  the  lieutenant  went 


SCENE  IN  LAPLAND-TRAPPING  GAME. 


forward  with  his  men,  except  Seaman  Noros,  whom  he  had 
been  ordered  by  a  subsequent  telegram  to  permit  to  accom- 
pany Mr.  J.  P-  Jackson,  a  special  messenger  sent  out  by  Mr. 
Bennett  to  renew  search  on  the  Lena  delta. 

Lieutenant  Danenhower,  Mr.  Newcomb,  Cole,  and  the 
Chinese  arrived  in  New  York  city  on  June  ist.  The  rest  of 
the  whale-boat  crew,  except  the  Indian.  Aneguin,  who  died  of 
smallpox  in  Russia,  and  Nindemann  and  Noros.  of  DeLongs 
party,  arrived  m  the  United  States  previous  to  the  i2thol 
February  1882.  Cole  was  already  mentally  affected,  and  be- 
came an  inmate  of  the  Government  Asylum  for  the  Insane  a! 

Washington,  D.  C.  ,    .      ,   ^  ,  j     r 

The  following  sad  history  is  derived  from  the  records  ol 


tmFORTONATK    EXrEOITION    OF   THE   JEANNETTE.  ,;, 

litt/the  first  two  "these  'hree'"be-^^",r'  ^°';°''  ='"''  I^^"" 
from  this  boat.  ^'^  ''^'^^  "'*  °"'y  ones  saved 

The  captain's  brief  iourmlc  «r  c.  »      u 
"At  9  P.  M.  September-'°"tl"tst  sifhToT^f',  'P''  "'""^''^ 
at  ,o  P  „.  lost^ight  of  secoJ  cutt  fastern"  witd?'  t'"^''^ 
to  a  gale.     Step  of  mast  carried  away     owered"  nil  f^'"'!5«^ 
to  sea-anchor;  vervheavv  «pa  ^TJi      j  »    ''"'  *""^  ""ode 

falling  rapidly.     ^       ^     ^'  ^"'' '"""''  ^1"alls.     Barometer 

."I3tl',  very  heavy  northeast  gale.  a,  r  , 

a  .11  -y-sa[l  made  of  a  sled-cover   n„A  i  '  .'    ,      ,   '  •  "•  ^«' 
to  d.e  westward  before  the  sea      fd      P'  ^'f  ,''°"  ^"^V 

hundred  yards,  landed  at  8  PM-'larkk^r"''"''  "  '^  '"^'^ 
Collins  had  a  ^ood  fire  loin ;,=f  ,     ■.now-storm,  but 

thing,  except  boat  oars  m.=?'l    ,  '°?°  ,''«?  l=»nded  every. 

.8th  had  fires  eoin°airr»f'       ''•?"''  ^'™''°'  breakers;! 

look'our  situation  ?f  d  e  tee  and  nr''''  """  '='°",r '  *«  ■""=' 
ment.  ^''"''  ""''  P'^'^Pare  to  walk  to  a  settle- 

lea:Sd"s'pTace'and"afa1P"P5'-tio"s  to  be  made  for 

.0  be  feft  bS  •    leff  n  instfrenf  b'"  ^'^'=P'"§-'>ags  are 
of  which  read  thus  :  '"sfument  box  a  record,  portions 

"Landed  here  on  the^eve^ninf  J^'m^'P'^^^''"'  '^'I'-  -SSr. 

this  afternoon  to  °ry  a  'd  reacK'^  V'  ''''    '  ^'      "'"'  ''™''"' 
tlie  nearest  of  which  I  Mel         ?"''= ''^Ip,  a  settlement. 

We  are  all  well,  have  four  davs'  nrnv!""^"''""  *"""^  ^'■«^"'' 
iiition,  and  are  carrvh,^  w^N  '^     Provisions,  arms  and  ammu- 

with  blankets!  tenTs    and   som^^  ^^  ^°^'  ^"'^  PaP^rs. 
chances  of  gelting  tllro'ugh    ^e'n^  g^d"'"^^ '    "-ffo-  -ur 

^1:3  ip^tr^rn^  ^  V-^^f '  ^oads^- h-;.!' 

and  Sam,  ZbhUrg.^^  Th""!  TeiTTm^'"^'  ^"^'^^°"'  ''°>* 
no  use.    Roads  bad      k  ™1-      '?    '  T^'="  ■"'""tes  each  of 

ally  up  toihe  knees     le^fM-^."'™"^''''^'"  ""''  ■  occasion- 

Dres.4r  to  depos  t  .og^bo^k^'"''"-'"^'''^'  "'"'  '^'<=^^'  '"^ 
to  have  lost  all  feelin!?in  W«  ,„;  '  '  '  ,^^^0'  one  of  us  seems 

™y  up  the  feet.     Tl"ft  "errfhle  ^'  T'!  'T\°^  "'  ^^™  half- 

great  Fnjury;  opened  ouHr''^arot'"j'l!>°"  ^^^  ^one  us 

— ^ a...  ^i  pvjiiiiincan,  and 


so  cut  It 


i8o 


ARCTIC     EXri.OUATIONS. 


that  it  must  suffice  for  four  clays'  food,  then  we  are  at  the  end 
of  our  provisions,  and  must  eat  the  dog  (the  last  of  the  forty) 
unless  Providence  sends  something  in  o'lr  way.     When  the 

dog  is  eaten ?     I  was  much  impressed,  and  derive  great 

encouragement  from  an  accident  of  last  Sunday.  Our  Bible 
got  soaking  wet,  and  I  had  to  read  the  K[)istle  and  Gospel 
from  my  prayer-bonk.  According  to  my  rough  calculation  it 
must  have  been  the  fifteenth  Sunday  after  Trinity,  and  the 
Gospel  contained  some  promises  which  seemed  peculiarly 
adapted  to  our  condition. 

"  September  21st,  at  3.30,  came  to  a  bend  in  the  river  mak- 
ing south,  and  to  our  surprise,  two  huts,  one  seemingly  new. 
At  9  p.  M.  a  knock  outside  the  hut  was  heard,  and  Alexei  said: 
*  Captain,  we  have  got  two  reindeer,'  and  in  he  came  bearing 
a  hind-quarter  of  meat.  September  24th,  commenced  prepa- 
rations for  departure  from  the  hut  at  7  o'clock At  10 

P.  M.  made  a  rough  bed  of  a  few  logs !  wrapped  our  blankets 
around  us,  and  sought  a  sleep  that  did  not  come  ;  27th,  made 
tea  at  daylight,  and  at  5 .05  had  our  breakfast — four-fourteenths 

of  a  pound  of  pemmican At  9.45  five  men  arrived  in 

camp,  bringing  a  fine  buck.  Saved  again  !  September  30th, 
iioth  day  from  leaving  the  ship,  Erickson  is  no  better,  and  it 
is  a  foregone  conclusion  that  he  must  lose  four  of  the  toes  of 
his  right  foot,  and  one  of  his  left.  The  doctor  commenced 
slicing  away  the  flesh  after  breakfast,  fortunately  without  pain 
to  the  patient,  for  the  forward  part  of  the  foot  is  dead ;  but  it 
was  a  heart-rending  sight  to  me,  the  cutting  away  of  bones 
and  flesh  of  a  man  whom  I  hoped  to  return  sound  and  whole 
to  his  friends.  October  ist,  the  doctor  resumed  the  cutting 
of  poor  Erickson's  toes  this  morning ;  only  one  toe  left  now. 
And  where  are  we?  I  think  at  the  beginning  of  the  Lena 
River  at  last.  My  chart  is  simply  useless.  Left  a  record  in 
the  hut  that  we  are  proceeding  to  cross  to  the  west  side,  to 
reach  some  settlement  on  the  Lena  River.  October  3d,  noth- 
ing remains  but  the  dog.  I  therefore  ordered  him  killed  and 
dressed  by  Iverson,  and  soon  after  a  kind  of  stew  made  of 
such  parts  as  could  not  be  carried,  of  which  everybody,  except 
the  doctor  and  myself,  eagerly  partook;  to  us  it  was  a  nause- 
ating mess Erickson  soon  became  delirious,  and  his 

talking  was  a  horrible  accompaniment  to  the  wretchedness  of 
our  surroundings.  During  the  night  got  his  gloves  off;  his 
hands  were  frozen.     At  8  a.  m.  got  Erickson  (quite  uncon- 


the  end 
le  forty) 
'hen  the 
ve  great 
ur  Bible 

1  Gospel 
ilation  it 
and  the 
sculiarly 

^er  mak- 
gly  new. 
xei  said: 

bearing 
d  prepa- 

.  At  10 
blankets 
th,  made 
rteenths 
rived  in 
)er  30th, 
5r,  and  it 
:  toes  of 
imenced 
out  pain 
1 ;  but  it 
Df  bones 
id  whole 

2  cutting 
left  now. 
he  Lena 
ecord  in 

side,  to 
3d,  noth- 
illed  and 
made  of 
y,  except 
a  nause- 

and  his 
dness  of 
.  off;  his 
:  uncon- 


DIVIDING  THE  DEER-SKIN  SCRAPS. 


HLHOLLia^t:    r.J 


(i8i) 


l82 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


scious),  and  lashed  on  the  sled  under  the  cover  of  a  hut,  made 

a  fire  and  got  warm Half  a  pound  of  uog  was  fried 

for  each  one,  and  a  cup  of  tea  given,  and  that  constituted  our 
day's  food.  At  8.45  a.  m.,  our  messmate,  Erickson,  departed 
this  life.  October  6th,  as  to  burying  him  I  cannot  dig  a 
grave,  the  ground  is  frozen,  and  I  have  nothing  co  dig  with. 
There  is  nothing  to  do  but  to  bury  him  in  the  river.  S.wed 
him  up  in  the  flaps  of  the  tent,  and  covered  him  with  my  flag. 
Got  tea  ready,  ana  with  one -half  ounce  alcohol,  wa  will  try 
to  make  out  to  bury  him.  But  we  are  all  so  weak,  that  I  do 
not  see  how  we  are  going  to  move. 

"At  1 2.40  p.  M.  read  th2  burial-service,  and  carried  our  de- 
parted shipmate's  body  down  to  th^j  river,  where,  a  hole  hav- 
ing been  cut  in  the  ice,  he  was  buried  :  three  volleys  from  our 
two  Remingtons  being  fired  over  him  as  a  funeral  honor. 

"  Supper,  5  R  M.,  half  pound  dog  meat  and  tea.  October  9th, 
sent  Nindemann  and  Noros  ahead  for  relief;  they  carry  their 
blankets,  one  rifle,  forty  pounds  ammunition,  two  ounces 
alcohol.  .  ,  .  Under  way  again  at  10.30,  had  for  dinner  one 
ounce  of  alcohol.  Alexei  shot  three  ptarmigan.  Find  canoe, 
lay  oar  heads  0.1  it  and  go  to  sleep. 

"  loth,  eat  deer  skin  scraps.  .  .  .  Ahead  again  till  eleven. 
At  three  halted,  used  up.  Crawled  'nto  a  hole  on  the  bank. 
Nothing  for  supper,  except  a  spoonful  of  glycerine.  17th, 
Alexei  died,  covered  him  with  ensign,  and  laid  him  in  a  cnb. 
2 1  St,  one  hundred  and  thirty-first  day,  Kaack  was  found  dead 
at  midnight.  Too  weak  to  carry  the  bodies  out  on  the  ice;  the 
doctor,  Coliins  and  I  carried  them  around  the  corner  out  of 
sight.  Then  my  eye  closed  up.  Sunday,  October  23d,  one 
hundi  2d  and  thirty-third  day—everybody  pretty  weak— slept 
or  rested  all  day,  then  managed  to  get  enough  wood  in  before 
dark.     Read  part  of  divine  service.     Suffering  in  our  feet. 

"  Monday,  October  24th,  one  hundred  and  thiny-fourth  day. 

A  hard  night.  r  r  u  j 

"Tuesday,  October  25th,  one  hundred  and  thirty-htth  day. 

No  record.  .        .    , 

"  Wednesday,  October  26th,  one  hundred  ana  thirty-sixtli 

day.     No  record.  .  , 

"Thursday,  October  27th,  one  hundred  and  thirty-seventh 

"  Friday,  October  28th,  one  hundred  and  thirty-eighth  day. 
Iverson  died  durinfr  c  .ly  morning. 


UNFORTUNATE    KXPKDITION    OF   THE   JEANNETTE.  1 83 

"Saturday    October    39th,  one    liundred    and    thirty-ninth 
day.     Dressier  died  during  the  night  ^ 

"Sunday,   October  30th,   one   hundred    and    fortieth  day 
Boyd  and  Gortz  died  during  the  night.     Mr.  ColHns  dying.'' 

rhe  preceding  brief  extracts  from  this  saddest  of  aH  jfur- 
nals  tell   he  story  of  the  first  cutter,  excepting  that  of  the^wo 
saved    Nindemann   and  Noros.     The  captain,  the  surgeon 
and  the  last  one  of  the  crew  must  have  perished  almos^t'm 
mediately  after  the  last  one  of  their  comrades 

According  to  the  testimony  of  Seaman  Nindemann  DeLoncr 
on  ^e  9th  of  October,  had  called  him  aside  and  said  to  him  ^ 
"I  think  you  have  to  go  only  about  twelve  miles  to  a  settb^ 
ment  called  Ku-mark-surka.  and  you  and"  Noros  can  make  it 
in  three  days,  or  at  ihe  longest,  four.     Do  the  best  you  can 
if  you  find  assistance  come  back  as  quick  as  possible-  and  if 
you  do  not,  you  are  as  well  off  as  we  are  "      P'''^''''^'  ^""^  '* 
The  two  men  started  off  with  three  cheers  from  their  com- 
rades, and  a  copy  of  the  captain's  chart,  bj'  which  he  worked 
On  their  first  day  they  killed  one  ptarmigan;  on  the  second 
a, hng  to  secure  a  deer,  they  made  a  supper  on  a  boot  sole 
soaked  in  water  and  burned  to  a  crustf  with  some  Arctic 
willow  tea  ;  on  the  morning  of  the  nth  they  again  started  on 
their  way  south,  and  at  12  m.  stopped  to  make  use  of  some 

hL  h.^in  K°\  '  ^-  ^f'''^  '^^'  '^^  bottle  in  their  pocket 
!lll  /  ^°^/"'  ^'""^^  °"  ^"°'^^^  boot  sole  with  Arctic 
Willow  tea.  and  supped  upon   some  deer  bones  that  were 

ZTTu  [  u"""  ^'^J^ering  some  driftwood  Noros  looking 
nto  the  hole  beneath  it  drew  out  two  fishes,  and  Nindemann 

nfece'nf '""^r^i:-  ^^"  ^"^  ^°"°^^"S'  ^^^^'"^  "^^^^^^  ^o  eat" 
h^'n  .  '^^^■''''"  r"'^^^^  ^"^  °ff'  ^«^ked  in  water  and 
,1     ^^u'"'';^"^°"  ^^^  ^°°d  they  subsisted  until  the 

enough  to  keep  them  alive  for  some  days ;  they  were  becom- 
nig  very  weak  by  dysentery.  .      ^ 

On  the  22d,  looking  through  the  crack  of  the  hut  in  which 
hey  were  resting,  they  saw  a  native  who,  on  the  evening  of 

on^Tf-YT'"'''^  ^^^^  ^^h^*-^'  ^^^^'  P»«ing  the  two  men 
,vAX^!^'^^'  f  ^y^  -'^h  t'^-'"  ""til  midnight%o  their  tents" 
nale.  n;^^  ^^'^''!'  '^"^  '^"°  ^^^"^^^"  '-^"^"fed  them.  The 
f.rlr  V  '  f^'c^-nng  a  number  of  deer,  carried  the  two 
farther  forward,  and.  after  learning  from  them,  by  the  asJ^Tt^ 


1 84 


ARC  1 IC    EXPLORATIONS. 


ance  of  a  tdl  Russian,  that  they  wished  to  be  carried  to 
Bulun,  the  most  northern  Russian  settlement  in  Siberia, 
landed  them  at  that  place  on  the  29th.  Here  Noros  wrote, 
at  Nindemann's  dictation,  a  letter. to  the  American  minister 
at  St.  Petersburg,  informing  him  of  the  condition  of  DeLong 
and  his  party. 

Engineer  Melville  without  any  delay  started  on  the  search 
for  Captain  DeLong  and  his  companions,  but  after  great 
suffering  and  exposure  of  three  weeks*  duration  he  was  forced 
to  return,  without  having  found  the  missing  party.  On  March 
23d,  1882,  however,  accompanied  by  Seaman  Nindemann  and 

Bartlett,  he  found  the  resting- 
place;  of  the  twelve  bodies  of 
DeLong  and  his  companions. 
Four  poles  lashed  together 
and  projecting  out  two  feet 
from  the  snow-drift  pointed  to 
their  resting-place.  The  muz- 
zle of  a  Remington  rifle  also 
stood  above  the  snow  bank 
eight  inches,  its  strap  hitched 
over  the  poles.  A  few  hun- 
dred yards  farther  were  the 
three  bodies  of  Captain  De- 
^.Long,  Surgeon  Ambler  and  Ah 
Sam,  the  Chinese  cook.  Along- 
side of  DeLong  was  his  note- 
book with  the  last  feebly  writ- 
ten lines  which  have  been  cited; 
under  the  poles  were  the  books 
and  records  with  which  the  con- 
scientious care  of  the  commander  had  too  heavily  loaded  him- 
self and  party.  Alexei's  body  was  searched  for  in  vain  ;  De- 
Long's  journal  showed  that  he  died  in  the  flat  boat.  It  is 
probable  that  the  remains  of  the  native  were  borne  by  the 
flood  into  the  Lena.  Erickson,  as  has  been  stated,  had  been 
buried  by  DeLong  in  the  river.  The  captain's  left  arm  was 
sticking  up  out  of  the  snow. 

Nindemann,  with  Bardett,  under  Melville's  direction,  took 
everything  from  the  bodies,  tying  up  each  parcel  separately 
in  handkerchiefs  found  upon  them.  After  much  further  dig- 
ging in  the  snow,  and  finding  a  number  of  other  small  articles. 


ENGINEER  GEO.  W.  MELVILLE. 


UNFOKTUNATE    EXLEBITION   OF  THE   JE.N«EnE.  1 85 

Melville  had  all  the  bodies  carried  over  ,h» 

southward  of  IMat-Vai  where   on  f  v  if,  "°""'^'"  '»  the 

been  prepared,  and  a  box  to  hold  ,h'^  K  "^ r''^'  ^J°'"'>  ^^ 

tomb,  which  was  cohered"  wfth^^*"^'"^  built  over  the 

rough    stones,   from    one   hun- 
dred and  fifty  to  two   hundred 

pounds  at  the  base,  with  small 

pieces  at   the    top    and    sides. 

Ihe  cross  arm  was  hoisted  into 

Its  place,  and  keyed  by  Ninde- 

mann  with  a  large  wooden  key 

to  keep  It  m  place.     The  cross 

was  twenty-two   feet  high,  the 

arm  twelve  feet  in  length. 

Arrangements    were     subse- 
quendy    made  at    Yakutsk    to 
iiav'e   the   entire  cairn  covered 
with  a  deep  layer  of  earth,  to 
prevent   the   possibility   of  the 
sun  thawing  the  bodies  therein 
Uunng  the  first  week  of  April 
Engineer  Melville's  party,  hav- 
ing  completed  the  burial  of  the 
uodies.  were  put  upon  the  search 
tor  the  second  cutter,  under  the 
comma.)d  of  Lieutenant  Chipp 
Nindemann   and  Bartlett  were  I I 

tTe'setc'cTs:  of^^h'^'l^St^  tlt^T  °"?  °^  '^^  ^--i 
working  also  into  the  monfhrfr''^  ^'  far  as  Jamavaeloch, 
the  norfh  coast  of  Sibena  t  tl  "'""n  '  f ^^^^^^^  ^°"«-ed 
OeLong  and  his  party  ame  ThefrTrd^''^'°^'  '^""^  ^^^'^^ 
the  mo3t  thorough  manne?  bnf  n.  /  T^^  executed  in 

was  found.     The  fim  cutt'er  w      Z'^' •  °^  ^^^  ^^^°"d  ^"tter 
abinJ-^-^-  '  -^  cutter  was  found  whf-re  oK-  h^A  i- 

'loanuwncu  :n  the  ice  of  the  orenr.  fill  a     -T  ^'^"  "^^"^ 

and  badly  stove.  "'  ^""^"^  ^'^^^  ^^^^r,  frozen  in 


THE    ARCTIC    STEAMER    "  rUANNETTB," 

WHO    DIED    OP    STARVATION 
IN   THE    LENA    DELTA.   OCTOBER,  ,88l 


UBUTBNANT 
G.   W.   DELONG. 
DR-  J.   M.   AMBLER 
J.  J.   COLLINS. 
W.    LBS. 
A.  GORTZ. 
A.   DRESSLER. 
H.   H.   ERICKSON, 
G.   W.   BOYD. 
N.    IVEKSON. 
H.    H.    KAACK. 
ALBXBI. 
AH  SAM. 


i86 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Melville  searched  the  coast  line  west  to  the  deserted  village 
of  Chancer,  thence  across  the  peninsula,  down  the  "ver 
Alanack  to  the  ocean ;  along  the  coast,  in  and  out  of  all  the 
^^to  the  northwesi  point  of  the  Delta,  and  thence  along 
the  north  coast;  completing  the  coast-wise  search  for  the 
second  cutter  by  a  still  further  search  to  the  river  Jana. 

The  sledging  season  was  now  at  an  end.  He  was  detained 
on  the  mountains  by  the  melting  of  the  snows,  but  reached 
Yakutsk  June  8th.  Hearing  here  that  Lieutenant  Harber 
had  found  it  impossible  to  charter- at  fair  rates  the  expected 
steamer  for  the  Lena,  and  was  making  other  preparations 
for  his  summer  search,  but  prevented  from  meeting  him 
Melville  sent  Bardett  to  report  for  duty  under  the  lieutenant, 
and  sent  with  him  a  track  chart  of  the  search  already  made 
on  the  Delta.  From  Irkutsk  Melville  began  his  home  jour- 
ney with  Nindemann  and  Noros,  arriving  in  New  York  Sep- 

^^Th^bodi^sofWainDeLong  and  his  unfortunate  com- 
panionswere  brought  to  the  UnUed  States  for  permanent 
burial  by  Lieutenant  Harber  and  Master  Schuetze  of  the 
United  States  Navy. 


CHAPTER   XIV.  . 

UNFORTL^NATE   EXPEDITION    OF   THE   JEANNETm. 

covered-Henrietta  Island-The  DetTc^on  f.^  ,  ^^'''-Three  New  Islands  dis- 
-The  Retreat-Drifted  to  the  Norti,weTBen„e  f  T  TTr^""'  ^"^^  ^''-'^°-'» 
Nearingthe  Siberian  Coast-Wi.ho"  t  Drinl;!  w  .  ."^"^^"^  ^""'^  River  p.ached- 
the  L,ni-Mountai„s  in  Si^h^tr  MeW  ,  "I'lr  "  !^'"  '''''~'''  ">«  ^^>'«  °f 
-On  Half-Raiions-The  First  Yakurs  en     c„!t^  "  ^  "^'^^  -d  Feet 

JamaviaIock-P„trid  Goose  as  a  DelacT^he  ^.""^  ^y  S.g„3-Bulunga  1  Bulunga!- 
Kusma-FirstNewsofDeLon^  and  Hs7^t';    Zu        c'""'^  ^'  Jamavialock- 

.0  even  the  Ue^s  o  Ar'cSc  t^Tefa^rr''  *^'  '^  "^» 
cannot  fail  to  be  of  the  greatest  SlrLt  A  Z^"'"''"  *"  '" 
however,  can  be  touched  upon  The  t.,^  f^.P°'"'^°"'y■ 
dunng  an  interview,  spoke  esDeWalfv^^?*!  ^""'u-  '^^P'o'-^'". 
navigation  and  of  the  lone- drift  o^fhir  ^  ^"^J"""  °'^  '<=« 
months  in  the  ice-pack  ■'^''""^"^  °f '"'^nty-two 

sai7lS  °  MeWlKe°  ha d"!:/""*  experiments  in  the  ice," 
torn  of  the  Ar   ic  O^ean  for  a  If  ^'^r'  '""^^  "^  '^e  bo't- 

peculiarity  of  the  dr^was  denfS'ted  'tClT"'"  '^'i'^ 
northwest  of  us  was  alwav=  ftir  ?  lT""'^'  "'e  'ce  to  the 
from  the  s.  'hearfin  aTn^hff  •.^"■''  7^'^^  ""=  ^^ft^d  along 
»uth  apparently  beiL  in  mo^^';'\'''■■^."'°"•  "'^  ''^^  «»  *! 
of  the  crew  showinTf '"  Tn?"  ^l'  *■  "T'  *«  "'^'^k  chart 
peared  to  drift  backhand  for  hTK-^'  '"  "^^'^  "'«  ^'"P  ^p- 
Canal.  This  drift  demonst^H^l".™.'  '""'^"^  *«  Melvilte 
the  south  nf  n,e  '  °!,  p"''?'^''  *a'  whenever  we  drove  tr. 

ty-two  fathom:' thiJ"',"'^'^^^^  from  twenty 

'ip  in  a  "oXrry^tt^HT.r.ilX^e'lltr! 

(187) 


the 


t88 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


sounding  of  eighty-two  fathoms.  Thedredgings  showed  spcci- 
mens  oflxtinct  bivalves,  besides  star  fish  and  other  incrustace^. 
Another  peculiarity  shown  was  that  winter  or  summer  the  ice 
m  the  Arctic  Ocean  is  never  at  rest,  always  m  motion-crowd- 
ine  grinding,  jamming,  telescoping,  raftmg  together,  and  for 
hfsSlson  i    is  necelsaryin  making  attempts  to  reach  the 
North  Pole  to  have  the  land  to  hold  on  to      Wherever  expe- 
ditions have  gone  islands  have  always  been  found  to  the 
northward.     The  Jeannette  discovered  three  new  islands  and 
dur  ng  the  drift  in  the  darkness  of  the  winter  night  and  the 
dense^fogs  of  the  summer,  when  often  we  could  not  see  a 
mile  from^he  ship,  in  those  1,300  miles  ^^  f  e  northwe^^^^^^^^^ 
may  have  passed  numerous  unseen  islan*  s.     It  is  therefore 
necessary  in  approaching  the  Pole  to  make  depots  pf  sup- 
plies either  on  the  main  land  or  on  outlying  islands  where 
they  may  be  found  again.     For  instance,  one  little  item  of  our 
experience   in   the   drift  will  show  die  importance  of  th^. 
After  we  were  frozen  in  in  September  we  remained  in    he 
pack  until  the  latter  part  of  October,  and  we  had  constructed 
a  canvas  house  on  the  ice,  by  the  ship's  side,  for  the  men    o 
tvork  in      We  broke  out  in  a  hurry,  and  barely  had  time  to 
gather  our  instruments,  boats,  sleds  and  dogs  into  the  ship 
Tvhen  we  drifted  off  about  two  miles  down  a  narrow  ane  of 
water.     About  the  same  time  Alexei  had  had  a  shot  at  a  bear 
Tnd  was  obliged  to  leave  it  on  the  ice.     After  we  had  drifted 
about  two  mUes,  as  I  have  stated,  a  party  was  sent  back    0 
find  the  animal      Owing  to  the  crowding  and  jamming  of  the 
[ce  die  beTor  canvas  house  could  not  be  found  until  nbout 
a  year  or  a  year  and  a  half  afterwards,  when  Iniquin,  the  In- 
dian hunter,  was  out  one  day  and  ran  a--^,-^^^^^-^^^^^^^^ 
a  'two-man  house.'     He  was  very  much  alarmed  and  (led 
back  to  the  ship,  first  marking  the  spot  by  setting  his  spear 
•  fthe  ice  and  trying  his  hunting-jacket  and  cap  to  ^he  top 
it     The  next  day  Lieutenant  Chip  was  sent  out  with  a  sled 
and  he  found  it  to  be  the  old  structure.     We  had  been  all 
'over  thf  drift  every  day  but  had  not  come  --ss  it  un d^^^^^^^^^^ 
which  shows  how  difficult  It  IS  to  make  a  cache  in  the  ice  and 
Tver  find  it  again.     For  this  reason  a  system  of  colonies  a 
depots  of  supplies  can  only  apply  where  there  is  land  to  hold 

**"»^.?k:i.  ^rMno-  T-^'  T^nnnette  Island  and  coming  close  to 
Hem^;«a  Sa^dri  '^J^ntv.l^  one  of  the  other  ofTcers  oi 


UNFORTUNATE   EXPEDITION    OF   Twx.    .^ 

lilON    OF   THE   JEANNETTE.  189 

the  ship,  four  men  six«^f>f»n  ^^^         i 

makea  landing on'theiatter1X„d"'^w"  days' provisions,  to 
by,  the  estimated  distance  hJf„!,f      ^^  """'^  ^"(^ing  rapidly 
miles.     We  liad  sup^ies  for  tin T  "k'"""  '°  'wlnt/.fiv^ 
the  march  to  and  from  Tn  less  SL    ■^'' J""  "'^  accomplished 
whole  of  this  trip  the  ice  wa,%„       "'.".^^'y^.  and  during  the 
the  dog  tmins  w^uld  be  on  onrsW^  of  "tT"'""  ^atatfime^ 
and  the  men  on  the  other.     We  co„.tn„^H  ^""f^^  ''^"P^* 
withm  three  or  four  miles  of  ,l,f  "?  "f"*  ,'"  ^'s  way  until 
would  be  impossible  to  effect  a  t„f  t"*  f''"  ™«  fo"nd  i 
of  the  camp  equipment,  wWch Vas  1h^?  f"^,"^/"^  '^^  "''°'« 
berg,  where  we  erected  an  oar  Id  U^^}^"-^"^  °"  «°  ^  floe 
■t  to  mark  the  place.     Then  t'th  tli  f   '^  *  '^''^^'  '""^  hat  to 
ments,  guns  and  one  dav's  nmvt        °^''  "^'"gating  instru- 
island.    The  do<rs  refused  tn  f  n  °"'  '"^,  ™''^  "  dash  for  the 
leader  by  the  ne^kandta"    h  °Sam'th'  "^i'V^'^^  ^- 
ice-pack,  thus  succeeding  in  effer?i„r^     I°"S^  *«  """'''"g 
mg  off  in  a  northwesterfy  direction^  1     "^'"^'  ^^  "^^^  drif£ 

survey  of  the  northeasternt,d  Jihe  isTa^n/  ^  '^f?'''^  ''"""'"ff 
twelve  or  sixteen  hours     V^^L  ™.'*,'and,  remammg  there 

Island  the  ship  could  be  se^n  mo  '  '"^'i  ^■^"''=  "^  """•'«« 
secured  compass  bearin/s  of  h^  f  °  '"  ""^  '"='«"«•  I 
rection,  picking  up  the  foat  Lh         ''"  ""^ '"  *''*'* 

and  from  the  time  we  left  untflw  ^''"'P'?^"'  <>"  our  return, 

before  stated,  estimated  at  from  sfxtf  en  t"'^  '°  '^l  *'P- ^^ 
irretafu-pi-  "^^  ^°-"  -  oTth^sLTtr^^^^^ 

M:Hl^•ate^'e'itf3^^^'^'-d,■- continued  Mr. 
struction  of  the  ship  0„Te  „i/°f  ?  ""^  '°  <^^"^«  *e  de- 
al midnight,  it  was  my  turn  of  du^ ,' °/  ''"  I '"'-'^'l>  of  June, 
observation  at  the  oLervato^^^hTcif  ha'd  h  "'"-™>°rai 
the  ice  about  300  yards  from  XL  ■  ■  °  ''^<="  erected  on 

ice  had  been  crowS  and  i»™  "^  '^^  °^  "'^  ='">•  The 
ringing  on  the  island,^and  wfaTS^lhr?'  ''^  ""^  «-  '"■ 
the  floe  piece  in  which  the  sWd  had  hL  'i'^'f.  P™'^'''^  '^at 
«s  going  to  pieces,  knowLTthafwh  ^^'''i^^'' '"°'-  """'hs 
tlie  thickness  of  the  ice  a^nl!  ""  ""*'  did  happen,- from 

"■e  Jeannette  was  inevkaWe  7,T'"''  *"  destructi;,n  of 
gang  plank  a  shock  caused  mi  to  ™  "^'  ?^''''"S  °^<^'-  'he 
">g  down  over  the  siSe  .  ™^i°.?f"^*'  ^"d  as  I  stood  look- 

op-ng  and  the  ship  began  ^o  tXfTroVp^^^^^^^^^^ 


190 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


board,  and  finally  floated  upright.     The  floe  on  the  port  side 
drifted  silently  away  to  a  distance  of  250  or  300  yards      The 
freeing  and  righting  of  the  ship  started  everybody,  and  all 
hands^were  up^in  a?  instant.     A  boat  was  lowered  and  the 
instruments  from  the  observatory  and  various  small  articles 
which  had  been  left  on  the  ice  were  gotten  on  board  and  the 
dogs  ferried  from  the  receding  floe  to  that  on  the  starboard 
side,  to  which  the  ship  was  now  made  fast      The  Esquimau 
dog;  won't  take  to  the  water  if  they  can  help  it.  unlike    he 
PoTar  bears,  who  take  to  it  as  naturally  as  fish      One  of  the 
Kamtschatkan  dogs,  which  stood  with  us  to  the  bitter  end  was 
called  'Kasmatka.'     He  had  made  friends  with  one  of  the 
seamen,  G^rty,  and  when  he  saw  his  friend  on  the  opposite 
floe  he  waded  in  and  swam  the  gap.     The  rest  dipped  their 
feet  in  the  water  and  backed  out,  yelping  and  howling,  feeling 
that  they  were  abandoned  and  about  to  drift  off^  from  their 
human  protectors.     When  all  was  snug,  the  ship  was  hau  ed 
into  a  recess  like  a  dock  or  lunette.     It  was  ^^anifest  to  the 
whole  crew  that  if  the  ice  came  together,  as  Mr.  Dunbar  th 
ice-oilot  said  'we'd  either  go  under  or  on  top.      by  two  or 
t^ree  ?clock  aU  was  quiet  fnd  the  people  had  turned  m.  but 
before  six  in  the  morning  of  the  12th,  the  ice  was  cutting  or 
grindina  on  the  port  sid?  to  such  an  extent  that  we  all  turned 
out      The  ice  nipped  and  squeezed  the  vessel  many  times,  so 
as  to  force  the  oakum  and  pitch  up  out  of  the  decks,  the  deck 
beams  bowing  up  so  as  to  open  the  seams,  and  upon  the  sud- 
den^eliev7n7of  ^^e  pressure  the  decks  would  spring  back  with 
such  force  a!  to  eject  half  the  water  from  a  bucket  which  was 
on  the  deck  amidships.     This  continued  dunng  the  day  nip- 
ping and  crowding,  at  times  remaining  quiet,  until  3  p.  m.,  ^^hen 
Kce  had  forced  itself  underneath  the  forepart  of  the  ship 
Ind  threw  the  bows  well  up  out  of  the  ice,  "nfortun^^^^^^^^ 
pressing  the  stern.     The  ice  beneath  seemed  to  hold  her  by 
L  keef  and  canted  her  to  starboard,  also  d^P-?^";^  \^//7^ 
and  caused  the  ice  to  pile  up  on  the  starboard  quarter.    At 
this  time  the  ice  ceased  crowding  and  we  could  see  the  dam- 
age  done  to  the  forepart ;  two  scarfs  had  been  pushed  out 
of  place.      DeLong   ordered  me  to  get  out  the  camera  to 
take  a  photoc.raph%f  the  ship  as  she  lay,  we  still  having 
hopes  th'atth?  ice  would  remain  quiet  and  that  all  the  damage 

^  J         .K-.  ...^„]A  V--  --nd  =^!1'  bnnino-  to  free  the  ship.    1 
was  done  tnat  wuuia  u^^,  «iia — j.— ^  - 

exposed  a  plate  about  4  p.  m.,  and  was  in  the  dark  room  de- 


ONFORTUNATK   EXPEDITION   or   T„.   JEANNETTE  ,9, 

Lower,  Mr.  New  o  nVSxiirS"  aT'  ^^'^'^'-  DanneJ 
Stewart,  Charlie  TonesTnflZd  A'exei,  seamen  Cooney, 
others.  DeLongtook^commanSof^r^"  f  ^"derback  an^ 
his  pipe  on  the  brid°e  ZTe^Ztf^u^  ^^^^'  ^'"^'  ^"">^i"g 
boats,  directing  the°fe>?  ^emal^^^:  "!S  °'^<'^^  '<>  lower  thf 
abovu  getting  o^,t  the  sTk,TepZ^i,?JSfl°"  "^"'^  '°  =«« 
a.mu„.t.o„   and  all  other  eSe^  tt^W  Tu^ 

me'm  ofC^h,v:;Tn"'cat  ^'  g' JeT"^  ^"'  ''f  *«  ^"-^00- 
been  prepared  by  DeLoncr  hit  'l'^^'™"'""  by  the  ice,  had 

each  officer  was  leteUed  To  fer  ""'"■"'*  "'^  ''«="«» 
of  the  equipment.  In  case  of  the  .^1  some  particular  part 
duty  was  to  be  performed  bvlon^  ^t'^'^rS^  «ny  officer  his 
As  the  ice  kept  crowdinl  uL„  X  ^^"^  °'?f^'•  °f  «h«  ship. 
keeled  over  to  the  stLrboard.nH  S°°'  "''^  J^^nnette  she 
bows,  careened  over  untif  he^  varH,  ,"'°  ^^'I^i  °"'  ^V  *e 
smokestack  was  still  smndinl  ^u^eThf-*"  ''^-  /^^ 
stays  commenced  to  sheer  off  by  tt  rivets^  and^K  '"°'^  ?"<^ 
bangmg  and  crashing  of  the  ffmll  '    r.,  "'^  snapping, 

sledges  at  work  on  as'-ma^.yboieTsBeTf  ''!"  ^  "'°"=^"^ 
menced  to  rise  on  the  ship^neariv  all  thf  M  "'^  '^?'^''  '^°"'- 
necessary  equipment  had^been  out  on  t?  "■^'  P™"^'""'  and 
people  who  were  not  assio-ned  to^du^  1    ?  T     ^J""^  "^  *e 
With  personal  effects,  som%  havW  E,h1  '''"^^  *^  "^^^n 
Long,  Dr.  Ambler  and  mvself  £,  ■       l^""  '"PP^''=-    De- 
duty,  had  neglected  to  g"  suiiVT^,  "^f  "/""stantly  on 
effects.    Wh?n  the  worfcameTorii^J""''  ^^'^'  ^"^  °f  °^' 
foom  that  the  water  was  ristrinTh^  bn"  "'^"  '"  "'^  ^"g'"« 
get  our  clothing,  which  was  Xl?    i       ^"^  T"'  '"^"^  ^elow  to 
ready  for  emer|;ncyeacrha&','''P'  P,?'='"=^  '"  knapsacks 
clothing  in  addition^   I  secured  iJl" ''  P'"","'  "^'^  °f  woollen 
'lie  ice,  but  before  I  had  Hm.  ?^  knapsack  and  threw  it  on 
clothing  the  water  /oselh  o^  W/'^h™  t-  ""^  ^<^*"°"='l 
water  lin^e.     Up  to  this  time  thf  siH«  IT  ''"'"«  ''^'  '°  *« 

-until  apparentttasfift  fe^^orwrpth^d^ 


/ 


1^2  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

up  and  tore  her  keel  out,  carrying  the  garboard  strakes  with 
it.  Arctic  ships  should  have  neither  stern  pieces,  forefoot  or 
keel  extending  outside  of  the  planking  or  doubling.  A  false 
keel  should  te  fitted,  which,  if  pushed  off  by  the  ice,  would 
not  cause  a  leak.  The  ship  would  simply  have  no  keel,  the 
keelson  rising  in  the  inside  to  give  the  requisite  strength.  It 
is  a  remarkable  coincidence  that  in  both  the  Jeannette  and 
Polaris  both  had  the  forefoot  pushed  out  and  caused  a  con- 
stant pumping  out  for  ij^  years.  In  the  Jeannette  we 
pumped  night  and  day  by  hand,  by  steam  or  by  windmill, 
all  of  which  apparatus  were  constructed  by  the  force  on  the 
ship  during  the  eighteen  months. 

" It  was  II  p.  M.  of  the  1 2th  before  DeLong  ordered  every 
one  to  leave  the  ship.  The  ice  had  come  in  and  crushed  the 
vessel,  but  held  it  fast.  The  water  had  struck  as  high  as  the 
combings  of  the  hatches.  Everything  necessary  for  the  re- 
treat was  on  the  ice,  nothing  had  been  forgotten.  We  had 
more  clothing,  arms,  etc.,  placed  on  the  ice  than  we  could  carry. 
The  colors  were  run  up  to  the  mastheads,  and  after  DeLong 
had  maae  a  thorough  search  to  see  that  no  one  was  left  on 
board,  he  was  the  last  to  leave  her,  issuing  a  general  order 
that  nobody  should  return  on  board  of  the  wreck.  That 
night  we  made  our  first  camp  on  the  ice.  We  pitched  the 
tents,  gathered  the  equipments  and  sleeping-bags  together, 
as  divided  into  five  tents,  and  some  time  after  midnight  turned 
in.  We  had  barely  got  to  sleep  when  the  floe  began  to  break 
under  us.  In  the  meantime  strict  orders  were  given  to  watch 
for  the  breaking  up  of  the  floe.  When  it  split,  almost  under 
the  camp,  all  hands  turned  out  in  a  hurry,  to  find  the  break 
transverse  of  the  line  of  tents,  two  men  barely  escaping  a  cold 
bath  as  the  ice  parted  beneath  them.  As  it  was  the  men  in 
their  sleeping-bags  were  'dragged  out  of  the  water.  The  ice 
then  commencing  to  shift,  the  camp  was  on  one  side,  the  boats 
and  provisions  were  on  the  other  drifting  from  us.  These 
were  hurried  from  the  moving  floe  to  the  camp  side,  and  in 
an  hour  we  turned  in  again.  At  4  a.  m.,  at  the  calling  out  ot 
the  morning  watch,  the  man  of  the  watch  in  calling  of  the 
relief  alarmed  the  camp  by  singing  out:  'Turn  out,  fellows! 
If  you  want  to  see  the  last  of  the  old  Jeannette  now's  your 
time.'  Some  merely  sat  up  in  their  tents  and  looked  out,  and 
others  got  up.  The  ice  had  completed  its  work.  The  ship 
was  crushed  by  the  ice,  nearly  the  top  from  tue  uottom ;  then, 


..NKOKTUNATE   EXrEn.T.ON   „.   THE   JEANNErm.  ,93 

easing  oflf;  the  hull  rapidiv  settlpH   fh.    u-      •  ,  • 
,yent  clown,  the  yards  Wng,ei«o'  =>  .nghtmg  as  she 
the  mast  and  breaking  them  as  she  n«=.l    ?'l^  stripping  up 
out  of  our  sight.  passed,  with  a  rattle,  down 

pla^t'and  we  tunTKflJ,^"^''  T?"!"  ""'^  ^-'t  '"<= 
an  old  chair,  a  box  of  s7cco4irwhi?h  t'^'^u'  "  =«"=''  <^h«st. 
the  ice,  and  the  topgallam  po£      Th     ^^"^J^^"  """own  on 
and  used  for  fuel  in  the  camo      W J      ""'°''  ^^  fathered  up 
pare  the  boats  and  s?:drZour"^etre°aT  '7^'"^^  T  P^^ 
be  relashed,  new  chocks  or  bolsterffiff.  i      j     "l"'^^  ''*<*  '° 
the  boats;  the  bread  had  to  be  packed    Tu'^"  "'^  ^^S^'  °^ 
from  the  alcohol  cases  (to  reduce  fl,         ."f  «'ood  removed 
was  organized  and  placed  under  -I  /  J^*  '^^  <•  ^  '''^'^■'^"' 
After  a  thorough  organization  1,=^  k       """^^  °^  *<=  doctor. 
order  was  postfd  stSfnT?hat  we  u,H ''"  ^^'""^^  '^  S^"^^i 
retreat  to  the  south  the  oWec  il  ^T-menced  the  line  of 

which  was  five  hundred  mts  dTstan't"i?rK^  '^'  ^^"^  ^'^^■ 

Mr.  Melville  then  gavT  a  ^ranWr  ''«'=  I'"?- 

over  the  ice-pack,  and  the  rtriM '^,  •  ^'"'°,""'  °^  «''«  retreat 
-Hers  in  thei?  strL^^fe  t  rT/    ''tl  rLT'Ltd'^'^^T^  '"r  "^7 

l'eS„^:J^t^,3^/^ntder^^f^•?^^^^^^^ 
aclvance%f  the  sledlgpartie'°,.TI ''""'"  ""=  "^"^^  "Pid 
would  locate  himself  upon  "  hlU  h  ,       •^T"'?';'''"^  ""icer 
and  Hag.     The  latter  wTs  of  blfck  stja      "f  ^  '°"'P^^^ 
mounted  upon  a  staff  si.,   feet  Wh      Vh/"''.''5"="-'=' ^"d 
advance  a  half  mile  or  more  ocL3;ii  V'"' ,  ?=='s'ant  would 
leader,  who  would  dire«  hL  ^  t  ,T     '',  '°°'"'?^  ^^""^  '°  ",e 
•0  the  compass  bear'n^s      The  »i     ,*>''",  "^  '"^f'-  "wording 
and  the  leader  follows  i?  up  and  ^I'T'  "'^"  ="^  "P  ^  fla| 
advancing  as  before  the  sleddhtmf,'"  ''","''■  "'^  ^^^i^ta" 
and  boati  and  -atherin'  in    hf  flf    ^'■T'''''"8^"P'l'"Ieds 

line  of  march  ha^l  to  be  faken  aronnf  f  ''"  "t""^^^'  The 
™ooth  places  DeLon^  LnJn     ?  "*?  ''"■"mocks,  across  the 

line  thrc^igh  :aler  sonfetimes  UP  to  T  l""^  '^^'""  °"'  '1^' 
across  the  roughnesses!  A^vera^t  an,  f-  "T  ?"''  '''P^'  =■"<! 
0  straight  goifg,  over'  S  a  h^rs'e  cI'lJT'S"  •°"'^  "'"^ 
never  advanc  ng  a  sinp-le  r«^  V  -.i,  .    °^  driven,  and 

axes,  pickaxes  a^nd  shovels  whlT'  ^""'"^  "'^  "^V  «'* 
with  us.     Before  the  first  d'^'^^h"  *"'^  "^^'^^^  '°  «"y 

narfv  ,.,^..1J  j         ,  ,         ".  ■•  "^V  S  march  we  Slinnos''d  th-^  -n   ' 

.-V  ...ulu  be  able  to  haul  its  own  provisip-n'skd,  thb  Sa3 


194 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


ajTrrregatinjr  looo  pounds,  and  taking  the  boat  upon  a  second 
advance.     Tiut  owiny  lo  the  snow,  whicli  was  very  deep,  ai.  1 
in  the  summer  time  when  the  thermometer  gets  as  high  as  35 
or  40  degrees,  became  wet  and  soggy,  this  was  impossible. 
There  were  eight  pieces,  and  it  required  the  whole  force  to 
traverse  the  distance  thirteen  times  to  move  all  forward ;  in 
other  words,  with  the  exceptions  of  two  small  sleds,  only  one 
piece  of  baggage  was  advanced  at  a  time,  and  we  had  to 
travel  thirteen  miles  to  make  one  mile  good.     This  tc  itiniied 
for  the  first  month  of  the  march,  but,  of  course,  as  the  supply 
of  provisions  grew  smaller,  the  labor  was  redu.   d,  and  the 
loads  were  reduced  to  five,  but  never  below  that  nmnber.   Dur- 
incT  the  wliole  of  this  time  the  ice  was  drifting  to  the  northwest 
After  having  marched  for  fifteen  or  eighteen  days,  DeLong 
havincr  had  Two  or  three  good  observations  of  the  sun,  it  was 
discovered  that  we  had  lost  twenty-four  miles  into  the  north- 
west  or,  after  marching  for  two  weeks,  we  had  found  our- 
selves to  the  north.     On  his  first  observation  DeLong  did  not 
think  this  could  be  possible,  but  two  or  three  days  aiterwards, 
after  working  a  summer,  he  called  me  to  one  side  and  told 
me  he  did  not  wish  any  of  the  people  to  know  of  it,  but  that 
we  had  lost  twenty-four  miles  into  the  northwest,  and  that  in 
case  anything  should  happen  it  was  only  proper  that  I  should 
know  the  state  of  affairs.     Dr.  Ambler,  who  was  passing, 
and  seeing  us  in  earnest  conversation,  the  knowledge  was 
also  imparted  to  him.     The  sun  does  not  always  shine  in  the 
Arctic  Ocean  even  in  the  summer.     It  may  be  shining  above, 
but  owing  to  the  dense  fogs  which  hang  between  the  ice  and 
it  the  sun's  face  is  not  seen  for  weeks  at  a  time.    We  plodded 
on  in  silence,  not  knowing  how  rapidlv  we  were  being  drifted 
to  the  northward,  but  with  the   iioje  that,  as  we  travelled 
across  the  pack,  we  might     ■  r,     to  a  place  where  we  could 
launch  the  boats  and  escape,  for  this  was  our  only  hope;  lor 
when  we  set  out  we  knew  we  had  the  grandest  march  belore 
us  on  record      A  week  later  we  found  we  had  made  twenty- 
seven  miles  into  the  south   and   east,  and   had  apparently 
stepped  off  the  floe  strip  to  another,  which  was  to  the  south, 
and  running  to  the  southeast.     DeLong  told  me  to  tell  the 
crew  of  this      As  we  marched  along  I  said  :  '  Well  boys,  we 
have  made  twenty-seven  miles  good  into  the  southeast.    A 
cheer  went  up  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  stragg  ers, 
and  one  01  the  men  saiu.     iN^-.-^t  ACv-n.  TT^- ..  ..- s- 


UNKORTUNATK    EX..BD.noN    OK   TUB   ;k.k„h™.  .„ 

labor  was  increased  bvb.|n„  .",* '"■°''«" 'h" 'heir 

bridges  of  ice,  or  to  launch  t^irh",'""^,  ?''"F''  ">  b"ild 
.1-  opposite  side  of  theHoe  o"to  t^u'^'r  V!"'  'l?^"  ""'  "" 
pieces,  puttinjr  the   whole  nf  ,1,1  '^'^'^  °f  S^eat  floe 

launchin'g  theloats  17'  as  nece  "arv^'loTT"  "^f,"  "•  '" 
as  it  was  feared  that  unles,  fht  ^  j  take  out  all  the  load, 
would  be  broken.  The  ^^,  J",  ;^^^,^^[''-*e  boats'  backs 
alter  campin.r  ten  days  on  tl,.  iJ  ,  ^^hadiouskn  Island 
difficulties  which  it  wrs  thou'h  vvL'^e'  ^"''.~"'i''e  through 
When  we  attempted  to  Kn  Thadi^'r'."'^''' 'P  ■™'-'"°""'- 
ville  went  on  to  say,  "we  had  J..,  iff  *.'''''"''•'' •"■"•  ^d- 
the  shoals  caused  by  the  erolfo?  h'Jt™"^?"  "«°""'  "f 
«f  which  this  is  one      The  whl^       r     ^J"!  ^''"=™"  '^'ands, 

appearance  of  n,yHads'oriray°  :crs"'''Sult^^'''"'=  '"^  "'*= 
snow  is  melted  and  washes  tU  =„;i  •  .^"['"ff'^e  summer  the 

freezes  the  whole ;  at  the  firVt  of  s?!'^  f^  '"^^V  1"'"=  "''"'«■• 
and  great  masses'go  emmblLl  doZTn  o'thrt"  'T'"'"' 
sa-e  of  the  ice  to  the  Arctic  0?ea„  ;»  Jr  •    ,?''^'  ''"^  ?»»- 

earthy  part  of  the  islands-      Ands"  all    h^  f'"^u«  ^^^  ""= 
of  the  elements  and  by  the  ice  m.l  f      ,  '  ""='  ^y  "»<=  ^"'o" 
is  being  denuded  of  ear  h  from'^h.  '   ^  r""?'^  "''^'"  °f  '^'ands 
the  net  Siberia  kland^Brnett  iTa'^d' a„t  h'""^ '^'■°"Sh 
/eannette  Islands.     The  great  river^TTcu'' .  "«""e«a  and 
■he  silt  from  the  south  If^ibJTIL      ^'^J"-  "'^  '^"/'"g 
Arctic  Ocean  ;  but  tl  ildoes  noTaccounyf  'i"'  ""'"«  up'thf 
sea  to  the  northward  of  sLria      W    r    "J^^,  ?''«'"  ^^^Ilow 
the  Lena  Delta  to  the  New  S?beriri%i""^  "'   "'^  ^V  f™'" 
ancient  forests  embedded  in  the  soft  so    of  H     ■',  ""r^'"'  "' 
are  being  rapidly  eroded  away  by  the  ice     W  '  "'="^''  '"'>'* 
was  once  one  island,  it  is  now  th.I     T         '^"^  Seimanoski 
breach  over  it  from  ;as    to  wes   '  ?i/        "'^  '"''^''""  ^  '^'^*" 
earth,  hundreds  of  tons  at  °  time  ml^"  T  S'^"'  '"^''"^  °( 

"The  mouth  of  the  Lena  Tv/r        °  ''°"'"  '"'°  ""^  =«3- 
the  New  Siberia  Islands  now  Ire        a   T"^  "°"''  °f  "'here 
now  dot  the  way  S  the  nl      '  ^"  •    "'?  ''"^y  i^'e^'s  that  ' 
the  Lena  are  the  onW    emaks^r'^T  ^'"°"'  ">«  '"<""h  of 
clad  hills  of  theLena  Defta     Thi  "^r?'*^  """^^  *«  ^^rth 

on  in  the  Lena  Delta  TtSf     fc^  '^%"-  ^f  going 
as  at  the  mouths  of  the  MisXl'!.:  „    .u°"^l':°"?  the  sam« 


as  at  the  moutliQ  r,f  ,ul  \i-  ■  ^""^  '"^  conditions  th 
n.r,,.  ,iLT°""^  °l  ^e  Mississippi  Or  the  N,:.  h  " 
r-.-  .,..„a.c,  me  uelta  would  b^  advancing  into  3,e 


^1 ^_.-- 

tuc  icin- 
ocean ; 


•  V- 


1^6  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

but  the  everlasting  ice  keeps  moving  down,  carrying  away  the 
deposit  iiiore  rapidly  than  the  river  can  make  it,  and  the  ice 
distributes  it  all  over  the  Arctic  Ocean.  We  have  found 
spr^cimens  of  earth  of  p.li  kinds  three  hundred  miles  away 
from  the  coasts  where  the  ice  had  been  embedded  in  the 
banks  and  carried  it  off.  Some  of  this  may  come  from 
northern  islets,  but  we  all  knov/,  who  have  observed  the 
currents  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  that  the  ice  and  driftwood  from 
the  mouth  of  the  River  Lena  are  carried  first  to  the  westward, 
and  north  and  west,  and  then  to  the  south  and  west,  and  the 
windrows  of  wood  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Spitzbergen  arc 
carried  from  the  mouths  of  Siberian  rivers,  and  it  is  but 
natural  to  suppose  that  the  ice  follows  the  same  general  drift 
as  that  of  the  wood.  In  the  Lena  Delta  I  have  seen  trunks 
of  ancient  trees,  sixteen  inches  in  diameter,  protruding  froifl 
the  banks  forty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river,  and  the 
earth  is  constandy  tumbling  down,  exposing  more  timber  em- 
bedded in  the  banks. 

"As  soon  as  the  whale-boat  parted  company  with  the  first 
and  second  cutter,  it  became  evident  that  it  would  be  neces. 
sary  to  heave  to  and  set  about  making  a  drag  or  sea-anchor, 
the  philosophy  of  which  is  that  if  the  boat  is  brought  around 
with  the  head  to  the  sea,  and  the  drag  made  so  that  it  will 
remain  immersed,  it  will  keep  the  head  of  the  boat  to  the  sea 
to  receive  the  seas  head  on,  the  boat  and  drag  gradually 
driving  to  the  leeward,  the  drag  having  sufficient  hold  on  the 
water'to  keep  the  boat's  head  to  the  f.ea ;  but  should  the  sea- 
anchor  come  home,  or  the  line  part  and  the  boat  broach  to,  it 
would  roll  over  like  a  log.  The  drag,  in  this  case,  was  made 
of  the  tent-poles  lashed  together  and  a  piece  of  hamniocl^ 
cloth.  We  rounded  to  about  nine  o'clock  that  evening  (Sep- 
tember 1 2th),  and  rode  with  the  sea-anchor  until  the  next 
evening  at  five  o'clock,  during  whicJi  time  the  people  were 
kept  busy  bailing  to  keep  the  boat  free  of  water,  and  the  drag 
was  assisted  by  means  of  a  steering-oar  in  keeping  the  head 
to  the  sea.  Up  to  this  time  Jack  Cole  had  acted  as  coxswain 
of  the  whale-boat,  having  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the 
best  fore-and-aft  sailors  out  of  New  York,  and  liaving  been 
one  of  the  watch  officers  on  Bennett's  yacht  during  thc 
famous  sea-race  of  the  Dauntless,  but  he  commenced  to  show 
signs  of  weakness  during  the  heavy  weather  of  the  preceu- 
ing  two  weeks.     At  this  time  I  had  to  divide  the  watches  in 


(197) 


igg  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

Steering  the  boat  betv^een  the  three  seamen,  Leach,  Mauson, 

and  Wilson.  ^,  .  .  x^     .  ,,r  , 

••After  leaving  Wassilli  Island,"  said  Chief  Engineer  Mel- 
ville, continuing,  "  the  first  sea  that  broke  over  the  boat  de- 
stroyed all  the  snow  we  had  from  which  to  make  our  drinking 
water,  a  id  from  the  time  we  left  Seimonoffskl  Island  until  we 
•got  to  the  mouth  of  the  Lena,  five  days,  we  were  without 
drinking  water.     After  the  gale  had  abated  on  the  evening  of 
the  13th,  the  boat  was  put  about,  and  our  course  laid  to  the 
southwest  to  Cape  Barkin,  the  point  to  which  I  was  ordered 
to  conduct  the  boat  in  case  of  a  separation.     On  the  morning 
of  the  15th  the  boat  grounded  in  shoal  water  off  the  Lena 
Delta,  but  so  far  from  land  that  it  was  invisible.     We  thought 
there  were  traces  of  the  loam  of  land  to  the  southward.     The 
young  ice  was  making  along  the  shore  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
in  thickness,  impeding  the  progress  of  the  boat.     From  our 
information  of  the  Delta  we  were  confident  that  we  would  find 
natives  at  the  northeastern  point.     My  instructions  were  that, 
if  I  struck  the  north  coast,  I  was  to  proceed  to  the  east  to 
Barkin,  and  there  get  a  pilot  to  conduct  me  into  a  branch  of 
the  river  and  to  the  nearest  Russian  seH.^ment;  and  my  in- 
structions were  also  to  pay  no  attention  to  the  others,  in  case 
of  a  separation,  until  I  got  to  a  place  of  safety,  after  which  I 
was  to  pay  attention  to  the  rescue  of  the  others.     I  worked  to 
the  east  along  the  shore,  every  attempt  to  go  south  being 
foiled  by  the  shoals,  until  toward  evening,  when  it  looked  like 
another  gale.     I  put  the  boat  under  easy  sail  and  stood  to  the 
east,  intending  to  go  in  that  direction  for  twelve  hours,  and 
then  to'the  south  and  west  twelve  hours,  knowing  th^t  the 
east  coast  of  the   Delta  ran  north  ^nd  south,  and  that  the 
north  coast  at  Cape  Barkin  ran  east  and  west.     I  also  knew 
that  while  three  mouths  discharged  to  the  north,  thirteen  dis- 
charged to  the  east,  and  that,  failing  to  get  to  Barkin,  the 
chances  of  my  reaching  a  setdem.ent  were  better  on  the  east 
coast  than  to  find  one^on  the  north  without  a  pilot.     Many 
persons  have  said  I  was  lucky  to  get  in  on  the  east  coast,  but  it 
^as  on  the  score  of  judgment,  not  luck,  and  I  selected  the 
course  I  did  for  the  reasons  I  have  given. 

•'At  six  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  1 6th,  we  put  about 
o««j  stnod  to  the  south  and  west  hoping  to  reach  an  east 
branch,  but  we  had  had  such  a  fresh  breeze  during  the  night, 
with  a  current  to  the  eastward,  that  when  I  put  about,  hoping 


vnkok™k.™  expedition  ok  ™e  jeanke™.         ,95 

mountains  to  the  south?  n  the^BavorR"  t^'"^^^' ""-"  '"''"'' 
most  certain  of  findintrnafivVc  f,^       Borkh.a,  but  being  al- 

stood  to  the  south  td^wesu^tnrrr^"  ^f"'^'',  °^  ^^  "^^'-  * 
The  men  were  almost  crSv  fnrJj^^^^""  '°^  headlands. 

from  the  boafs  sides'deda'red  it  :i?Vre"^ThV''^P'"^  '' 
myself  to  go  without  water  durinVThVl  ^^'^  educated 

years,  drinking  but  two  elasse.  n^f     V^u"*'"^^  drift  of  two 
pending  upon^he  cofe  ft  breaklsTanH  ^"*"'"  '"^^'^'  'i^' 
at  supper,  and  on  the  march  I  kent.h"- *""•=■■■■  ^"'^  *^  '^^ 
to  induce  the  flow  of  the  saHva     WhenT/  ^  ^''f^"^  ^°°'' 
crew  appeared  to  be  in  extreme  ,„  V  '"^"  °^  ^^^^  boat's 
had  no  feeling  of  tWrs?     ToT  ^?^^  '°'"  ?  ''"'"'^  "f  -^ter  I 
of  tea  to  ben„adeoTthe  water  UeT.?"'"'/"^'^^^'^''  -  Po* 
apparent  and  it  was  rejected  Tthe„?  w  t,,'^"  ^'"""^  ^^-7 
have  all  the  water  they  wanted  at  the  h     '^^  T"  '^ey  could 
seen,  and,  as  we  could  make  o,,f  In      ''^^'['^"ds  we  had  just 
all  eager  for  a  landing     There  l^?  °"  v^^  ^'^''^-  *«  ""^'^ 
boat  broached  to  and  near  vsw^m.  a  '''^'"  '"^"'  ='"d  "le 
culty  that  we  got  her  off  and  ken?  E'*'  ■ 'i'j',  "  ™^  '^i*  diffi- 
and  worked  up  into  the  river.  ""      *"  ""^  "'^  '^''''""^'' 

"The  question  now  arose  \n  «,,,  «,•  j     i     , 
orders  I  i^ad  receiveJand^o  to  cLe'Rlf '"'"'"  '°  "^^  *e 
nver.     Peterman's  chart  ffie  onl,?.   ™''5'".  "rgo  on  up  the 
over  with  marks  ind.cat  ng  huts  ^nd    ?h    ''•^^'  ™=  ''""^^  all 
to  suppose  that  the   Defta  i,'         °'^^'  ■"f°™"ion  led  us  ' 
Some  urged  that  I  should  In  TpT^™'"^  "'*  native  life 
if  I  did  ?ot  effect  a  landif^  b,      '^'"i  ^"'^  }  "^"^-^y  ^^i^  that 
go  to  Barkin,  though  loah^afterTe"  '  '™"'''  '"™  "^^^'^  ^"d 
few  days,  to  put  tola ttain      At  to?'""'"'''  ?^  *^  '^^' 
about,  but  some  one  said  l^',.  .u    °  "  *^  ^'^■"^  about  to  go 
Mississippi,  and  n°Z  bfa  mafn  ta":h  "or^he",  '^'"^'^  f  '^^ 
wanted  some  good  reason  not  fn         .  ""  '-^"'»-     '  °'"y 

up  the  river  and  eftcted  aT„H-  ^°  '°  '^*'  ^""^  *«  «-«"'  on 
evening.  We  werfso  era  '  ej  3"s^:'be"b'h"^lr''  """  « 
being  frozen  from  the  kn^es  down  T  ^^'^  l'''^  *°  *^"^' 
party  who  had  been  exemnL  ?  7"°,  ""^  ""■«<=  of  tlje 
limbs  with  towels  but  I  aXT  ■'"  .''"'^  """d  ™bbed  the  r 
had  our  feet  and  I'e'ffrofe'  fATl'?"'^''^ 'h<=  working  force 
and  we  had  to  creep  ashore"  m"'^-     '°  be  unable  to  walk, 

around  in  the  icy  water  to  increase"tZ  "'■'  ^''-  "^  '^^''^<' 

increase  the  circulation   and   to 


200 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


withdraw  the  frost  from  our  Hmbs.  A  fire  was  built  in  the 
hut,  and  after  we  had  removed  our  foot-gear  and  went  near 
theVire,  the  pain  was  excruciating,  and  we  had  to  withdraw. 
Water  bhsters  appeared  from  my  knees  to  my  toes  until  my 
limbs  were  in  a  condition  as  if  they  had  been  scalded,  and 
the  feet  were  swollen  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  my 
moccasins  on  without  cutting  them. 

"  The  next  day,  from  the  trend  of  the  river,  and  from  my 
study  of  our  only  chart,  I  believed  it  to  be  the  main  east 
branch  of  the  Lena,  many  landmarks,  such  as  islands  in  the 
mid-channel,  adding  to  the  evidence.     There  was  but  one 
river  on  the  chart  that  trended  to  the  north  and  west  on 
entering,  and  this  particular  branch  trended  from  north  by 
west  to  west-northwest,  and  never  at  any  time  to  the  south 
and  west.     We  continued  on  until  we  came  to  a  bold  head- 
land, where  there  was  a  short  bend  and  a  long  stretch  of 
river  due  south,  confirming  us  in  the  belief  that  we  were  m 
the  main  branch,  and  that  we  had  turned  the  point  which 
would  lead  us  to  where  we  could  find  natives  within  ten  or 
twelve    miles.     I   was    entirely   mistaken,  however;    I    had 
entered  an  east  branch,  and  the  branch  did  trend  to  the  north 
and  west,  but  when  I  turned  to  go  south  I  found  I  was  still 
in  the  Delta.     We  camped  at  this  headland,  some  of  the 
party  going   up  to  the  "highlands.      This  we    called    '  Mud 
Camp,'  because  of  the  oozy  bed  of  the  river,  in  which  the 
majority  of  us  slept.     The  next  morning  it  was  with  difficulty 
that  we  got  away,  on  account  of  the  crippled  condition  in 
v/hich  we  were.     We  stood  to  the  south  with  a  fresh  breeze, 
the  boat  .taking  in  water.     Coming  in  sight  of  two  or  three 
well-built  huts  on  the  west  bank,  1  concluded  to  haul  oiit  and 
rest  and  dry  our  clothes,  and  for  this  reason  called  it  the 
« Dry-out  Camp.'     From  the  evidence  of  the  fish  ends  and 
trails  it  was  clear  that  the  natives  had  left  but  a  few  days. 
The  next  morning  we  stood  to  the  south,  intending  to  keep 
along  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  but  when  the  narrow  branch 
expanded  into  a  great  bay  I  then  made  up  my  mind  that  I 
v^as  still  in  the  Delta.     Proceeding  to  the  south,  on  the  dis- 
tant hills  I  raised  several  huts,  which  we  eagerly  watched  for 
signs  of  life.     I  toid  the  crew  to  work  with  a  will  and  we 
would  stop  there  for  our  dinner,  but  we  found  ourselves  in  a 
labyrinth  of  quicksands,  sand-spits  and  shoals.     There  w^s 
plenty  of  water  thinly  laid  on  and  very  much  spread  out,  the 


UNFORTUNATE    EXPEDITION    OF   THE    JEANNETIE.  2OI 

land  appearing  in  spots.     It  was  impossible  to  go  a  hundred 
yards  without  bringing  up,  I  ,t  we  at  last  effecfed  a  landiW 
0  the  south  and  east  of  the  village,  watching  for  a  slen  of 
life— smoke,  for  instance— but  we  were  tnn  fa.  "       ^ 
to  it  on  foot  or  get  the  boat  aro^^d^'w  °L"urTod?c,fm 
of  pemm.can  and  prepared  our  tea,  which  we  had  carried  in 
a  bag,  and  which  had  been  washed  about  in  the  .=^1^1,=, f     ' 
the  bottom  of  the  boat.     Up  to  the  time  o    the  scparr^fno? 
the  boats  the  rations  had  been  a  pound  of  pemmican  and  a  ha^f 
pound  of  bread,  but  when  the  latter  gave  out  'he  pemmican 
was  increased  to  one  and  a  half  pounds  per  man*^  p"™av 
As  soon  as  we  patted  from  the  others  I  pu?  the  men'^n  haff 
the  former  rations,  or  about  three-quarters  of  a  pound  whfch 
was  equal  to  three  cubic  inches.  pouna,  wnicli 

"Having  had  our  dinner,  we  got  ready  to  keep  on  bv  tho 
west   bank   against   the    current  and  were   about  to  shove 
off  wlien  we  saw  three  canoes  and  three  men  paddhni  to 
wards  us.     We  pulled  towards  them,  when  they  showed  fiens 
of  fear  and  a  desire  to  scud  by  us.     I  beckoned  to  tl7e  natives 
to  approach,  but  they  kept  in  the  distance  shaking  tdr  heads 
Two  of  them  at  length  passed  us,  but  one  younger    han  the 
rest  came  alongside  the  whaleboat,  crossing  liimfef  and  ds 
playing  a  religious   medal  which  he  wore  at  his  neck      I 
directed  one  of  tlj  men  to  get  out  a  piece  of  pemm  can  and 
offer  It  to  him,  and  at  the  same  time  tdd  another  of  the  crew 

hh"?,  IH^f^'  u'T^"  "'^  '^""^  ^^'  dose  enough  to  seize 
and  hold  It.  He  did  so,  and  this  alarmed  the  nltive  verv 
much,  but  I  tried  to  soothe  and  reassure  him  by  show  n<f  him 
he  hatchets  and  various  other  articles  in  the  boat  By  Z 
t.me  the  current  had  drifted  us  down  to  about  where  we  had 
caniped  and  the  other  two  natives  had  hauled  out  We  ac 
cordingly  landed,  and  I  set  up  the  tea-kettle,  and  then M, e" 

Dla^t^T  iP,'"'*  J°'"?'^  "'      They  had  been  fishing  at  t  le 
P^ace  to  which  I  was  trying  to  get  during  the  precedrn^dav 

cuurse  to  signs.      Ihe  sailors  found  an  old  croose   and  fid-, 

W    dien  T'  '"  "^  "?'^'''  ^^^«P'»S  the  venisoS.Tas  decay^' 
We  then  began  to  form  a  vocabulary  of  the  Yakut  ton^ne' 

Sind  i^Ti-  -^  ^:"-- ::  !:tl^;„j 

oiean,  and  in  this  way  we  rapidly  wrote  down  fifty  or  sixty 


202 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


of  their  words.  We  drank  our  tea,  and  supposing  they  might 
like  some  of  our  alcohol  for  a  drink  I  put  a  tablespoonful  in 
the  tea  for  the  natives.  They  took  to  it  kindly,  and  one  of 
them,  who  was  called  Theodore,  wanted  to  take  a  drink  from 
the  demijohn,  but  I  prevented  him.  Finally  I  took  a  knife, 
which  one  of  the  natives  carried,  and  by  signs  asked  him 
where  he  had  gotten  it.  He  immediately  began  to  imitate 
the  motions  of  a  blacksmith  beating  the  blade  into  shape,  and 
said,  '  Bulunga  !  Bulunga  ! '  This  turned  out  to  be  a  Cossack 
setdement  on  the  Lena,  Bulun,  and  this  was  the  first  intima- 
tion I  had  that  they  knew  of  its  whereabouts.  I  at  once  drew 
in  my  note-book  a  sketch  of  a  village,  putting  two  mosques 
in  it.  The  Yakut  rubbed  out  one  of  the  mosques  and  again 
exclaimed:  'Bulunga.'  I  then  drew  a  picture  of  the  whale- 
boat  with  all  the  party  in  it,  and  represented  one  of  the 
natives  in  his  canoe  leading  the  boat,  the  other  two  paddling 
along  after  us.  They  understood  this,  but  when  I  insisted 
that^they  were  to  take  us  to  Bulunga,  they  made  me  under- 
stand that  it  was  impossible,  because  of  the  ice  in  the  river, 
which  was  not  strong  enough  to  travel  over,  but  yet  was  thick 
and  heavy  enough  to  impede  navigation. 

"  We  then  told  the  natives,"  continued  Mr.  Melville,  "  that 
we  wanted  to  get  to  a  place  where  we  could  eat,  sleep,  and 
dry  our  clothes.  They  agreed  to  pilot  us,  and  we  followed 
them  to  Borkhia,  the  place  on  the  headland  to  which  I  had 
been  trying  to  get  all  day.  The  place  was  deserted,  and  but 
two  of  the  huts  were  found  to  be  tenable.  The  names  of  the 
natives  were  Malinka  Tomat,  or  Little  Thomas,  Karini  and 
Theodore.  That  evening  one  of  them  said  he  would  go  for 
the  head  man  of  the  village,  and  during  the  night  Karini  left 
the  camp  for  this  purpose.  In  the  morning,  being  anxious  to 
push  on  to  Bulun,  and  being  unable  to  persuade  Malinka 
Tomat  to  pilot  us,  we  pushed  on  to  the  south,  but  soon  found 
ourselves  in  the  great  bay  which  had  devilled  us  so  before. 
By  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  weather  became  bad,  and 
we  went  back  ;  but  night  set  in,  and  I  sheltered  the  boat 
under  the  lee  of  a  shoal,  driving  the  tent-poles  into  the  mud 
to  hold  her.  We  passed  a  terrible  night,  and  those  who  were 
not  frozen  before  were  badly  frozen.  In  the  morning  the 
snow  had  fallen  chano'inp"  the  whole  ar>nearance  of  the  coun- 
try, but  I  landed  near  our  camp,  and  the  men  soon  found 
Borkhia,  and  we  went  back  there.     As  we  approached,  four 


UNFORTUNATE    EXPEDITION    OF   THE   JEANNETTE.  .03 

oT^Williariuh^rCut'  Ear  •"  hfh'^7  '^'^f  ^°°'g-. 
We  remained  there  over  ni^h't  W=,.  -n^  '"^"-  °^  *^  ^"'^g«- 
could  not  go  to  Bulun  bufi  w!^^"'"'  ^"'"""F  "^  "'"we 
said  yes.  I^alled  his  attL  io„To\he  fS'  o''  t  ^T"^ 
thirty  inches  of  water,  while  his  required  bu   Two  of  h"" 

showing  that^he  ^rully^;iTehe^^ed"lLTlt':  *^^^^^^^^ 

"  The  start  was  accordingly  made  tivn  nf  fl,. 
ahead  and  one  in  the  rea°r,  bm  we  found  that  "T^'^r"^ 
unable  to  pilot  us  over  the  shoal      R.  T    j        , Wassilli  was 
then  to  the'^east,  takin.  us  out  to  s^.T      '°/''f  "°"''  ^"'^ 

itt^Ve^^^Sr-eT^d^^^^^^ 

Sor  w^V^^  h^d«        £-£yH^  ?a^ 

Wassilli  had  been  shot  in  the  armLn^"  "'""  ''■^'■"^<'  *" 
on  any  farther  with  us  then  He  w;„t  offT'd '°°  "''^  '°  ^^ 
back  in  a  boat  which  had  been  made  flm,''./''","^?'";'^ 

asps;  jsassri'Sii  'r 

- 1  -.r?»  ittpi LrzrSd  2"  ""1"';  '^"' 

our  hands  and  kneo.:      wf     -Ii.  t       ,    ,    '°  '^'■^"'  »''°"t  O" 
others  ,-p  th"   -^^f-     T^^'  *'*  Lauderback  and  one  or  two 

was"„"ear  wher'uoon^thf  """•  ^«',''°«"  °"  =»  dog-sled  which 
ti>e  starost:  one'l^rcUarsTagra"  "'"'''  "'  ""  '°  '"«  l'"'  "^ 


204 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


"A  description  of  this  hut  is  as  follows :  it  was  rectangular 
in  form,  1 6  by  20  feet,  and  on  the  interior  was  9  feet  clear  to 
the  ceiling,  the  sides  sloping  inwards  from  the  base  like  a 
truncated  cave.  It  was  built  of  neady  hewn  timber  six  inches 
wide,  planted  in  the  ground  and  inclined  inward,  so  that  the 
base'would  be  about  thirty  inches  from  a  perpendicular  line 
let  fall  from  the  tops  of  the  planks.  The  roof  rests  on  strin- 
gers at  the  too  of  the  inclined  timbers,  and  consisted  of  close 
hewn  timbers*  calked  in  with  reindeer  moss.  The  hut  was 
banked  up  with  earth  to  a  height  of  three  or  four  feet,  and  a 
thickness  of  three  feet,  and  over  this  a  layer  of  moss,  one  foot 
thick,  was  placed.  The  door  was  at  one  end  of  the  hut,  and 
immediately  behind  the  huge  fire-place,  constructed  of  a  box, 
four  feet  square,  and  raised  about  four  feet  above  the  ground. 
The  floor  was  of  timber,  and  around  the  hut,  under  the  slop- 
ing sides,  were  the  beds  or  berths,  each  six  feet  long,  about 
thtrty  inches  wide  and  separated  by  partitions.  There  were 
two  at  the  far  end  and  three  on  each  side,  making  eight 
berths  in  all.  The  chimney  was  built  up  from  the  fire-place 
and  led  through  the  roof,  being  of  sticks  covered  with  clay 
from  the  bottoms  of  the  ponds.  Dry  lumps  of  this  clay  are 
usually  kept  stored  in  the  huts  to  repair  any  damage  which 
might  be  done  to  the  structure.  At  the  rear  were  either  one 
orlwo  windows,  sixteen  inches  square.  In  the  summer  time 
these  are  left  open,  but  in  winter  they  are  closed  by  slabs  of 
ice.  Early  in  the  winter  season,  when  the  ice  is  from  four  to 
six  inches  thick,  sixteen  or  twenty  slabs  are  cut  ar.  •-«"' 
upon  the  top  of  the  house.  When  the  cold  weather 
one  of  these  slabs  is  set  in  place,  and  a  mixture  of  snov 
warm  water  is  put  into  the  chinks.  This  freezing  all 
openings  are  closed,  and  light  is  admitted  through  the  ice. 
The  inner  surface  is  scraped  with  a  knife  or  piece  of  tin  every 
morning  to  remove  the  hoar-f'-ost  which  forms  in  the  night 
and  which  obscures  the  light.  The  temperature  of  the  huts 
ranging  from  60  to  90  degrees,  the  ice  is  gradually  destroyed 
from  the  inside,  and  in  a  few  weeks  is  pierced  with  holes. 
Another  slab  is  then  set  in  its  place. 

"As  you  go  into  the  hut,  at  the  right-hand  corner  from  the 
back  of  the^fire-place  are  stow-holes,  in  which  food  and  fuel 
are  kept.  At  the  far  end  of  the  room,  on  the  right,  is  the 
stall,  or  berth,  occupied  by  the  owner  of  the  hut,  while  to  the 
left  is  the  guests'  chamber.      Over  this  are  usually  placed 


UNFORTUNATE    HXPKDmON    OK   THE   ;eaN„e™.  ,05 

scending  down  in  regular  omI;  to  tt''^''  °^"','^  ''^'""y.  ^e 
p.ed  by  some  old  pensioner      I  h.         ''°'"^,''-  «''"<^''  ''^  occu- 
hut  where  there  w'^s  not  som^  oo^r  n"'^""  ''•'""  '"  ^  ^akut 
pens.    The  stalls  on  the  opnoTi^e'lw    ^'T  '"  °"«  "'  "'^se 
are  located.     In  this  part^cu^fr  I,  ^''^  ^^'"^  "^^  strangers 

forty  people  slept  oXighf  ^^?,"/,V°  f  "^h  we  were  taLi; 
woman  usually  goes  outlide  and  places  a  hof  f  °'"'  '.'"=  "'^ 

:^|stSari  pTe:»,X£"--^^^ 
andI^p7u^„:nTet^:t:rd -s  a?^lf  --  --ed  in, 
We  then  went  to  sleep  again  but  were  f!.'  °'^°''^'''^  ^^^ 
g.ven  a  feed  of  goose^    The  geesrare  kiHed'-  \^  "•  "•  ^"^^ 
when  in  the  pin-feathers  a-  fhfn^  ^"^  '"  '""^  summer, 

are  driven  in'to  flocks  Sd  beaten  to^d"''.rf'"  '°  "y-    The,; 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  rhem?n^f''''  """  "^"™^  '<"l'n| 
ord,„anly  use  bows  and  arrows'^as  thev  L™^'     '^^'  P^°P'^ 
The  geese  are  not  cleaned  at  afl'  hJ^  u    "  ""^  '«"'  guns, 
the  necks,  simply  to  keep  tliem  f^n™  ^•''""S^  "P  '"  P'^"^  by 
All  the  juices  settle  to  '^^heTw™  e  ^""^  T^^"  ''>'  ^^^ 
putridandfullofmaggL      Whe'^.f"''!'  ^"'^  'hey  become 
frozen  solid,  and  are  S  ;tored  awit'  ^wt'  T'=  "^^y  «^« 
to  be  used  they  first  hang  them  ^n'lV  ^  I"  "'<=  S'='=^<=  ^"-e 
and  I  have  seen  them  so  pttrW?!    .Pu    ^'^  ''''^  '«  'haw  out 

"The  next  day  I  saTdThat  I  m  '^^  "°"'4 ''''°P  ='P^« 
native  refused  to  guide  me      T^'.^  ^°  '°  Bulun,  but  the 
the  weather  cleared  and  ,L   ^""^''^^  'o  o'clock,  however 

would  take  fift/erda^slrl  ^  tT  fit"'  t''^^''^  "^^ 
gether  sixty  fish,  of  about  h,,t  J^^^' a  ^X  ""'"  gathered  to- 
would  be  the  food  supplv  foPT  T!''  *'"<^''  '  ™»  told 
Yaphenne  Koppiloff;  the  Russian  /'f  "'^^'l-P^'y-  '"-^'^ding 
wth  such  a  meaare  sunnlv  tf,"  ,  •  '  ''''J^'ed  to  starting 

said  they  would^^tcrl';^  ,3  w7nPro"'1  !?  "'f'^  "^'^  -"^ 
logo  under  these  condi  fons  buTdf  "f'!?'^"''-  '  ^^=  ^^aid 
ture.  Leach  asked  to  be  eft  k^v'^S''''^^  .'°  ""ake  the  ven- 
rather  die  where  he  was  but  7  ,u'''  '^y'""  "'«  he  would 
?ff  finally,  but  about  three  or  fou°r'^  "ot  permit  it  We  got 
'«  commenced  to  run  one  Ia  °''^  "'*'  afternoon  die 

fickness.andthenrves'o'stleV'reWd':''  '™  '""^''^  '" 
'  ™-  -  -y.  and  we  ra^n  baTktotr  ilf  .^"S::;- 


2o6 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


an  hour.  The  natives  pulled  the  boat  well  out  upon  the 
beach,  and  we  were  hauled  up  to  the  hut  again  by  the  women, 
and  returned  to  our  quarters  on  the  27th  of  September,  this 
time  in  a  hut  by  ourselves. 

"I  now  made  the  natives  understand  who  and  what  we 
were,"  the  chief-engineer  went  on  to  say.  "  Upon  a  table 
in  our  hut  I  placed  a  large  log,  to  represent  the  Jeannette, 
and  indicated  the  boats  by  small  sticks.  Illustrating  the  de- 
struction  of  the  vessel,  the  log  was  thrown  under  the  table, 
and  in  the  same  way  I  told  them  of  the  separation  of  the 
boats  in  the  gale.  I  learned  from  the  Russian  of  General 
Tcheranieff,  the  commandant  of  the  district,  and  I  used  his 
name  to  threaten  the  natives.  I  would  tell  them  that,  unless 
they  made  every  effort  to  get  me  and  my  men  to  Bulun,  I 
would  complain  to  General  Tcheranieff,  and  he  would  cause 
them  to  be  punished.  I  feared  scurvy,  as  I  know  of  a  case 
of  a  Russian  officer  and  party  who  died  of  it  in  that  region, 
and  I  know  also  that  there  never  was  a  ship  that  was  two 
winters  in  the  Arctic  seas  where  there  was  no  scurvy.  Our 
limbs  were  swollen  and  putty-like,  we  had  no  bread  to  eat, 
and  nothing  but  the  putrid  meat  which  the  natives  gave  us, 
and  I  felt  it  was  necessary  to  push  on.  The  next  day  the 
whole  bay  was  covered  with  ice  and  the  wind  was  blowing  so 
fiercely  that  everything  had  to  be  tied  fast  on  the  island.  I 
saw  it  was  impossible  to  advance,  and  we  had  to  sit  down  and 
wait  for  the  return  of  a  messenger  to  the  Cossack  sergeant, 
who  I  learned  was  in  command  at  Bulun.  We  therefore 
wrote  out  an  account  of  our  situation,  I  in  English,  Mr.  Dan- 
enhower  in  French,  Mr.  Lauderback  in  German,  and  Mansen 
in  Swedish.  This  I  sewed  up  in  an  oilskin  bag,  and  placed  it 
in  the  hands  of  Nicholai,  with  orders  to  forward  it  as  soon  as 
he  could." 

Mr.  Melville  and  the  crew  of  the  whale-boat  had  reached 
Jamavialock  in  the  latter  part  of  September.  They  were 
almost  naked,  their  moccasins  worn  out  and  the  full  rigor  (jf 
a  Siberian  winter  was  setting  in.  "  We  had  been  there  for  a 
week,"  to  take  up  the  story  in  Mr.  Melville's  words,  "  when 
we  heard  that  there  was  another  Russian  in  the  camp,  one 
Kusma,  an  exile.  He  had  crossed  the  bay  in  some  way, 
though  the  ice  was  not  yet  firm.  I  sent  for  him  and  had  a 
talk.*  He  promised  that  he  would  come  back  to  us  on  the 
following  Thursday.     I  took  him  out  and  showed  him  the 


UNKOKT.W.™    KXPEOmoN   OP  THE    ,E.N«HTTE.  ,0; 

whale-boat,  tellinir  him  th-it  [«,-.„*    i  i  • 
to  the  Cossack  cL  ,"„dan ,  IZtl"""  ^°  ^  '  '''-'P'"^'' 
him  the  boat  if  he  would  bH,?'  hi      b"uCw  '  "^"'''  «"" 
distant   a  verst  bein.r  66  per  cenf  tr    "  m  ^  '"''^  ^*°  ^^''^ts 
of  n.ountains  1,300  feet  h^^h      k''  ""'^^  ="'™''^  ^  range 

the  idea  of  ownfng  sucl  a  bti.  andT  "'''"'^'^  ,'''''S'"«'  « 
following  Sunday  he  would  be  ^AhI  ^  P™"'|»«'  'I'at  on  the 
he  shoufd  take  liartleK  wkh  him  nl^,  A"-  '  P™P°^«1  '■"« 
hower,  who  had  been  on  he  iS  li^  TJ  /"^  '°  ''••"''  D='"«"- 
ma  assured  me  that  he  could  ,tf=  ?'  T  y"'"'^'  ^"^  Kus- 
short  tean,  of  dogs,  and  "woulfintts?  hri  "/^  '"^  => 
to  800  pounds.  This  was  tlie  reason  ?!?•  '°'"'  ^'■°"'  ^oo 
senger  with  him  to  Bulun  ''"'  "°'  ^'^"d  •»  "'es- 

M-"i°?cr   """"'"S  of    Kusma's   departure   T   I,       1     , 
Nicholai  Shagra  was  to  o-o  ton      ,,""=P°""re.  I   heard    that 

I  learned  thit    Kusma  fvas   unde^T  '""^"'"7  =''"""  ">'•'^• 
starosta  of  the  villa-e  who  wl,  rl  .[""'''"""'^'^  of  'I'e 

authorities  for  hin,  "Th^v  were  r^rK"^'"-  '?  "■"=  ^^^^'an 
this  time  the  force  waf^ertfn^  n  '''"''  '"  ^"^  "^^y^-  By 
had  complained  of  tie  4or  flln  P'*'"^  ?°?''  '^""^tion.  I 
increased"^  Eight  days  pa  sed  a^dK?''  °  '^".°'''  ^"'  '"  ^^ 
and  1  was  growing  ve^ry  fmpa.ient  f^^  ''^"^  "°'  '"""■■"«<'• 
mination  tS  start  for  Bui  m  ^nd  .L  "  ''"P'-'^ssed  a  deter- 

but  I  was  dissuadedTy  Mr  Danenrj°  "'T^'  ""^  <1'«^"«. 
might  look  for  the  return   .f  i^''"'^"''°«"^'-,  who  said  that  we 

■why  risk  the  safeVofX  wlX  Z"TT"  ','  ^"^  ''°"'-.  «nd 
decided  that  he  was'^rigl  We  wa^?e7fn''  M  ■'''  "  ","^^''  ? '  ' 
Kusma  arrived-on  th^e  evel^,  g^o  't  ,e  tt  f 'oT^" ''r^  "'l!" 
brought  us  a  small  amount  of  provisions  a  Sll  r'"'-  u"*^ 
some  tobacco  and  two  lettfr^  An.  r  f'-  ?  '"'"  °f  'allow, 
priest  at  Bulun.  '  °"^  °'^  "'''"^'^  "-as  from  the 

i-a'p'^roi^^^di'^^ie^  o^per^i"  ^  P°*"  f^  =>  '°"g  '--• 
plained  that  he'^S  n  e'^^^^wo  ^ 't'  ^f?  '°  "'^-  "<=  -="' 
tliat  they  had  given  h  m  he  030^^  T"'''  5"  *<=  "^'y'  ''"d 
note  from  Noros  and  N  ndemC  '?™''^'3  '°  "^^  =>  P<-'"'=i'- 
come  for  help  to  go  to  he  rescu'e^f' r  """■  '^^'  "'^^ ''«d 
nine  other  person!.     There  ifad  L        f  P'^'"  ^^^""S  and 

cntter,  and  b>  this  acc^unTone  was  misslnr^  "  "'"=  '?' 
Iirst  mtimation  I  had  that  anv  nf  ,1  ""=^'"g-  This  was  the 
soon  as  I  crot  this  note  I  Iv/fu^    '^  """  P='">'  ™s  dead.     As 

«oM  NiSde^rrd'N::r'Kusmrroid  -  t^ttr 


ao8 


ARCTIC    EXPLORA1IONS. 


seamen  had  been  picked  up  in  a  hut  (at  Bulkoor),  that  they 
were  sick,  and  had  been  taken  to  Bulun,  and  that  the  Cossack 
commandant  was  to  come  to  meet  us. 

"  Kusma  said  that  he  could  not  start  back  at  once,  for  the 
reason  that  his  dogs  were  footsore,  and  the  natives  never 
drive  them  two  days  in  succession  if  they  can  help  it.  His 
excuse  for  being  so  long  as  thirteen  days  on  the  journey  was 
that  after  he  had  crossed  the  mountains  from  Tamose  to  the 
banks  of  the  Lena,  he  found  that  the  ice  in  the  river  had 
broken  up  and  run  out,  and  he  had  to  wait;  that  when  he  got 
to  Bulun  the  Cossack  commandant  would  not  let  him  remain 
there  but  started  him  back  at  once.  I  then  sought  other 
means  of  transportation,  but  Kusma  volunteered  to  go  to 
Tamose,  and  that  we  could  start  the  next  day,  the  30th  of 
October,  by  getting  a  fresh  team  of  dogs. 

"Seven  months  after,  when  I  found  DeLong  and  the  people 
dead,  I  found  also  his  record,  on  which  was  written:  'October 
30th,  Boyd  and  Goertz  died  and  Mr.  Collins'  dog.'  This  was 
the  last  entry,  written  by  DeLong  on  the  morning  of  the  day 
I  left  Jamavialock  to  go  to  Bulun  to  find  Noros  and  Ninde- 
mann,  to  learn  the  whereabouts  of  DeLong,  and  of  the  track 
by  which  I  could  go  to  their  succor.  Thf  receipt  of  that  note 
on  the  29th  of  Ottober  was  the  first  knowledge  any  of  us  had 
that  any  of  the  other  boats'  crews  had  landed.  It  had  been 
the  common  conversation  that  it  was  impossible  that  any  of 
the  boats  should  have  lived  through  the  gale,  and  even  at  the 
moment  of  the  arrival  of  Kusma  the  subject  of  the  talk 
amono-st  the  men  was  the  undoubted  loss  of  the  other  two 

boats'  crews." 

"On  the  30th  of  October,"  continued  Mr.  Melville,  "Was- 
silli  Koolgar  was  at  Jamavialock  with  nine  dogs  and  a  broken 
sled,  the  best  he  could  get.  I  was  not  sufficiently  clothed  for 
such  a  trip,  having  but  a  pair  of  cassimere  trousers,  a  sealskin 
jacket  worn  threadbare,  and  half  a  blanket  wrapped  around 
my  body.  My  limbs  were  frozen  from  my  knees  to  my  toe^, 
and  were  covered  with  sores  and  scabs ;  my  nails  were  frozen 
off  or  shrivelled  up,  and  my  footgear  was  insufficient.  We 
took  a  small  amount  of  provisions,  and  started  out  in  the 
(lead  of  winter  to  go  280  versts  in  an  open  dog-sled.  We 
reached  Tamose,  where  it  was  necessary  to  renew  the  sled, 
and  this  kept  us  the  whole  of  the  30th.  We  slept  there,  and 
the  next  day  started  to  cross  the  mountains.     All  through  this 


section  little  huts  cnlln^',.^  . 

been  provided  for  ^^ICrr'"',',"'  cook-houses,  have 
nafves.  At  "midnight  we  VcVp.aTt';^'''^.  '^="'^"  ='"d 
supper.  It  was  now  the  ist  aFk'„.  "'  °"'-,°f  «hese  and  had 
so  hard  that  Wassilh  wou  d  no,  stan'unn'  ^"'  '"  "'"^  "°-ing 
the  second  povarnniar,  where  we  mr,"°°".'  ='°PPi"g  at 
natives  who  were  bound  nortlT  '  "  '°'  "'  Naders  and 

gave  ojr  zrzirut  -z'  ;:"r  •  rrT'^^-"' "-  ^°s» 

team  of  reindeer  and  WaJ^llf  ret, rnedf''."""  1  ^-^^--^^^a 
B"rulal<  and,  getting  fresh  lean  s  on  th.      T  "l?'  "'s'"  at 
November  arrived  at  Bulun      tL    i  ""=  ".'g'>tof  tlie  2d  of 
my  errand  was,  and,  stopple;  at^he  nuhT^T"'  ''"<="  "''« 
to  an  outer  part.     They  pohued  to"^.    ^  P'^'ce.  ushered  me 

open  and  there  saw  NorosbehrndftahT"'''"''"'^''  '  ""•«»' 
a  loaf  of  black  bread,  and  NMdem  Jn  "T-"^  *  ="ce  from 
the  place  being  cold  and  miserabir  ?  '™'  ^'"^  °"  a  berth, 
wou  d  recognize  me,  and  Ten  said-  •uTt'"  """  ""Noros 
you  r  He  dropped  the  k-  n  r  j  .  ^"°'  Noros ;  how  are 
Melville,  is  that  yW?    We  f      f  T'^'med:  'iVIy  God  Mr 

all  dead !  •    Nind'e^ann  ™lleX  "of  hi  t^'t'"'^'  -«"-"« 
hands  very  heartily.  °"'  °'^ ''"'  ''^«1>.  and  we  shook 

the  separ^t1on':fl'e\o«s  on']i,f„l! ror;,f  ^f  '°"''  '^^"^^ 
of  September,  much  the  same  as  I  hi?  i*''''?°'^"'«  '»"> 
sured  me  that  it  was  theTener.1  *^  '■'^'"<=''-  They  as- 
cutter  and  the  whale-boat  hfd  been  T"'°"  ]''^'  ""=  second 
posed  that  they  two  were  t  e  onlv  ^'''.^'"P^d,  and  they  sup- 
pedition.  Thoy  reared  the  drf^S^^IrieT'T^  °!i,f''«  ^''"^"^  e^" 
how  the  mast  was  broken  oVandcaTrld  ''""^""^  ""=  ^oat; 
finally  landed  in  one  of  the  nn«h  f  **^>'  ='"''  'i°w  they 

doning  the  boat  half  a  mHe  from  .r""""  f  ,"''=  "^■<='-.  aban^ 
feet  had  been  frozen  from  his  hlln^T  ^""^  '"'"'  Errickson's 
dering  amputation  neces"arv  »„-.  T^  '1'",  ="  "'«  ""«,  ren- 
huried  in  the  ice.  After  a  '^;,^tr  7d'' I  ''""  f'"^  ='"''  ^-een 
a pomt  of  land  overlooking  thlblv^-nPu ''7 ^''"^^'l  at 
devilled.  DeLoneconchiHeaf^  ,\l"  *'"=''  '  had  been  so 
advance,  he  havi^ng  supposed  thafh^r/""^  Nindemann  n 
branch  of  the  rive?,  andE  he  w«  K^  had  entered  the  main 

:r;vesiL^  frrr  an!  ^^"^^^'^^^ 

-PPed  to  rest  at  a  hut  ^t^tflZZ^l  &„  ^f 


2IO  ARCTIC     EXPLORATIONS. 

After  they  had  left  the  'place  of  the  sleds/  they  regretted 
leaving  it  and  wanted  to  return,  but  they  saw  two  huts  and 
crawled  into  them,  unable  to  go  any  farther,      [hey  found 
the.e  the  remains  of  some  decayed  fish,  from  which  the  oil 
had  been  extracted  by  the  natives  for  use  in  their  lamps. 
The  men  were  there  two  or  three  days  resting.     Knowing 
that  they  were  on  the  main  branch  of  the  river,  seeing  the 
mountains  at  the  sides,  they  were  about  to  start  on  when 
Noros  complained  of  w^eakness,  and  they  stayed  a  day  longer. 
"They  now  heard  a  rusding  outside  the  hut,  and  Ninde- 
mann  advanced  with  the  gun.  and,  opening  the  door,  z^w  a  na- 
tive who  dropped  down  upon  his  knees  and  begged  not  to  be 
Ehot      He  told  the  seamen  he  had  nothing  to  eat,  but  that  he 
would  go  and  bring  them  provisions.     He  went  off  and  soon 
returned  with  two  other  natives,  food,  and  a  team      Ninde- 
mann  and  Noros  tried  to  make  them  understand  that  there 
were  two  men  to  the  northward  in  danger  of  starvation,  but 
the  natives  could  not  comprehend,  and  hurried  them  on  to  a 
native  village— Kumaksurt— and  thence  to  Bulun. 

"  They  complained  that  since  they  had  been  in  the  village 
they  had  had  litde  to  eat  except  dried  fish,  which  the  natives 
had  given  them,  and  that  they  were  only  treated  well  when 
the  Cossack  was  there.     There  was  plenty  of  meat  they  old 
me,  but  they  could  not  get  any.     I  inquired  and  found  that 
the  starosta,  the  priest,  and  the  assistant  priest  were  in  the 
village ;  that  the  old  priest,  owing  to  a  love  of  the  ardent,  was 
not  fit  to  be  seen,  but  I  saw  the  young  priest,  and  told  him 
that  the  two  men  were  in  danger  of  dying  from  the  condition 
they  were  in.     He  replied  that  he  had  no  authority  in  the  vil- 
lage, and  that  he  did  not  dare  even  to  enter  any  house, 
then  selected  a  vacant  one  and  told  him  to  open  the  door    1 
said  my  government  would  be  responsible  for  whatever  I  did. 
1  then  gathered  together  such  utensils  as  were  needed,  and 
got  men  to  haul  wood  and  cook  for  Noros  and  Nindemann. 
Ind  care  for  them  as  long  as  they  were  there      In  the  mean- 
time I  affiliated  with  the  priest;  I  told  him  that  I  had  hoped 
to  have  met  the  Cossack  and  to  have  turned  him  back,  and 
that  after  learning  the  facts  that  he  would  go  with  me  on  the 
search  for  DeLong.     Not  knowing  that  there  were  two  ways 
one  for  dons  and  one  for  reindeer.  I  had  missed  him.     As  he 
had  left  with  teams  and  material  to  Drmg  my  wii^iv-  par.;  - 
Bulun,  all  I  could  do  was  to  wait  their  arrival. 


egretted 
luts  and 
ly  found 
h  the  oil 
r  lamps. 
Knowinr^ 
;eing  the 
on  when 
y  longer, 
d  Ninde- 
:;aw  a  na- 
not  to  be 
at  that  he 
and  soon 
Ninde- 
hat  there 
ation,  but 
1  on  to  a 

he  village 
le  natives 
veil  when 
they  told 
ound  that 
ire  in  the 
rdent,  was 
I  told  him 
;  condition 
in  the  vil- 
house.  I 
e  door.  I 
ever  I  did. 
2eded,  and 
indemann, 
the  mean- 
lad  hoped 
back,  and 
me  on  the 
;  two  ways, 
11.  As  he 
le  party  to 


(2H) 


212 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


"  I  had  learned  that  Noros  and  Nindemann  had  left  DeLong- 
twenty-two  days  before,  and  that  then  the  people  had  had 
nothing  to  eat  for  four  or  five  days.  They  said  it  was  useless 
for  me  to  seek  them,  as  they  were  all  dead  long  ere  this  time, 
and  that  the  bodies  would  be  covered  with  snow,  and  it  would 
be  impossible  to  find  them.  They  had  recommended  waiting 
until  spring  to  prosecute  the  search,  both  the  seamen  being 
as  yet  unable  to  travel.  In  the  meantime  I  had  written  out  a 
full  statement  of  my  course.  One  evening  I  had  gone  to  see 
the  'priest,  when  an  old  woman  came  saying  that  another 
Americansk  had  arrived.  I  went  back  to  the  hut  and  found 
that  Bartlett  had  come  from  Jamavialock  with  a  paper,  re- 
turned to  me  from  Danenhower,  which  the  Cossack  had  car- 
ried from  Nindemann  and  Noros  to  that  place  with  the  inten- 
tion of  delivering  it  to  me.  It  was  a  telegram  which  they  had 
prepared  for  the  United  Staters  Minister  at  St.  Petersburg, 
but  which  the  Cossack,  knowing  of  my  presence,  instead  of 
sending  to  Irkoutsh  had  carried  to  me.  Danenhower,  sup- 
posing it  to  be  of  importance,  had  sent  it  back  to  me.  Bart- 
lett returned  by  the  reindeer  teams  for  the  transportation  of 
the  party  to  Bulun.  The  Cossack  had  also  sent  a  letter  in 
Russian  to  the  starosta,  directing  him  to  supply  me  with  a 
dog-team,  clothing,  and  to  deliver  me  at  the  midway  station, 
where  the  next  day  I  was  to  meet  the  Cossack,  who  would 
supply  the  teams  for  the  search. 

"At  Bulun,"  Chief-Engineer  Melville  went  on  to  say,  "I 
met  the  native  who  had  rescued  Noros  and  Nindemann,  and 
the  gollivar  or  head  man  of  the  village — Tomat  Constantine 
Mokloplofif — who  were  to  accompany  me  on  the  journey; 
they  being  able  to  pick  up  the  trail  from  where  the  sailors 
were  found  at  Bulkoor.  We  travelled  by  reindeer-teams 
from  Bulun  to  Burulak,  but  were  disappointed  in  not  finding 
Sergeant  Baishoff,  the  Cossack  commandant,  and  Mr.  Danen- 
bower's  party.  We  remained  there  over  night,  and  about 
eleven  o'clock  the  next  morning  the  party  arrived  with  sev- 
eral dog-teams.  After  breakfast  I  gave  Mr.  Danenhower 
written  orders  to  proceed  to  Bulun,  and  after  preparing  food 
and  clothing  for  the  entire  party,  with  the  exception  of  Bart- 
lett, who  was  to  be  left  behind  to  look  for  me  in  case  of  dis- 
aster, and  to  proceed  southward  to  Yakutsh  to  await  my 
joming.  Before  leaving  Bulun  I  had  given  Bartlett  verba! 
jrders,  which  I  reported  to  Danenhower,  to  remain  at  Bulun, 


UNrORT^ATE   EXPKmnO«   O.   THE  J...«ErrE.  ,,3 

and  if  I  did  not  come  back  in  tliirtv  davs  to  „.      • 
to  come  in  searcli  of  me.     At  B.ir ulak  n,      "^'S^^n'^^  a  party 
me  of  the  entire  breal<ing  down  o fL^  Cole^'n  '"■"'""'^ 
sledge  nde  from  JamavialSclj  it  was  almost  iml      ?,"""^  "'^ 
Inn,  on  the  sled,  and  to  prevent  Wmf  ""Possible  to  keep 

ing  away.     His  mind  wH  entirdv  Inr  "','?"'"?  '"^  ^'"'h- 
constanUare  and  attention'"of  il^S„:;''3  '"  "'""'•^''  '"« 

WassiiliKoolg'r  and  Tomkt^C^  '"°  ^'°^-'---'  d^^'en  by 
team  consistinj  of  eleven  dTgs      Belore''''?  ""^'^P'"*^  ^^'^ 
commandant  informed  me  that  h.    ?=,,?  ''""'."^  "'^  Cossack 
with  provisions  for  ten  days,  for  men  and  1''^'"-    "'?  "^"^« 
for  each  man  and  one  for  ead'  dog  per  daf '  T°"'"«^  ^  '"'^'^ 
we  brought  up  at  a  station   to  tL^        ,  ^'     ^''^'  evening 
versts  distant,  called  Kumaksurt  wit.  "°"''"'''''''  ^""^  fo"? 
The  next  morning  we  Zceed.H        r  T  "'^y^^  ''^•■■■-  "'ghl 
oft    This  was  tl,e°place  at  wh,Vh^W     ^"^^T'  «'''>'-«*'«  vefsts 
found.     It  is  locat^d'on'  he'wesfbri-'^?  th'"f """"  "-- 
f  a  sn,all  stream  entering  til  „-°L"'^  'r^"^'  at  the 


high 


mouth  of  a  small  rre^m  enterin'i  th."''°^  "'^  V^"^' 
bankabout  forty  feet  above  'he  fevelofir'  •"''  °"n"  '"S" 
consisted  of  one  polatkin  a  balao^^  !,  ""  "''"■  Bulkoor 
fonnd  evidence  of  the  t  vo  s~  h," '  "  ^'°'-<=''°"se.  We 
turned  in  for  tlie  night,  and  he  next  da"v"ft  ^"'"  ""■^^^-  ^e 
hard  that  the  natives  could  not  be  h  cSd  ,™'  ''"""'"«  ^° 
was  a  gale  of  wind,  and  the  snol  dt'f,  f  '°  T°^<^-  There 
possible  to  face  it,  and  the  e  was  no.  n  f  f't  """  "  "^'^  ™- 
await  the  abatement  of  the  storm        ^  "^'  ^"'  '°  ^^"'P  ='"d 

Ihe  day  following  we  set  ni.t'ot  J     i-  ■ 
5«  known  as  the  '  place  of  the  sleds 'J  '''''"m^"''  ''"""^  the 
Jemann  had  stoppe'd.  and  had  burned    |,T:,^h°7'  %"^  ^''"• 
.0  which  they  wanted  to  return  to  die      Tl     '"'  '°'  f"*^''  ^"^ 
ad  informed  me  that  when    hevlefn  i     "  '"°  ^ailormen 
tl.e  north  side  of  a  small  brand,  of    l,?^°"«^  encamped  on 
supposed  to  be  the  main  on"    he  hid  .  M ''•i  "''"*  '"''^Long 
and  that  he  would  follow  as  ra^idt  ^.  I     '^  "i","^  '°  P"»''  ""■ 
Steps.     For  this  reason  ftried    mf   f  ™"'''  '"  '""^i"-  foot! 
steps  of  Noros  and  NindeLnn-  T  """°^'  ">  "-etrace  the 
"  some  of  his  parfy      Wrpushe^'Pr  f  i'^^-''"^  "^Loig 
bank,  as  DeLong  had  d  rected     I        '  """""i".?  the  west 
formed  ,„e  that  aft„.  ,„.  f""M'.'''  ^<=amen.     Thev  had  in. 

tod  reached  the  place  of  d,e"sledi'Mf"-V'5  '°  '.''^  ''""^  ">ey 

-"-d  our  oniVgtiider'tf k^':7t^rs!:}th"! 


afi4 


AKCriC    EXPLORATIONS, 


■ 


fiver  Aboorde.  The  natives  said  it  was  ninety  versts  to  the 
nearest  povarnniar.  It  had  come  on  to  storm  and  blow,  with 
a  driving  snow-storm  from  the  north  and  east. 

"We Struggled  on  until  night,  when  we  dug  a  hole  in  the 
snow  bank  and  camped  for  the  night.  It  stormed  so  that  it 
was  impossible  to  build  a  fire,  so  we  ate  our  raw  frozen  fish 
and  crept  into  our  sleeping-bags.  The  mode  of  camping  in 
the  snow,"  explained  the  explorer,  "  is  as  follows :  The  natives 
with  their  shovels,  which  they  always  carry  with  them  to  dig 
the  snow  from  their  traps  or  from  the  doors  of  the  povarn- 
niars,  dig  a  hole  six  feet  square  by  three  feet  deep  in  the 
banki  throwing  the  snow  to  the  windward.  The  sleds  are 
then  arranged  to  the  windward,  the  sleeping-bags  put  in  the 
bottom  of%he  pit,  and  the  dogs  on  top  of  them  to  keep  us 
warm.  The  sleds  being  to  the  windward,  the  wind  and  snow 
will  ricochet,  the  blast  driving  over  the  sleepers  beneath,  the 
snow  gradually  filling  up  the  pit  and  keeping  them  warm.  It 
matters  little  how  cold  or  how  miserable  a  man  may  be  when 
he  first  crawls  in,  even  when  the  thermometer  is  40  degrees 
below  zero,  he  will  warm  up  with  a  gende  glow  and  remain 
so  four  or  five  hours.  In  the  meantime  the  driving  snow  gets 
in  the  interstices  of  the  bag,  filling  in  around  the  neck  and 
hood  and  sleeves ;  the  warmth  of  the  body  melts  the  snow 
and  the  sleeper  becomes  wet  and  begins  to  chill.  Therefore, 
every  four  or  five  hours  he  has  to  be  awakened  and  made  to 
turn  out  and  get  his  blood  in  circulation  ;  otherwise  a  person 
would  be  very  apt  to  freeze.  For  instance,  on  this  occasion, 
the  snow  had  driven  in  my  coat,  and  thawing  had  wet  my 
sleeve.  I  was  aroused  by  a  sharp  biting  pain  in  the  back  of 
my  left  wrist,  and  hastily  pulling  my  sleeve  away  I  removed 
with  it  a  piece  of  the  skin  which  had  been  frozen  to  mycooly- 
tang  or  jacket. 

"'in  the  morning  it  was  still  storming,  but  we  ate  our  raw 
fish  and  proceeded  along  the  west  bank  to  a  place  designated 
as  that  of  '  the  two  crosses,'  by  the  two  sailor  men.  We  found 
there  two  abandoned  huts  and  traces  of  where  the  two  men 
had  been  searching  for  food,  but  I  saw  no  evidence  of  the  De- 
Long  party  having  followed  tiie  trail.  We  had  now  been  48 
hou?s  without  warm  food,  and  it  was  still  snowing  and  blowing 
terribly,  but  the  huts  were  uninhabitable.  The^dogs  vyere 
exhausted  and  it  seemed  impossible  to  go  on.  The  natives 
had  been  hauling  the  sleds,  but  I  was  so  badly  frozen  that! 


UNFORTUNATE    EXPEDITION    OF    THE   JEANNETTE.  21 5 

could  not  run  along^side  thp  wil^rl  tr^  u .  i       .       , 

and  I  was  sufferincr  inTl..  i    '^'^^.fo^^^^^^^P  "P  the  circulation 
anu  1  was  sunering  in  the  lower  limbs  terribly      There  w:,c 

where  i.  debouches  '^^^.^t^  t  ^^ S:^ 

.old  me  that  in  wandering  acrosTdfe  ^-,^,^^0"  'he 
nver  they  passed  around  the  base  of  the  sto^.     W^^searched 

^.::tr  st^d'  tt°taLfhurr^' '-"  ^»  ^^^ 

Vay  .5  versts  distant^onX^west  ba^  ^^^1^ riv^^"  T. 

partly  filled  with  snow  becauslof  ^Kd ?n  th^  tlfT""' 
been  left  off.  The  natives  murmured  f,  ,1  •u'^  ''"""'"S 
..ad  a  lire,  the  sleds  were  Zl^-^^'lt  ^^^^^^^^ 

fro„,  their  usual  place  and  had  been'a^Kth  trends 
towards  the  fire,  the  farther  end  rai^pH   .fr.  i;i  f 

the  beds  of  the  North  A.er^an  Ss"^  to^ncTctlird 
attention  to  th,s,  and  asked  if  that  was  the  Yaku  custom  he 
natives  replying  that  i^t  was  not.     It  struck  me  that    ome  of 

..„  IV     ■?  P""^  ''^''  ''^P'  *«^''«'  ^"d  I  supposed  tha?  iM,ad 
been  Alexei  sent  out  as  a  second  search  nartv      In    f 

,ng  I  fo.,nd  a  leather  waistbelt  with  a  buc&e  .Sat  r  c".  nS 
as  hav.ng  been  made  on  the  Jeannette.  I  made  a  ^,r  her 
.search  for  evidence  as  to  who  might  have  been  there  beai" 

Seit^'^tlki^tr  r'^"Mf~<^''-'^^^^^^ 

b"at*tlr*:nd1lEm!"^  ""-''''  ^^^  h^arser/'tolt^'l' 

"When  I  was  ready  to  start,"  continued  Mr  Melville  "  the 


2l6 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


about  me  across  the  heads  and  shoulders  of  the  two  Yakuts, 
who  ran  away.  I  found  I  had  made  a  mistake,  and  fearing 
they  would  desert  me,  1  seized  a  gun  and  fired^not  to  shoot 
them  but  to  bring  them  back.  As  soon  as  I  did  this  they 
dropped  down  upon  their  hands  and  knees,  and  screamed 
'Finstocki  sok,'  no  gun,  and  crawled  back.  After  they  had 
returned  I  loaded  *!«c  ^im  again  and  demonstrated  how  well 
I  could  shoot  b}  into  the  side  of  a  hut,  tearing  out  a 

place  a  foot  in  dia  -  \er,  much  to  the  fear  and  astonishment 
of  the  natives.     I  made  them  understand  that  I  must  go  on. 


A  BATTLE  WITH  BLADDER-NOSES. 


They  assured  me  that  if  I  did  I  would  die,  they  would  die  and 
the  dogs  would  die ;  that  we  had  nothing  to  eat  and  the  dogs 
nothing ;  that  It  was  250  versts  into  the  northwest  to  the  nearest 
settlement;  that  the  dogs  were  broken  down  and  unable  to 
travel,  and  I  was  unable  to  walk.  They  unloaded  the  sleds 
to  show  me  the  provisions,  I  having  thought  they  were 
lying.  I  assured  them  that  we  had  plenty  of  food  while  we 
had  the  dogs ;  that  ten  of  my  friends  were  dying  of  starva- 
tion, and  tliat  I  must  go  on.  They  replied  that  my  people 
were  dead,  and  that  there  was  no  reason  for  the  rest  pensh- 
ing  for  dead  men ;  that  in  the  spring,  when  the  snow  was 


UNFORTUNATE    EXPEDITION    OF  THE   JEANNEITE.  21 7 

pne,  we  would  find  them.  I  insisted  that  we  must  eo  on  as 
long  as  the  dogs  lasted,  at  which  they  laucrh^d  and  saJd  I 
would  not  eat  the  does      I  assured  th^t^  i         i  i  ^, 

eat  the  dogs,  but  that  ^^n  the  do' s  wer^  c  one^l  "^M^"^^ 
Yakut.    This  startled  them,  and  tl^'y^rmedi^e  y\'^^^^^^^^ 
ing  themselves,  horrified  at  the  idea  but  it  h7r\th^A^i 

from  Mot  Vav  T  fr.,,  ^Tt\  <^"^ectecl  them,  but  emergmg 
irom  mot  vay  1  four.d  there  was  a  perfect  labvrlnflf  ^.f 
mouths  of  the  r  ver     All  w^r^^  frr^,^.,     pcnecc  jaojnntli  ot 

wecouldsled  but  ;keraSi™i:r„ral?.heV:;ir„.t,?e' 
west  around  by  the  north  to  the  east  a.,  fnr  a;!      ^j   "^^ 

showed  there  Jere  the  mouths  of  rdo^en  ri  e/s'aTd 'a' Xe 
natives  said  the  nearest  villao-P  ivnc  or^         "vcri,,  ana  as  tlie 

west,  and  that  the  ro:d  lay  Xng  thc'wsriank  of'  he"°"- " 

the  dogs,  and  continued  on  until  we  reached  Cath  Carta  th. 
place  of  the  goose,  being  a  favorite  huntin^sta  on  and  fhl 
property  of  Tomat  Constantine  Mokloploff.  Here  we  re 
mained  for  a  rest,  and  roasted  some  of^he  hoofs  a^  fish 
heads  for  food,  the  natives  pulverizing  some  of  the  reindeer 
horns     The  deer  having  been  killed  when  the  horns  were  in 

1  y  mide  a'soft  o^  'f  ^  T^'^y  ^"^  ^^^^  ^^-^hhool 
tney  made  a  sort  of  meal,  of  which  we  ate,  the  blood  and  hnnJ. 
giving  distension  and  some  nutriment." 


CHAPTER  XV. 
MELVILLE'S  NARRATIVE — ( Continued). 

In  the  Lena  Delta-A  Yakut  Yourt  in  Winter-Del, ong's  Records  Found-Following  up 
DeLong's  Trail-Recovery  of  the  Records  of  the  Jeannette— Retreat  to  North  Bulun- 
Journeying  during  a  Siberian  Winter-More  Traces  of  DeLong's  Party-Retreat  Toward 
Bulun— On  the  I-ena  Delta. 

Chief-Engineer  Melville  in  continuing  his  narrative  of 
his  search  for  DeLong  and  his  party  in  the  Lena  Delta  said: 

"At  Cath  Carta  the  natives  informed  me  that  by  starting 
early  the  next  day  we  could  make  a  forced  march  and  reach 
a  setdement  before  midnight  of  the  night  following  We 
accordingly  set  out  at  early  day,  in  the  teeth  of  a  gale,  the 
dogs  being  so  footsore  they  were  barely  able  to  cravyl  along. 
We  travelled  on  in  this  way  all  day,  the  natives  at  times  los- 
ino-  the  track  and  wandering  about  until  they  reached  some 
familiar  landnark,  or  until  they  found  marks  which  they  had 
set  up  themselves.  These  were  called  '  nyacks,'  and  con- 
sisted of  two  sticks  set  up  in  the  ground  and  a  third  resting 
in  the  crotches  at  the  top.  This  third  stick  was  arranged 
either  in  the  direction  of  the  points  of  the  compass  or  toward 
the  nearest  village.  If  the  natives  found  that  they  had  lost 
the  way,  we  continued  in  the  direction  which  they  thought 
was  the  proper  one  until  we  got  to  a  nyack,  when  they  would 
take  their  direction  by  that,  taking  their  bearings  also  by  the 

wind.  ,  1  •  u 

"  1  was  pleased  to  see  with  what  accuracy  the  natives  would 
lay  down  the  dog  stakes  when  I  would  request  them  to  point 
due  north  or  south.  They  would  poise  the  staff  for  a  moment 
and  then  lay  it  on  the  snow,  and  when  I  would  set  up  the 
compass  I  seldom  found  a  variation  of  half  a  point  from  the 

true  course.  .,     .  ,  ,  ,    •  1 1    -  ^ 

"We  journeyed  all  day  until  night,  and  being  cold  and 
miserable,  I  kept  asking  the  natives  how  soon  we  would  get 
to  our  destination,  to  which  they  answered  each  time  'in  a 
little  while,'  until  finally  I  got  tired  and  stretched  mysdf  out 
(218) 


following  up 
)rth  Bulun — 
treat  Toward 


'ative  of 
Ita  said: 
^  starting 
,nd  reach 
ng.  We 
gale,  the 
wl  along, 
[imes  los- 
led  some 
they  had 
and  con- 
•d  resting 
arranged 
Dr  toward 
'  had  lost 
y  thought 
ley  would 
Iso  by  the 


ves  would 
n  to  point 
a  moment 
jet  up  the 
:  from  the 

cold  and 
would  get 
time  '  in  a 
nyself  out 


220  ARCTiC    EXPLORATIONS. 

upon  the  sled  to  sleep.     This  alarmed  the  natives  ver>'  much, 
as  they  feared  it  was  the  frozen  sleep  of  death.     At  mteryals 
they  would  stop  to  arouse  me,  crying^out  •  balagan  major 
Each  time  I  would  find  that  no  house  was  m  sight  and  it 
finally  resulted  in  my  replying  '  balagan  sok '-' no  balagan 
This  continued  until  after  midnight,  when  from  the  vivacity  of 
the  natives,  ^nd  the  manner  in  which  they  urged  the  doge-  for- 
ward. I  knev.  that  we  approached  a  settlement.     I  was  barely 
able  to  sit  up.  but  the  teams  stopped,  and  the  natives  raised 
me  up  and  led  me  forward  to  where  a  flame  seemed  to  be 
comino-  out  of  the  snow  bank.     Ihe  dogs  finding  themselves 
free  of  their  load  started  ahead,  and  the  natives  let  go  of  me 
and  ran  to  see  after  their  teams,  while  I  fell  on  my  hands  and 
knees.     Seeing  the  flame,  however.  I  cra\yled  towards  it     In 
the  meantime  the  howling  of  the  dogs  had  roused  the  village 
and  presendy  I  saw  flames  jetting  up  out  of  the  banks  on  all 
sides  of  me.     The  snow  covered  in  the  huts  entirely  and  as 
I  proceeded  I  saw  the  secret  of  the  flames-^t  was  the  flash 
of  the  torches  at  the  entrances  of  the  huts      The  women  had 
liahted  their  flambeaux  at  the  fire  and  had  come  to  the  outer 
weather  doors  to  see  who  had  arrived. 

"in  describing  a  Yakut  yourt  or  balagan.    conuwcied  Mr. 
Melville  "  I  gave  an  account  of  it  as  it  appeared  in  the  sum- 
mer     In  the  winter,  however,  additional  outer  apartments  are 
constructed,  sometimes  as  many  as  three  opening  one  upon 
another.     In  these  rooms  the  food  and  hunting-gear  are  kept 
and  the  d.gs  sheltered.     The  successive  snows  of  winter  bury 
the  hut  completely,  and  it  is  necessary  now  to  have  s  eps  from 
the  ground  up  to'the  top  of  the  bank.     It  was  at  the  mouth 
of  one  of  these  entrances  that  I  first  saw  the  torches.    I 
crawled  to  the  mouth  of  one  of  the  caves,  and.  being  unable 
t    arise,  I  rolled  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  steps ;  the  women 
started  back,  wondering  who  the  stranger  could  be      J  called 
out-  'How  '.re  you,  girls?  Help  me  up!'     They  looked  at 
me  'for  a  moment,  for  my  face  was  frostbitten  and  covered 
with  scabs,  and  my  beard  and  hood  coated  with  frost  and 
rime,  and  I  was  not  very  presentable.     They  soon  helped  me 
to  my  feet,  however,  and  seeing  that  I  was  lame,  assisted  me 
throuMi  the  diff-erent  doors,  conducing  me  to  the  interior, 
■ancl^  seated  me  beyond   the  fireplace    in  the  berth  usua  y 
a.cicrned  to  Puests  of  the  house.     They  then  began  to  re- 
move'my  wrappings  and  mittens,  and  the  deerskin  coolytang 


MELVILLE'S    NARRATIVE    CONTINUED. 


moccasins  in  fhe  same  wav  I  l»lt  prepared  to  remove  my 
ones  at  Eulun,  whicrcS\  p  aE  ^^"1 '"PP''*^''  *'"'  ""=" 
cured  at  the  waist.  Tliev  rXd  H^  ,?  ^"^"^  ^"^  *<='-e  se- 
but  on  proceeding  to  reS^ve  tlt1?n"?  '1^  '°P'  '°  "'^  ^nees, 
operation  was  cau%injj  me  pain  and  ?,n  "'^^  "?"'^<=''  "'"  •!'« 
found  that  as  they  strippecftl, '  bnl  ^i  "  •^^amininjr  my  limbs 
skin  from  my  lesrs,  i,  Slbeeh^^'^""'"  "^V  ■•^"'oved  the 

inside  Upo'n  this  discovefy  .Ifey  ^ve".'"''  "'?'!"'' '°  "'^'^ 
set  about  to  relieve  me  c,,t,;n„^h  ^  "  ""^  °^  ''°"0':  and 
boots  being  removed  Siev  Si  1  "'^'"-  "  "'^  ''''«•  The 
to  my  limbs,  but  they  ha7no'^£inlL?"":V^e"ose  grease 

any  other  material  of  that  Zt^'  ""'  '^"'"^  ■""»''"  <"• 

viiiS^j;r,:d"^;S  'z  t:^:f  ">«  p-p-e  of ... 

son  had  put  the  kettle  on.TprovTded  tea  a'^'^''    ^°"!f  P^"- 
soon  had  some  fish  boilini     Marv^ni       ^  "S'^^'''  »"«'  ^'ey 
(he  two  drivers  were  retailin"    o    h°"'r''^  ">*  ^'"""^^  "'« 
persisting  in  coming  after   he?  htl^     hearers-about  my 
nothing  to  eat,  and  Ihat  we  wouUairH?/'!  "'^«t«we  had 
them  with  the  stick,  and  fi„X  of  ti  T'  ^°'^  '  ''«  '  ""^"en 
to  cap  the  climax,  about  mv    fr^f,?^  ^°°""S  ^*  "^«'^'.  and 
Yakuts.     This  latter  in^cid^nVfe'ofrnl"*^  '"^^  =""' 
of  crossmg  among  the  Christian  natives   ^Th"'"'«"»«?'"0"nt 
the  story  of  the  arrival  at  R,Tln„  „f  m"       "^^  *°°"  'earned 
from  DeLong's  party  and  of  th^r      ^"'?^  *"''  Nindemann 
violock,  and  Ihaf  I  „Vw"wa°s  on  ^ch^f^r".^  V""^' 
They  appeared  to  descant  on  t."is  fact  and  ,1,      ">,  ''f*'*  '"^"• 
crazy,  as  I  had  no  means  of  oavino-  M         j°"Sht  I  must  be 
to  shoot  and  eat  them   and  it  i,"/'  ""''7"  threatened 
craziest  thing  of  all  that  i  should  ^^nTf'^'  ,'°  .""=■"  '°  ^  'he    • 
they  could  be  found  eailvTfew  m.'!??'''^ '^'"<^"  """when 
th,s  readily  from  my  knowfedl-e  7?l,J'v  u'"    '  S^*ered 
from  the  astonishment  o?  the  nliLe/         ^'"""  '°"«'«=  ='"'» 

paper:::d"l!th'4:tfsrenTr&°'f='  '^°-''»'  <»■ 
or  whom  I  was  searchin '  A°/ .v^'^  °^  '°™^  °''  *«  P^rty 
Yakut  advanced  bowing  Ind  with  V '""^  ?  superb-iooking 
sented  me  with  a  paper^^S  Ton.n  !i'=''Pj'?  '"'  ^'""^-  P'^' 
a  record  left  by  ull^on^ttl  °?f^'^  """^  fo"."d  to  contain 
march  along  the  Una  river     t^^Z'Zl^J',  °1  '"f  .""-^  "f  his 


\T  J  ,     '  '"e  "ne  ot  h  s 

Nmdemann  had  told  me  of  his 


i 


222  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

havinir  left  these  records  in  as  many  different  huts  before 
Errickson  died,  and  that  in  the  liut  in  which  Ernckson  expired 
was  a  eun  and  ammunition  and  another  record  and  that  an 
epitaph-board  placed  over  the  door  recx)rded  the  death  of 
Errickson.      I  inquired  of  the  native  where  this  paper  had 
been  found,  and  learned  that  it  had  been  picked  up  ma  hut 
at  Ballock,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  fifty-five  versts  due 
east  of  the  village  in  which  I  was  located.     This  man  who 
was  the  brightest  and  most  intelligent  Yakut  I  saw  while  ,n 
Siberia,  was  named  Lakinte  Shamula   and  he  owned  many 
huts  and  traps,  seeming  to  be  one  of  the  leading  men  in  that 
country  or  section.     After  some  time,  an  old  wonian,  af  er 
rummaging  about  in  the  pocket  of  her  coclytang.  fished  out  a 
paper  wnich  had  been  found  by  her  brat  or  son-an  exces- 
sively  bashful  youth.     Upon  questioning  him,  he  told  me  that 
he  had  found  it  in  a  hut  called  Osucktock.  seventy  or  seventy 
five  versts  to  the  east  and  south.     I  then  learned  that  there 
was  another  paper  in  an  adjoining  village  which  they  would 
get  in  the  morning,  which,  along  with  the  gun.  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  starosta  of  the  village.     After  a  meal  of  fish  and 
tea.  the  house  settled  for  the  night     That  house  was  sixteen 
by  twenty-two  feet,  and  forty  adult  persons  slept  in  it  that 

"'^•The  next  morning  it  was  storming  furiously,  but  1  found 

that  the  starosta  had  sent  after  the  paper  and  gun.  and  tovvard 

eleven  o'clock  they  were  brought  in  to  me.  accompanied  by  a 

Russian  exile,  who  came   as  an  interpreter,  supposing  that 

I  might  be  able  to  converse  more  freely  in  Russian  than  in 

Yakut.     We  failed,  however,  as  1  did  better  with  the  Yakut, 

Tongese,  and  Russian  I  had  learned  at  Jamaviolock.    Ihe 

third^  paper  proved  to  be  the  record  left  by  DeLong  at  the 

junction  of  the  main  branch  of  the  Lena  leading  *o  the  north 

ind  a  branch  running  into   the   northeast  called  '  Ob.but 

Yasia.'  and  in  a  .hut  called  '  Usterda,'  about  ninety  versts 

southeast  from  the  village. 

"  Here,  indeed,  was  information  for  me,"  continued  Mr.  Mel- 
ville "  I  had  the  three  records  that  had  been  placed  in  regular 
lequence  by  DeLong,  and  had  been  found  by  the  natives  and 
carried  to  'Orseva.' or  North  Bulun.  where  then  was  Te 
record  left  at  the  first  station  stated  that  Deling  had  and  d 
.  r.„,  ^av  ^-^'^•'^  Q"  ^'^*-  "o^th  coast  of  the  Delta;  it  related 
the  circumstances  of  the  loss  of  the  Jeannette,  and  stated  that 


MELVIU.E-S    NARRATIVE    CONTINUED. 


he  had  cached  the  i?oorl=  l^„    u 

gearonthenor.herntt^^Verr'A'^^''"''  ""-er  boat 
spo  by  a  tall  flag-staff.  The  nVl  f  "^  °"''"'  markin?  the 
having  beenabaWd  .  K  mn^s  ,?il°  T «' '^at  the  1,oa' 
had  proceeded  to  the  huton  foot-  f?  .  ,'^  ^''°'"^'  "<«  Party 
proceed  to  the- south;  that Zy  were  ,n   "'7  ^^''"^  "bout  to 

had  hree  or  four  days'  provision  fnH.T  '^'°?'-'"te ;  that  they 
remdeers   and   had  no'^arL^o;  Tht  '^"^  ''''''«"  ^evera'^ 
spoke  of  the  separation  ofX  k    .  ""^  ("'"■■«•     DeLone  also 
stating  that  he  Ld  seen  ^o^L^o?  h"  ""= '"''  ^f  Sep?eVbe° 
boat  since  that  time     The  1^^^  i   '^ '*'=°"^  ™"ei- or  whale 
stated  that  the  men  had  kL!.T"''7^'=°'''^  '<=ft  "'  Osucktoct 
for  a  time,  but  tha?  fn  the  10^2°   f^"''"'' '''"'  '«t«d  there 
to  the  south.    The  third  pap",  foLdLPn'^  T"'"^  P™«ed 
they  were  obliged  to  campl^^wn  f""!*'  ""r'^"'  ='«^d  "lat 
to  the  impossibility  of  crossinTni    •     ^  *?"■ '°"'"  ''ays,  owinj 
suffering  from  frozen  feert^e^Doctorh;i*=V^"'^^='°"  «"! 
cut  off  h.s  toes,  and  tha    it  had  £.0"^  '"=^"  °'>'''g=d  to 
Ernckson  on  a  sled;  that  t  ey  hid  ™ited  ^'T^^-'y  '°  '^»"' 
on  the  river  to  enable  them  toJ^t  u      J"'''^^"  "=«  ">  form 
would  cross  and  would  fXw  l?°w«t"h  "'t' ""  f'''"  ''"V  "'e^ 
'"  .l-S.?^^  °f  meeting  a  settlement  '^"'' '°  ""^ ''°""'  end 

-il  com™g^  '-tetuThts^etr'r-^^'^  '  "^^  'o-'he 
It  up  from  the  north  to  the  south,.  J?'"'"  '?''"'«"'  follow 
records.     While  at  North  Buhin  1 1 /h"'^""''  ^y  DeLong's 
7,"g  to  'he  weather  DeLong  had  e,„    -"P  T  '"'"''  ""at. 
of  days  Noros  and  Nindemann  hnH  iPf!"t"'"=^'  '^e  numbed 
they  having  been  subsisting  o„"ea|^Jtl   *'•"'  "'"'  "°  fo°d. 
he  party  were  all  dead  ;  o?  °hat  if  thl^!!""'-"'''  ?"''  =''<=ohoI 
na  ives  they  were  as  well  off  a,  T ,     '^  f  ?  '"  *e  hands  of 
Ballock,  the  northernmos  futJj?\    [  ''^Sided  to  go  to 
found;  from  there  to  proceed  to  tt    I,""  ^'''  ^ecorf  was 
Ocean  not  more  than  fifteen  or  ^Jt  a^°'^%  °^  ">«  Arctic 
0  gather  up  all  the  books TnH    '"^"^y-five  miles  distant  and 
'onging  to  'ihe  expeS     "o  ^If^?'  "'"^  °*«^  »«'de    b" 
Osucktock,and  Usterda,  cross  to  th^'^  '"Y  steps  to  Ballock, 
•rack,  and  to  follow  the  wesfbank t  ,7"  ^1^  °"  DeLong's 
DeLong,  and  as  I  had  been  t^dV  ,.     ^°"*'  ^«  directed  by 
"nable  to  wear  moccasfn?  r  l°7}y  *«  ^^o  seamen.     Bein^ 

™«e„s'for  the  feet-a„d-|;gs:  "r  Srthr'^-'"^ ''°"°? 

^       '  "'^"^  tne  natives  under- 


224 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Stand  that  I  must  have  new  teams  and  a  supply  of  fish  for 
men  and  dogs  for  ten  days.  Wassilli's  team  having  been 
used  up,  I  released  him  to  return  to  Jamavialock,  being  as- 
sured by  the  starosta  that  he  would  supply  me  for  my  journey. 
Then,  to  make  sure  that  I  would  not  be  deceived,  I  made 
them  throw  out  from  the  storehouse  a  day's  supply  of  fish 
for  men  and  dogs.  I  then  returned  to  the  hut  to  put  on  my 
clothing  for  the  journey,  and  when  I  came  out  the  sleds  were 
packed  and  lashed  ready  for  the  start.  »t  *  i   r. 

"  The  wind  abated,  and  we  made  the  run  from  North  Bulun 
to  Ballock  in  a  few  hours,  arriving  there  at  evening.    We 
found  the  hut  where  the  natives  had  discovered  the  record, 
and  saw  the  evidence  of  DeLong's  party  having  been  there. 
We  slept  at  Ballock  that  night,  and  the  next  morning,  after  I 
had  told  the  natives  where  I  wanted  to  go,  we  started  along 
the  east  bank  of  the  Lena  river  proper  until  we  came  to  the 
ocean.     The  natives  were  much  interested,  and  commented 
upon   the  « boos-barrow,'  or  sea-ice.     After  turning   to  the 
eastward  and  going  about  two  hours,  we  soon  sighted  the 
pole  arising  from  the  bank,  as  described  in  DeLong's  record. 
We  broke  open  the  cache,  in  which  I  found  the  log,  chronom- 
eter, navigation-box,  sextant,  marine  glasses,  and  a  lot  of 
worthless  equipment  which  had  been  cast  out  of  the  boat, 
but  which  was  cached  in  order  to  cover  up  the  books  and  in- 
struments.    I  then  loaded  the  sleds  with  evterything  on  the 
ground,  carrying  it  away  in  order  not  to  deceive  any  person 
who  might  make  a  further  search  for  the  second  cutter.    We 
traversed  the  shore  for  a  mile  or  more  but  found  no  signs  of 
the  first  cutter.     The  ice  had  piled  up  on  the  beach  until  it 
came  within  a  few  feet  of  the  cache,  endangering  its  safety. 
That  night  we  returned  to  Ballock.     I  had  had  three  natives 
with  me— Tomat  Constantine  Mokloploff,  Lakinte  Shamula, 
and  Kafeem  Reerik,  a  son  of  the  starosta  of  the  village  of 
North  Bulun.    The  natives  were  wild  with   excitement  at 
seeing  so  much  treasure  in  the  way  of  old  guns,  clpthing, 
pots  and  pans,  and  other  worthless  material  left  behind  by 
DeLong.     After  a  supper  of  boiled  fish  we  turned  in  for  the 

"'^•The  next  morning,"  continued  the  narrator,  "I  prepared 

•  .---.  r ™   p„11^^1,  *-r>.  f^t^trnh'tnrh    whpn  the 

to  continue  our  journey  uum  Daiio^-K  1.0  .„.^u-L..,*---t   - -- — 
natives  informed  me  that  we  could  not  go.     It  was  the  old 
story  about  not  having  enough  provisions.     I  was  on  the 


Melville's  narrative  continued  ooe 

225 

door  side  of  tlie  hut,  and  seizing  a  stick  began  to  belabor  th. 
nanves  and  a  scene  similar  to  that  at  Mot  Vay  was  enacted 
I  he  natives  crawled  over  me  and  escaped  from  Te  hut  bu^  f 
fired  a  shot  bnnging  them  to.  Lakinte  was  very  much  exas 
Sfe  o\tr  YakutsThad"''  ?r""°  '°  ^'  ^f^'r.7t^^^ 
d  ori^n^"ftL'''the"manne7of',h"P'™[  ^'"'l  °f  ^  "'^"' 
the  Yakutr  win  lie,  e'Llrr  ru'^^tr^.o  %^e  Z 

boldly  as  though  theirirre'r^L^w  T^LT  ''1^^  ^  had 
returned  Lak  nte  explained  to  mp  Act  ,1  ™tej-he  had 

were  no  provisions  wa     that  wTen  I  wentTnto  ".h"''l  *"■■" 
North  Bulun,  to  put  on  my  cloth  ngforthe  Tournt'  the'nf 

sleds  and  started  off  n  a  tearinp-  ral?  wh.Vh  ,        !.°^°™  '"« 
behind  us,  and  arrived  there  aftfr  ^ihtfel]       ™^  '^""""^'^'y 

1  c;uidtr;;nup"frviS'^^^^^^^^^      ^pf^T'.  -  *« 

were  several  gallo'^s  of  alcohol  iia  ke?°"^-h''^  ""^"^^  "''"^^ 

t"ltvt'  i^::;;^rh  vir  n^Jwirrmr. 

niination  to  prS  rem"usin'g  i^whelef  ,  Tu^'o''^^; 
and  It  was  only  after  I  had  started  Tn  T      ^J^P^^^  ^^  "ot- 

heap  that  they  desisted    ronithfatemD^^         '"''  '^-' 

'ne  to  ^ive  them  iust  ;,   «m.ii        ^^^^"^P^-     Jhey  entreated 

berth  and  we  all  went  to  sleep  ^^    ^^'""^  '^^ 

fo;Sra^s^^c:r;°™jffi^^^^ 
«^  a°^  fk^^;^^  ^  r:  ;^rtiE?^  -- 

prevent  them°^,e:drn7of  '^.  f^rttr"!  ^I'  J?!?  «-  - 
party.     Lakinte  Shamul; 


»s 


ifused  to  go  with  me  to  Bulun,  but 


IBi 


226 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


selected  two  well-known  clo.<;-cl rivers,  Fade  Akeen  and  Stare 
Nicholai.  The  former  had  the  reputation  of  having  been  cast 
away  on  the  Delta,  and  of  having  made  the  march  m  nine 
davs,  in  mid-winter  and  without  food,  to  Bulun.     Pade  was  a 


A  COSSACK. 

fine,  tall,  stalwart  fellow,  much  longer  than  the  average  Yakut 
but  with  a  peculiar,  blue,  frozen  countenanc^^.  square  jaw  and 
mouth,  huge  teeth  and  a  turned-up  nose.  This  latter  charac- 
teristic was  so  striking,  and  because  of  the  nearness  of  his 


MELVILLE'S   NARRATIVE   CONTINUED. 


name  to  'PaHHv'   t     ..  *  ^^^ 

"^.^addv         !  "^"^  ""   "  ^*»". '-    "^  "- 

westerly  yi^at  tt^e'^ ^^^^h'  h'^^^''  ''  -=  '"-•"g  a 
Constamine  Makloploff  and  ^^=  ''«.'«t'on  on  the  part  of 
start,  wl,e„  I  asked  PaSdy  if  he  womm"'"'',"'  ''"  "="<rg  the 
his  hood  and  mittens  and  was  read!  ^V'^  ^'  °"^«  P"'  on 
others  were  now  useless.  I  had  Th?'  "'*  Protests  of  the 
each,  with  all  the  records   anH  ^?  ^'""='  "to  of  eleven 

under  the  care  of  NiclSand  s^ven'T'''  '"1  ">«  ™PPlies" 
we  arrived  at  Osucktock.     The  I?,,  ^°^'-    ^^'^^  ""'dnigh 
snow,  but  we  found  evidences  of  ,1,       ^™^  Partly  filled  with 
!"  the  shape  of  broken  phials  and  o  heV^"?  '^^'"^  teen  tl7erc 

with  a  drivmjr  snow,  which  came  ?n  »n  w    '''°"  ^""tinually, 
the  gorges  along  the  river  banks      wf,  '^1""=^^.  owing  to  . 
of  the  nver,  where  the  wind  sweot  rfn     '""'  ',°  '°"°»'  the  bed 
We  travelled  during  the  dav  ^?i     °""  "^  """""gh  a  funnel 
noon  got  to  UsterdI     Thfe"  h"  '?"'=  °'^'°<^k  h,  the  af^er-' 
ca,nped  for  several  days  wt-fT,f^  f       'ut  where  DeLon.- en. 
river  and  where  he  had  lift  a",i^°,V''V^^^^'"^  °^-'- «?  tte 

Emckson,  and  several  '.laceswhl"  1  "'?'  ','="»  ''^"'ed  poo^ 
Th  t/,'°?'"  ''="'  fallL,  ,hro"^'l;^'''=  broken  ice  indicted 
The  sled  had  turned  to  the^n?„rl^'"^^  "'<=  'ee  was  youn^ 
menced  to  fill  the  banks  he  tr''l'  '  "'  "'^  =*"°»'  had  corS 
■his  t,nie  filling  the  banks  with  a  nar""?  T^'"^'  ">«  snow  at 
height  to  the  river's  bed      i       ''."atural  slope  from  their  f„II 

J  he  natives  that  ab:ut1wen'ty°v"S'to°th'"  ""i*'  '"'^'^^i 
had  crossed  I  ou-rht  fo  fi 'j      .  »?,?°  '''e  south  of  wherp  1 

ttleold  hut,  in  wlK   E°„4"fon  li^'i"'^^  ^'^""^  balagan'li 
from  the  two  seamen      Th  •     **'^'   ^""'^  '  had  learn p^ 

^"ch  a  hut.  and  ™abonW  T^"'  ''P^'""^  that  there  was 

«ring  the  descript  on  as  "?  d?,.^  ''T  "P  ^''^  a  W  a^s! 
found  nothincr  t„  i/,^;  "  ."!, '°  distance,  but  on  rearh;„„  :."!. 

off  the  track,  althoui^h  ^  ^^t"^'.  ^een  there. 


;  »■«»  now  ott  the  track  :.M,„     i   f  ■  ''  "aa  ever 
■"strucions  of  DeLont's''  V?^' -  .-^^  '"°'.'°^^^d 


•ong's  record,  ^S  SdldtitLtC 


228 


ARCTIC     EXPLORATIONS. 


I  had  learned  from  the  seamen.  I  then  mquired  whether 
there  was  not  another  hut  in  the  neighborhood,  and  they  said 
there  was  one  twenty  versts  farther  on,  but  it  was  on  the  east  . 
bank  of  the  river.  Supposing  that  from  the  toils  and  tribula- 
tions which  they  had  gone  through  the  seamen  might  have 
forgotten,  I  pushed  on  for  this  second  hut,  arriving  towards 
midnight ;  but  after  a  thorough  search  no  evidence  of  De- 

^°"f  n'^w  n^ade  up  my  mind,"  said  Mr.  Melville,  "that  I  was 
off  the  trail,  and  I  was  told  that  there  were  no  other  huts  ex- 
ceotinff  at  long  distances  east  and  west.     The  natives  assured 
me  that  this  was  the  Oshee  Lena,  and  that  it  was  the  main 
branch,  and  as  our  provisions  had  given  out  after  our  first 
stoppage  at  Mesia  it  became  necessary  to  push  on  as  rapidly 
as  possible,  as  I  had  three  hundred  versts  to  go  before  x  could 
eet  to  a  place  of  safety.     The  natives  said  the  nearest  place 
was  a  hut  called  Sisteransk,  and  I  directed  them  to  push  on. 
The  dogs  were  barely  able  to  move,  the  natives  working  m 
the  harness  alongside  of  the  dogs,  and  the  snow  was  so  deep 
it  was  bard  to  tell  if  we  were  on  the  river  bed  or  on  the  banks. 
Finally  the  dogs  were  so  exhausted  that  they  laid  down  in  the 
snow,  and  could  only  be  made  to  proceed  by  beating  and 
dragging  them.     The  storm  was  so  fierce  that  the  dogs  and 
men  could  not  face  it.  the  former,  like  the  men,  putting  their 
heads  down  and  receiving  the  blast  upon  their  shoulders,  and 
if  the  drivers  were  not  careful  the  teams  would  soon  be  on 
the  back  track.    Eventually  we  reached  Sisteransk,  where  we 
found  a  lot  of  fish  heads  strung  on  reeds  and  hung  up  tor 
fox-bait.     This,  with  the  offal  from  the  ash-heap,  and  some 
shreds  of  reindeer  tendon,  which  we  gathered  up,  we  made 
into  soup.     The  storm  in  the  meantime  was  howling  without, 
and  the  dogs  being  staked  fast  had  gone  to  sleep  in  the  snow. 
The  finding  of  this  food  here  was  evidence  that  DeLongs 
party  did  not  come  this  way,  as  it  would  have  been  very  ac- 
ceptable to  them."  _    ,  1   r     n^ 
Chief-Engineer  Melville's  description  of  his  search  for  Ue- 
Long  and  his  party  alone  would  fill  a  volume.      His  inci- 
dentil  allusions  to  the  power  of  the  ice  and  the  perils  of  the 
polar  seas  are  graphic.     We  read  of  crowding  and  tumbling 
flof>s   arross  which  seams  run  and  ratde  with  the  noise  oi 
thunder,  while  blocks  of  ice  fifty  feet  high  are  putted  up  or 
tossed  across  the  surface,  and  of  the  chaos  of  millions  of  tons 


MELVILLE'S    NARRATIVE    CONTINUED.  „g 

.  mantic  picture  of  the  Esau^-,a  fv  ;-,l    i    ^^- ""•'=  '''"''^  *e  ro- 

behind,  while  the  docs  dash  in  fi^l  '^  f'^'"^  gracefully 
across  smooth  expanfes  of  inl^  a^  and  perfect  unison 
its  place  a  scene '^sful  °of"c°Tonff  "o^  o?"^  '■"^"■""!f  '" 

'1'r  ""h"^'?^'  ^^^PP'"^- -ndThting,"he  teaser! i"the'r°^' 
and  the  wheelers  h  the  midHlp  all  ^J  u       ,^^J^^  ^"  <:ne  rear 

as  a  basketful  of  eels  '  Such  Sng  es  the°Yi?uti- "^1^'  "^P  ' 
merciless  poundincrs  with  heaw  S.?.-       ^akuts  dissolve  by 
poor  brute^  becom%  m^t  tSb/^lndTcudX^  r"l  "'h' 

Sln^dX-^dTo'^lilftL^"  ''""^T/^^^^^^^^^^^ 

so  soon  become  sore  w™h  travel      n^       "''  "''  P""=  "'^' 

berian  dog  returns  pro^'tlJ'T^t.^^^S  caTf  *^  "'" 

Life  among  the  Yakuts  must  be  like  a  niaW,,         =• 
per  cent,  are  blind  and  sixty  per  cen!  n.r  El.       ^^     ^°"y 
eyed,  and   syphilitic   diseaJ    ^Z     m      P*"'^"y  5°.  or  one- 

Melville  mad'e'^hirfirsf  jou  neyrw™h\-trie  "^""''^"^  ^^'^"'■ 
than  the  heads  and  offa-^i  of  fish  that  co,M  uK"  T^^"^"'^ 
doned  huts,  rotten  deer  bones   ,11  ^/  '°","'^  '"  ^''an- 

of  his  guides  set  out  on  a  ionrr!  '     ?°"''  *"^  "'^^hide.     One 

with  a  team  o(  tirTI ZVZ„7 oLT^  'T  ^""'^'^'^  ■"i'^- 
chipped  from  a  block  of  tea     "^^  P5°^"^'°n>*  .but  a  tiny  piece 

stomach  we  have  a  graphTc  if  n^[  ren  "T-il^  °^  *^^  ^akut 
Siberian  Gargantua  swallow/nry^  """^  account:  the 
meited  butter^at  wo  oTg  dS  uLTT"  P°""''=  °f 
they  are  cheated.  The  Rusl„  f,v  Llll  '¥  "^"^'^^  ''^^e 
ignorance  of  the  advance  rtheva,ulof^?„7f  ,^^-.P=  "]™',  '" 
generation,  and  collecting  in  kind  t^avs  J  .mln  '"?  "'^.'f ' 
proceeds  in  cash  into  the  treasurv  7n/  .1  ?°"'°"  °^  '^e 
gamblers  infest  the  villages  svsZ'atr.f  II  f'  ""t ''"'''•  "'"■'<= 
natives  have  to  sell  and  £?^hl '  .  K''">'  whatever  the 
theless  these  poor  wreichrsumwr^  f  ^^f  ."'"""^y-   Never- 

and  showed  n^  littirc^pacTty  fo'Sy  and  XT^'^''  T' 
■s  a  picture  of  a  frolicsome  vnnn.?  k  'j  •  ,  ■°<"^'^'"'^i  tliere 
bashful  husband,  whch  has  atl  I  r  \'^:'f-"^'^'"fJ  ^  her 
Melville  found  ne^r  he  Pole  a^M  P^'^>''  ^''°"'  !'■  ='"d 

that  the  wom;,n>. T4"  !..-'..*' /^""°°.  P'"''^  ^'  "'e  Equator. 
Ae  suffering  and  th;  ;;rr;::r  ^  '"""'  °f  ^y™P^">y  for 

Travellmg  by  deer-sled.lhough  lapid  work-some  of  Mr. 


230 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Melville's  posting  was  done  at  almost  railroad  speed,  as  140 
versts  in  thirteen  hours,  80  in  six  and  a  quarter  hours,  and 
900  versts  (the  verst  is  two-thirds  of  a  mile)  in  five  days  and 
eij^hteen  hours — is  not  always  pleasant,  either  to  traveller  or 
animal.  The  wilds  are  pathless ;  occasionally  the  driver  has 
the  excitement  of  pursuit  by  a  dog-team  ravenous  for  venison ; 
the  sleds  overturn  on  the  slightest  provocation.  The  deer 
are  kept  to  their  work  by  being  punched  in  the  haunches 
with  a  pole.  "  When  driven  at  the  top  of  their  speed  they 
labor  painfully  along,  with  heads  thrust  forward,  nostrils  dis- 
tended,  sides  working  at  every  leap,  like  a  great  pair  of 
blacksmith's  bellows,  and  the  noi3e  of  their  breathing  like  the 
exhaust  of  a  locomotive.  Maintaining  their  fearful  exertions 
for  about  half  an  hour,  they  suddenly  swerve  among  the  trees, 
or  up  a  steep  bank,  to  avoid  their  tormentor,  or,  droppin;^ 
down  in  their  tracks,  bury  their  heads  with  open  mouths  in 
the  snow,  and  eat  voraciously  of  the  cooling  dust."  The  cat- 
tle are  housed,  during  the  winter  months,  unde*-  the  same 
roof  and  frequently  in  the  same  apartments  with  their  own- 
ers ;  the  horses  are  not  stabled,  even  in  the  severest  weather, 
but  dig  through  the  snow  for  grass,  or  crop  twigs  and 
branches  of  trees. 

Concerning  the  Siberian  exiles,  Mr.  Melville  tells  a  good 
deal.  One,  whom  he  met  repeatedly,  was  a  law-student  wiio 
had  been  arrested  for  participation  in  a  students'  street  row. 
After  three  examinations  the  courts  could  find  nothing  against 
him,  nevertheless  he  was  packed  off  to  the  frozen  north  for 
life  on  an  "administrative  order,"  which  said :'  "We  can  prove 
nothing  against  this  man  ;  but  he  is  a  student  of  law,  and  no 
doubt  very  dangerous."  This  exile's  companions,  whose  ages 
ranged  from  eighteen  to  twenty-seven,  were  all  professional 
men  and  confirmed  Nihilists,  "though  several  said  they  had 
not  been  so  until  after  their  banishment."  Each  was  allowed 
$12.50  a  month  with  which  to  feed,  clothe,  and  house  himself, 
and  procure  fuel  and  service:  this  where  ryemeal  costs 
nearly  eight  cents  a  pound  and  sugar  fifty.  Some  of  the 
exiles  with  wealthy  friends  receive  allowances  from  them,  but 
these  must  not  exceed  $150  at  one  payment,  and  mails  are 
very  irregular — say  twice  a  year,  with  packages  at  odd  inter- 
vals through  travelling  merchants.  No  exile  may  send  or 
receive  a  sealed  packet,  ihe  natives  are  held  accountable, 
under  penalty  of  imprisonment,  for  any  escapes. 


(231) 


332 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


One  of  the  exiles  met  by  Melville  had  been  a  practising 
physician  in  the  Crimea;  he  had  neither  committed  a  crime 
nor  belonged  to  a  society ;  he  might,  however,  have  offended 
a  rival  by  his  marriage.     He  had  been  treating  the  child  of 
the  local  police-master,  but  she  was  convalescent  when,  one 
morning,  he  was  sent  for  by  that  official-sent  for_with  su^h 
urgency  that  he  was  not  allowed  to  finish  his  breakfast  or  take 
an  overcoat.     On  reaching  the  official's  residence  he  was  told 
that  lie  was  a  prisoner  on  "administrative  order,    and.  with- 
out being  permitted  to  bid  farewell  to  his  young  wife,  or  to 
obtain  clSthing  or  money,  he  was  packed  off  to  Siberia  withm 
twelve  hours.     His  wife  followed  him  to  Irkutsk,  intending  to 
join  him  in  exile,  but  he  was  moved  on  to  Verkeransk.  2  ooo 
miles  distant,  just  before  her  arrival ;  she  went  mad,  and  died 
in  despair  at  this  ending  of  her  4,000-mile  journey,  and  he, 
after  an  attempt  at  suicide,  setded  down  m  his  hope  essness 
to  practise  his  profession— without  fee,  since  no  exile  is  al- 
lowed to  oain  money  for  himself.     He  was   not  a  Nihihst; 
indeed,  was  in  indifferent  repute  with  his  companions  because 
of  his  moderadon  in  politics.     There  'is  some  satisfaction  in 
reflecting  that  the  Nihilists  udlize  their  reputation  for  Wood- 
thirstiness  and  desperation  in   order  to   worry  the  ofticials 
and  to  make  the  traders  sell  them  goods  at  a  discount      One 
exile,  a  poet  and  scholar,  whose  translation  of  the  Bible  was 
appropriated  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  attempted  an  escape 
by  securing  a  "double  "—a  Cossack  resembhng  him  closely, 
and  trained  and  educated  till  the  deception  could  scarcely  be 
discovered,  being  substituted  for  him.  but  his  clever  plan  mis- 
carried, and  he  was  sent  into  a  severer  captivity.      Ihe  only 
contented  exiles  are  the  "Scaups"  (skoptzoi),  who  mutilate 
themselves  so  that  they  can  neither  beget  nor  nurse  children. 
The\  are  teetotalers  and  vegetarians,  live  in  communities  un- 
der police  surveillance,  and  farm  extensively     Like  the  Shak- 
ers they  are  prosperous  and  honest;  they  die  well-to-do  but, 
somehow,  manage  to  dispose  of  their  property  so  that  it 
escapes  confiscation  to  the  State.  ^  _^ 

Chief-Engineer  Melville  describes  his  meeting  with  Ser- 
geant Elison  at  the  rescue  of  Greely's  party  L  ison  had  lost 
both  hands  and  both  feet  and  his  nose  by  frostbite,  "yet  he 
seemed  cheerful  and  bright,  and  thrus"^  out  one  of  his  arm- 
stumps.  which  I  shook  in  lieu  of  n  bnnd.     He  said :     So  you 


ips, 


MELVILLE'S    NARRATIVE    CONTINUED. 

are  one  of  the  ofificere  fr/,™  ,u    i 

Hs  dead !  You  mtrhlrh'ad'/TrX',*"''  P°°'  ^eLong 
sympathy,  sure  enouffh  Amt  '^-fi"^  "•"«  •'  Here  wa! 
frozen  ofl;  who  formoftks  h^d  been  helnr'",'  '''="•  ^"^  ''-"^ 
his  back,  endurins  every  aonn,;  ,  ">  f  P'^^^'y  stretched  upon 
could  find  room  in  Ws  SeeS  hearr^o™:  ^l'  ^'^'^  "^e°" 
ings  of  others.    A  noble  natu-f  iXd?'?'^  ^  "■"  ?="='  '"«^'' 

Melville  concludes  with  "A  MeJh„^  r     r, 
The  ice-barrier  he  r^Zrl       M«"«>d  for  Reachinir  the  PoIp  " 

looks  to  find  :^::ift  rmS,r"^  '°  -sfd.  a^°d' l 
"pateocrystic  sea  "  of  Nar«  and  M"t^"''^''i-"'"  '^^  ''^''<= 
broken  surface,  subject,  of  courst  ^fi  '"'"'■  *""'  ^  ''^^'•.  ""- 
cracks.    He  would  atteck  th/^J.,    iP"^""^^  ''"'^  shrinkajre 
Land,  establishing  depots  a    t£^-<^  ""^^  °''  '''^"^  }°^f 
of  a  small  party  proSed  for  fo        P°''''  ^^'='>  '"  cW'e 
retreat  at  the  Ld  o     h?ee    eavtn.  T'"'''  """?  ■'"^'^"cted  ?o 
boats  and  supplies  for  the  " foSK  ■w""'^"'"  °f  "><="• 
who  w  1  make  the  "dash  for  the  oolt"?      r    '""^  '«"  "'«- 
to  pro-.e  this  theory  of  rearhi^^.'l?      ^?"  (°°'-     "I  propose 
there  myself! "       ^       f^aching  the  North  Pole  by  going 

"Beautiful  river'"  sav  ti,.  > 

Dimbovitza;  "whoso  hatii  oncn™nk°n?';.''''''"'  °f  ^^eir 
always   thirst  for  them   wherever  hf  °^  ^y,,^?'^''  =hall 
secret  of  the  fatal  fascinatfonTh kh  Afr^oi      ^  t'  ''  *«     ' 
region  have  for  those  who  have  IncettJiT  f^"u    *^  ^'""''^ 
venture  and  exploration .?  ^'^'^  "^  '""e  cup  of  ad- 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


NARRATIVE  OF    LIEUTENANT   DANENHOWER. 

The  Teannelte  Expedition,  as  Described  by  Lieutenart  Danenhower-Leavinfe  San  Fran. 
Cisco-East  Cape  Rounded-Herald  Island— Wmngell  Land— Fror.eu  ii.-C..l<l  Weather 
—58  degrees  Fahrenheit— Aurora  Uorealis— Sufficient  Game— Ice  Bears  Killed—Mel- 
ville's  Cnnal— Jeannette  Island  and  Henrietta  Island. 

"The  Jeannette  left  San  Francisco  on  the  8th  of  July,  1879, 
with  a  full  outfit  for  three  years,  with  five  commissioned  offi- 
cers  of  the  navy,  two  civil  scientists,  and  twenty- four  of  the 
ship's  company.  We  arrived  at  Ounalaska  on  the  3d  of  Au- 
crust,  after  a  long  passage  caused  by  head  winds  and  the  ves- 
sel  being  laden  below  her  proper  bearings.  The  Jeannette 
was  perfectly  seaworthy,  luving  been  thoroughly  put  in  order 
at  Mare  Island  before  starting-.  After  coaling  ship  at  Oun- 
alaska we  proceeded  to  St.  Michael's,  Alaska,  to  meet  our 
supply  schooner,  the  Fanny  A.  Hyde.  There  we  filled  up 
with  stores,  got  fur  clothing,  purchased  forty  dogs  and  en- 
gaged  two  American  Indians— Anequin  and  Alexei— as  hun- 
ters and  dog-drivers,  thus  completing  our  complement  of 
thirty-three.  *  On  the  25th  of  August  w^^  crossed  liehring's 
Sea,  'n  a  very  heavy  gale,  and  though  the  ship  was  loaded 
very  deeply  she  behaved  admirably. 

"  We  visited  St.  Lawrence  Bay  in  order  to  take  in  coal  and 
the  remaining  supplies  from  the  schooner,  as  well  as  to  con- 
verse with  the  native  Chukches  and  to  get  news  of  Nordens- 
kjold.  We  met  about  twenty  natives,  one  of  whom  had 
learned  a  litde  English  from  American  traders,  and  he  told 
us  that  a  steamer  had  passed  south  the  previous  June.  The 
natives  were  ragged  and  dirty,  and  had  no  food  to  dispose  ot. 
We  shot  some  wTld  fowl,  and  then  we  saw  remains  of  vessels 
burned  by  the  Shenandoah.  Up  the  St.  Lawrence  Bay  we 
found  magnificent  scenery.  We  sent  off  our  last  mail  by  the 
supply  scliooner,  and  on  the  27th  of  August,  7  r.  m.,  ^ye 
started  north.  Next  day  we  passed  through  Behring  s  Strait 
We  rounded  Last  Cape  about  three  oi  the  afternoon  01  mc 

(234) 


I 


NARRATIVE  OF  UEUTEVANT  DANENHOWEK.  ,35 

fckoning'^ltEat  cJ;:?  "•^"j-'--.  "'"-ns  by  dead 
ecu,.,  nof  see  the  uTo'nSrs  ^Zi^^:^^'  ^""  "'"^    We 

beach"  We  :rood  „"::;,  t"Lt  "°"''--'.  ''"ts  on  the 
lain  DeLonsj  and  a  partv  of  offi  """"""  ''^•"'ement.  Cap- 
wl,al.boa,^ut  could  n^^t^Ll  ^1:^^:^^^^^  "'^ 

ship,  bringir,.  their  ch;f^:[|,tt>■w",T^°'^  '°  "'« 
view  with  them  in  the  cabin  /,•  ,  "=  ''^^  "  'ong  inter- 
stand  the  other  the   estdts  ofX  '  "^""'  P"'^  ^°"ld  "nder- 

They  n,ade  us  tmdei  i  d?  1  o^ev,'"' 'bTl  °"  y"'  T  «^«^- 
and  saynir  'SchnaDos'  ,,,.,'     *   lending  tiie  eibow 

refused' to"  listen  to^Ptheireme^f  T""''  ^"'  ""-'  ''P'^'" 
went  ashore  and  succeeded  in  Hn,!-  ^"="/'="=""  Clu'pp  'then 

from  an  old  woman  fSn,  Kin"',  M  "'^  ^ '°"'  "M"'k'".  ""^ 
our  Indians,  we  leanie^t hat 7ord  1  •  n''"  ?°'i^'^  '^'"^  *"'' 
wintered  to  the  north  of  hen,  ancl  I  ^  n  ™"^  "'"  ^^-^  '>^'' 
i..K's  Strait  in  the  month  of  June  'h  l  nel?1  '""  '°  '^^'•^- 
alons  the  coast  to  the  westward  M,  ,?  1  ^'  '"^  ""'■'''^'1 
natives,  who  came  alongside  but  tool  .   1,  °"'"  P'""'^'  °f 

"On  Sunday,  AucrusfrTisV  !.    ?  u  ?     °'^  ^'  "^  ""'v- 
and  at  dayligh    discovered  a  f      f  '"  *^"'  '°""^  ^Hft-ice, 
drift-ice  eitendtJ  abom  fir  1  I     "ff°",  "'^  ''''^^l''     •'■''= 

Cl>ipp,  Ice-Pilot  DuU^rand  I  w  LTatort  i,?;,  '-'r'r,"='"' 
to  interview  the  natives      Aftnrl ,     "/""ore  ui  the  whaieboat 

<lrift-pack,  and  see  ^ man y  ^eals  we  ,'°"?  T'I  "'™"«'>  "'« 
found  several  carcass^es  o7r'e  fn  y^fai  /ratu  ""t^'^'' --^ 
-oemed  rather  shy,  and  we  Ind  f^  1,^^     .  .    '"^  "="'^^8 

tents.  There  we  foun  a  sa  Intf  /  ""^"I  "P  '"  '^'"'  *in 
■Centennial  brand  of  w^,kke,'  ^^T'  "^"^  ^  "'^'^  "^■'ked 
people  were  in  occasional  cnn"""""''""""  P™"''  "'^'  'he 
traders.  occasional    commimication  with   American 

ns';X!'s;on:L'r"e1h?  Ve4°ha^  ^'"'^'''i'  "'»  ^^^-^d  to  show 
of  several  houns  I'  ite  w?^,'^:  '7''"7<=''-     We  took  a  tranrp 

miles  wide  between  the  heid  ani  f^T  "^  """^  "''"'"  '•''''^^i 
"5  the  Vega  had  passed   1  "e     'n  '  !    "w  "T'  !,''"  "?!"'^^  '°'d 

marked  iaSvedisli::^"— 7^^!  PPe-^  soundh^s 


«36 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


■ 

■■■■ 


holm  professional  beauties.  The  natives  indicated  to  us  by 
signs  that  the  steamer  had  passed  safely  out  to  the  east. 
After  purchasing  some  of  the  pictures  and  tm  cans  we  re- 
turned to  the  ship.  .     ,     ,  , 

"During  my  absence  the  captam  had  got  the  sun  at  noon, 
and  the  latitude  placed  us  about  fifteen  miles  inland.  Our 
astronomical  positions  were  not  reliable,  owing  to  the  state 
of  the  weather,  but  ^rom  them  and  the  dead  reckoning  we 
felt  assured  that  i  :  coast  is  not  correctly  charted.  The 
crenerai  appearance  of  the  coast  was  fresh  and  pleasing.  Off 
what  we  supposed  to  be  Cape  Serdze  Kamen  we  saw  a  large 
heart-shaped  rock,  of  which  Mr.  Collins  made  an  elaborate 
sketch      There  were  several  sugar-loaf  mountains  in  sight. 

"Our  walk  to  the  Vega's  winter  quarters  was  over  a 
mossy  tundra;  no  signs  of  deer;  the  vegetation  withered. 
The  natives  were  hospitable,  and  one  old  Chukche  dame 
pressed  us  to  eat  a  dish  of  walrus  blood,  but  we  felt  com- 
pelled to  refuse  the  offer.  The  natives  were  stalwart  and 
handsome ;  they  lived  in  skin  tents  and  were  exceedingly 
dirty  They  were  well  clad,  and  the  chief  wore  a  red  calico 
gown  as  the  distinguishing  mark  of  his  dignity.  This  was 
the  last  time  most  of  us  touched  land  for  a  period  of  more 

than  two  years. 

"About  4  p.  M.,  August  31st,  we  stood  to  the  northwest, 
shapino-  our  course  to  the  southeast  cape  of  Wrangell  Land, 
and  th%n  we  felt  that  our  Arctic  cruise  had  actually  com- 
menced.  We  met  considerable  drift-ice ;  the  weather  was 
stormy  and  misty.  About  sunrise,  September  ist,  we  dis- 
cerned an  island  which  was  taken  to  be  Kolyutschin,  in 
Kolyutschin  Bay.  Next  day  we  met  pack-ice  in  floes  of 
moderate  size,  turned  to  the  northward  and  northeastward, 
and  cruised  along  the  Siberian  pack,  entering  leads  at  times 

to  examine  them.  ,    i-       1     1    1 

"  On  the  afternoon  of  September  4th  a  whaling  bark  bore 
down  to  us ;  we  stopped  engines  and  awaited  her  approach, 
but  the  weather  became  misty  and  she  did  not  speak  us. 
We  had  an  Arctic  mail  on  board  at  the  time,  and  were  disap- 
pointed at  not  being  able  to  send  letters  home.  We  ran 
in  several  times  and  made  fast  to  floe-pieces,  to  await  clear 
weather  That  afternoon,  about  four,  we  saw  an  immense 
tree  with  its  roots,  drifting  by.  Ice-Pilot  Dunbar,  seeing  it, 
said    that    in    1865,  when    the    Shenandoah  destroyed  the 


NARRATIVE    OP    U.UTENANT   ,MNKN„OWER.  „, 

whalers,   he  was   at  9f    i 

months  later,  he  land«l  o7HeraW^S[^'  ^u  "''«'''  "  <"<=- 
surprised  to  see  masts  and  no"rons  nf  i  J  ^^  ""^^  6'-««ly 
dnftmg  ,„  that  vicinity.  Th^  ^°3'  °f  '  '<=  destroyed  vessels 
west  dnft.     Then  Herald  IslanrTL;       j  ^°°^  °"'  'o'-  a  north- 

"On  the  6th  of  SepTember  ?ll      ""^^  "P  '"  ">«  clouds 
reached  the  lead  between  the  Sh"'^'^'"  J"''^'^''  'h«  we  had 
packs,  and  that  this  Zs  ago^J^'X"'-}^  ^orth  American 

charge  from  the  crow's-nest,  and  we  enterll'^i^'-  "^  '"ok 
met  with  the  young  ice  and  forJ^  entered  the  pack.     We 

ramming  Thfs  sh?ok  Ve Ih  rverv°badT\''^^?.?''  '"  ^X 
her  any  damage ;  indeed,  the'^shb^mn  ^''  u"'  *'*  "«  d" 
handsomely.     But  at  4  p  m  wer-f.  i?  '^    '''«  concussions 

banked  fires,  secured^  Ike' vessdw.r''"'' "P ''^"''er.  We 
niamed.  That  night  was  exceeL^l^  'ce-anchors,  and  re- 
frozen  in.  At  thi?  time  the  'cewas^'y  "°'''-  The  ship  was 
ten  square  yards  to  several  acreTin  "^r^r"'?  ..''^"ff'"^  f™"! 
courses  like  veins  running  between  thl*  K  '"""  *"'^^- 
frozen  over.  It  remained  quiet  for  !n.t'  ''."'  "°«'  <!""« 
ound  ourselves  in  the  mkMe  of  a  1=  °^ ''^y^' ''"^  "-^ 

flees  about  four  miles  across.  We  were''£„''-''"T"'^"'°"  °f 
fathoms  of  water,  and  had  HeraW  iS  •  "  '"^^out  twenty 
ward  and  westward,  tv  .ntv  one  mil.  ^^  "  '«'«  '°  "^e  south- 
on  a  base  line  of  ,,,00  yarfs  ''"*^'"  ^V  "-i^ngulation 

Piiot  p-t'i?afr„"^k"^^^^^^^^^^^^  Chipp,  Ice. 

wr  sii'i^s  '^;^:zrlr^  |w '  v;-:i 

before  them,  and  werrcompelied  ?n  ^?''  ^""""^  °P^"  wafer 
ship  drifting  with  the  ice!^?d  wfth  so  "nc"',  ^^ '^"""^  ">« 
captain  would  not  send  other  oer.^n.^'''?'"  ^  ^ase  the 
boats.  The  general  appearance'^of  th?  •  °  ^^'^'^-d  with 
"-form,  with  here  and  there  aim.  ,  '"^  f  "''^  "'"-e  was 
Vpearing  above  the  surface  h^Z  '"°u  ?^  hummocks 
whereon  the  men  could  skaTe  '  TheT,"    ""^'^^   "^^e   pools 

W^soon  found  that  the  icetC/s  toXp^the  dritw^lnt 


2^8  ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

lower  blocks  hooked  to  heavy  iceanchors  about  a  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  distant,  and  set  them  taut  in  order  to  keep  the 
ship  upright.  The  propeller  v.'as  not  triced  up,  but  was 
turned  so*that  the  blades  would  be  up  and  down  the  stern- 
post  ;  the  engines  were  tallowed,  but  not  taken  apart.  When 
the  ship  commenced  to  heel,  the  local  deviation  of  the  com- 
pass increased  in  the  ratio  of  one  and  a  half  degrees  duration* 
to  one  deo-ree  of  list.  This  was  owing  to  the  vast  amount 
of  iron-work,  and  especially  the  canned  goods,  which  had  to 
be  stowed  in  the  after-hold  and  on  the  quarter-deck.  All  our 
compass  observations  had  of  course  to  be  made  on  the  ice 
well  clear  of  the  ship,  At  this  time  and  later  on  we  noticed 
that  tKe  turning  motion  of  the  floe  or  change  in  azimuth  of 
the  ship's  head  was  very  slow ;  but  the  floe  did  have  a  cycloidal 
motion  with  the  wind,  and  the  resultant  was  in  the  northwest 

direction. 

•'  Our  position  was  not  an  enviable  one.  At  any  moment 
the  vessel  was  liable  to  be  crushed  like  an  egg-shell  among 
this  enormous  mass  of  ice,  the  general  thickness  of  which 
was  from  five  to  six  feet,  though  some  was  over  twenty 
where  the  floe-pieces  had  overrun  and  cemented  together 
and  turned  topsy-turvy.  Pressures  were  constandy  felt.  We 
heard  distant  thundering  of  the  heavy  masses,  which  threw 
up  high  ridges  of  young  ice  that  looked  like  immense  pieces 
of  crushed  sugar. 

"The  month  of  October  was  quiet.  We  had  had  no  equi- 
noctial gales  even  in  September.  The  cold  was  very  bitter. 
Wrangell  Land  was  in  plain  sight  to  south  and  west  many 
times,'and  especially  on  the  28th  and  29th  of  October,  when 
we  could  see  mountains  and  glaciers,  which  we  identified  on 
many  occasions.  Collins  took  sketches  of  them.  The  ship 
was  drifting  to  and  fro  with  the  wind.  Up  to  this  time  we 
saw  a  considerable  number  of  seals  and  walrus,  and  got  two 
bears.  Two  white  whales  were  also  seen,  which  were  the 
only  ones  noticed  during  the  whole  cruise.  Life  on  board 
was  quiet  but  monotonous.  We  got  many  observations, 
especially  from  the  stars.  The  nights  were  very  clear,  and 
suitable  for  artificial  horizon  work. 

♦•  We  beoan  to  find  at  this  time,  and  by  later  experience  be- 
-^^„  ^,.«.^Tn/-orl  thot  Ri-nr-AHmiral  Tohn  Rodf^ers  was  HL^ht 
when  he  said  that  the  sextant,  artificial  horizon,  and  the  lead 
were  the  most  efficient  and  useful  instruments  in  exploring 


ulrfu?.  'beclu;?"^efine"X'rv:t']o;'""^!f '""P«  ^«^e  not 
and  were  not  necessary  MthirS^„^°"'d  "ot  be  obtained 
as  to  affect  the  instrument   1„H^["'    ,     ^  <^°'''  's  so  «reat 
keep  the  lens  free  of  fros"  and  v^n"  ^^°^'  impossibles 
fracfon  a  very  indefinite  corection^  A  """'  '"^'^'"^  '^^  re 
•pack  was,  that  the  state  of  the  atn,o?nh  ^"P^"^"'^^  ■"  this 
changing,-  without  a  moment's  nott?,!,'^'''^  "^^^  constantly 
open  near  the  ship,  and  vast  coi^^n"  T  *°"''' ^"'"inies 
whenever  the  difference  of  temp^"nlf  ™P°''  '™"'''  ^^e 
water  was  great.     The  surface  Sr,      ^'''"'^^"  "'<=  «'■■  and 

We  had  previou^,;l'^~- ;  -  i^^^  ^^^an  to  break  up. 

full  and  change  of  the  moon,  and  furih^'.  T"^"°'!  ^^"'  "'= 
This  was    observed    particu  ar?v  tf    "'^''  "  '°  '"'al  action. 
Herald  Island  and  WrangSu^n/i^"    T'   '^'r'^   ''«>^«en 
shoaed-that  is,  about  fifteenfe,!,^      "''','^"  "'^  "ater  was 
break  round  the  ship,  and  a '^"ula    str;.'n~'''?J^^   ^S^'^  « 
gradually  encroached  upon  us  "  From  =1  r,"?''?''™  "'asses 
appeared  so  uniform  a'^.^ew  weeksTf.    "^^  ""^  ""^  "'«  had 
about,  and  in  a  state  of  greater  confn^^^^.  "'^'  ""^  '"nibled 
graveyard.    Tracks  befan  to  radiat  ^  "'"f  ^".°''»  Turkish 
no.se  and  vibration  of  distant  ^nm™-       "  "''^  =l'ip.  and  the 
even  the  dogs  whine.  "-amming  were  terrific,  making 

"November  -id  was  a  ^,1™     .    .■  ■ 
Star  observation^  wit"  M.m^  ^Pn  J  ."'^^^     \  ^^^  ^-^ 
Iwas  working- them  ud  wh^n T  "^^['^'"S:  time,  at  eleven  p  m 
that  the  floe  had  splft'  ZnTtl  Tf^  ^'^^  ^'"^'^''^^  ^"^  we  found 
dr^ted  of^  leavin,  ttski;\yl^^  %  --  -"^ie  had 

board  bilcre.  The  water  Jooked  smnnfl  '''^,'^  ^^  °"  ^'^'*  ^tar- 
there  was  no  noise  save  that  of  1  i^^^'  ^"'^  beautiful,  and 
off  with  the  port  i?e  We°L^":,l"^^  'f^^^  J^ad  drifted 
observatory,  and  had  prepared  for  ^T"'^^  '^'^""  '"  ^he 
he  Starboard  side  the  steam  cutter  if  f"  "'''^^'"^-  ^ut  on 
had  been  left.     We  ^ot  th.  c^  ^""^  ^^'^  "^^"'^  outhouse 

outhouse  standing:    ^  steam-cutter  aboard,  but  left  the 

teen'' m JS  afte'r^a^r^  the"  In  j"^^^^^^'"^^  ^-^-     ^^out  six- 
state  of  ereat  ..r^Z',^^  ^"^''\"  ^nequin  came  in    In  o 

jind  reported.  •  Me'found  t"""  ^"  ^"?'^"  ^^enerally  so  stolid" 


240 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


he  had  been  inside  said,  '  No.  me  plenty  'fraid !  Judge  of 
our  surprise.  Lieutenant  Chipp  immediately  started  with 
the  Indian  and  others,  and  found  the  house  at  a  distance  of 
about  three  miles  to  the  southeast.  It  proved  to  be  the  lost 
outhouse,  thus  showing  that  the  relative  positions  of  the  pieces 
in  the  vicinity  were  comparative  unchanged. 

"The  next  morning  the  half  cradle  on  which  the  port  side 
had  rested  could  be  seen  about  a  thousand  yards  distant, 
and  this  immense  lead  was  open,  but  of  very  limited  length. 
The  appearance  of  the  ice  can  be  likened  to  an  immense 
cake  as  It  comes  from  the  oven,  broken  and  cracked  on  the 

surface.  ,  .^    .  j 

"A  few  mornings  later  the  drift  ice  came  down  upon  us 
under  the  starboard  bow.  and  wedged  the  ship  off  her  cradle, 
and  she  went  adrift  in  the  gale.  This  was  about  eight  a.  m. 
She  drifted  all  day  until  seven  p.  m.,  when  she  brought  up  on 
some  young  ice,  and  was  frozen  in  solid  again.  It  was  dark, 
in  the  long  night,  and  there  was  no  chance  of  working  the 
pack  had  it  been  good  judgment  to  do  so.  We  reckoned 
that  she  had  drifted  at  least  forty  miles,  with  the  ice  in  her 

immediate  vicinity.  .      ,     ,  ,    i 

"  Previous  to  this  time  the  ship  had  stood  the  pressure  in 
the  most  remarkable  manner.    On  one  occasion  1  stood  on  the 
deck-house  above  a  sharp  tongue  of  ice  that  pressed  the  port 
side  iust  abaft  the  fore  chains  and  in  the  wake  of  the  im- 
mense truss  that  had  been  strengthened  by  the  urgent  advice 
of  Engineer-in-chief  William   H.  Shock,   on   Mare  Island 
The  fate  of  the  Jeannette  was  then  delicately  balanced,  and 
when  I  saw  the  immense  tongue  break  and  harmlessly  under- 
run  the  ship,  I  gave  heartfelt  thanks  to  Shock's  good  judg- 
ment     She   would   groan    from    stem   to   stern;    the  cabin 
doors  were  often  jammed  so  that  we  could  "pt  g^t  ^^t  ,n 
case  of  emergency,  and  the  heavy  truss  was  embedded  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  into  the  ceiling.     The  safety  of  the  ship 
at  that  time  was  due  entirely  to  the  truss.     The  deck  plank- 
iner  would  start  from  the  beams,  showing  the  unpainted  wood 
for  more  than  half  an  inch.     This,  together  with  the  sharp 
cracking  of  the  ship's  fastenings,  like  the  report  of  a  distan 
charge  of  rifles,  would  wake  us  at  night.     Each  man  kept 
hiQ  >nan«ack  bv  him  ready  for  an  instant  move,  and  prepara- 
tions wJre  made  for  leaving  the  ship  with  sleds  and  boats  it 
necessary. 


Judge  of 
•ted  with 
stance  of 
e  the  lost 
:he  pieces 

port  side 
s  distant, 
id  length. 

immense 
ed  on  the 

upon  us 
ler  cradle, 
iight  A.  M. 
ght  up  on 
was  dark, 
)rking  the 

reckoned 
ice  in  her 

ressure  in 
ood  on  the 
d  the  port 
of  the  im- 
^ent  advice 
ire  Island, 
anced,  and 
ssly  under- 
rood  judg- 
the  cabin 
Pfet  out  in 
Ided  three- 
3f  the  ship 
eck  plank- 
inted  wood 
.  the  sharp 
3f  a  distant 
,  man  kept 
id  prepara- 
nd  boats  if 


(a4i) 


242 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


"Several  gales,  the  heaviest  being  about  fifty  miles  an  hour 
occurred  in  the  fall  of  1879.  The  long  night  commenced 
about  the  loth  of  November,  and  lasted  till  the  25th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1880.  On  November  ist  the  winter  routine  commenced. 
At  seven,  call  all  hands  and  start  fires  in  the  galleys ;  at  nine, 
breakfast;  from  eleven  to  one,  guns  given  to  all  hands  to 
hunt  and  for  exercise  on  the  ice;  at  three  p.  m.,  dinner;  then 
galley  fires  put  out  to  save  coal ;  between  seven  and  eight, 
?ea,  made  from  the  Baxter  boiler,  which  was  used  constandy 
to  condense  water,  we  having  found  that  the  Aoe  ice  was  too 
salt  for  use,  and  the  doctor  insisted  on  using  condensed 
water.  This  boiler  was  originally  intended  for  the  electric 
light,  but  it  was  found  that  we  could  not  afford  to  run  the 
light,  so  we  used  the  coal  in  condensing  water.  Twenty-five 
pounds  of  coal  per  day  was  allowed  for  heating  the  cabin, 
twenty-five  pounds  for  the  forecastle,  and  ninety  pounds  for 
ship's  galley  for  cooking  purposes. 

"  We  lived  on  canned  goods,  with  bear  and  seal  twice  a 
week,  pork-and-beans  and  salt  beef  once  a  week ;  no  rum  or 
spirits,  except  on  festive  occasions,  two  or  three  times  a  year. 
The  discipline  of  the  ship  was  excellent,  and  during  the  whole 
twenty-one  months  in  the  pack  there  was  but  one  punishment 
given,  and  that  was  for  profanity.  The  crew  were  well 
quartered  in  berths,  and  were  comparatively  happy;  had 
navigation  class  and  theatricals.  The  health  of  all  was  ex- 
cellent, and  there  was  a  special  medical  examination  the  first 
of  every  month. 

'Things  went  on  in  this  fashion  until  the  middle  of  Jan- 
uary, when  there  were  tremendous  pressures,  and  the  floes 
actually  backed  up  into  mounds  under  the  strain,  the  ice 
beino-  very  tough  and  clastic.  The  heaviest  strain  came  in 
the  stem  of  the  ship,  in  a  longitudinal  direction.  There  was 
also  a  heavy  lateral  strain,  especially  under  the  starboard 
main  chains.  About  nine  o'clock  one  morning  a  man  went 
down  into  the  fire-room  on  duty  and  found  the  floor-plates 
covered  with  water;  he  immediately  reported  the  fact,  and 
all  pumps  were  started.  The  temperature  was  below  42 
degrees  Fahrenheit  (the  freezing  point  of  mercury).  Mr. 
Melville  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  up  steam  and  starting 
the  donkey  pumps,  but  succeeded  admirably,  the  men  work- 
ino-  with  their  feet  and  legs  in  ice-water,  and  everything 
frozen  and  freezincr  solid.    It  was  found  that  the  vessel  leaked 


NARRATIVE    OF   UEUTENA«T    DANENHOWER.  ,43 

Xttrbe'eT^ia^.^^^^^^^  Z'^T^  ,'|;«,f>e  hooding  of  the 
last  day,  June  12th,  ,881   that  w^  H^'  7¥  "°'  ""'"  'he 

had  been'twisted  to  starboard       '^"'""^'^'^  'h^'  ">«  forefoot 

and^il^htTnrfulfd^rtrtetL'^'orr^""'  ^°''^''  ^^^ 
built  a  bulkhead  forward  of  fhiT         ""^  Lieutenant  Chipp) 

fined  the  water.  Sle  ViatedT'''''  '''"'=^  P^"'«"y  '^°"- 
the  Baxter  boiler,  and  the^fhfo  ^'f°"°""^^'  ?"■"?  ^'th 
eighteen  months.  A  windmill  o,m7  '^T^^'^  '°'  "^^^y 
mer,  but  the  winds  Cer^so  IVh'iT'l^^,'  ^"f,"  "'="''=  f"'  ^"'»- 
the  last  few  momhrthe  ?eif  H  "  "  ^^'^^VP^'d-  During 
floating  higher,  and  we  had  then  rrf'  °"'"°  '°  ">«  -'hiP 
Kalfhourbyhand.  flieexnerien..  [^.'"P"*"?  °"<^«  "^er? 
great  confidence  in  the  shb's  comn  ^^""^'^  '^th  gave  me 
severe  test  on  the  men  I  w,t  ""y^"/'  ^^  "  was  a  very 
time,  but  knew  evemhine  that  w.f"'''  '°  "^  ^'''^  =>'  ">« 

andtre"oThir  Ty  Xtions'  ''"'"'  f  ™  "^^'^  "^  «°- 
dent.  Previous  toThf,  we  Tad  toT  ''""'^"''  "^^  ""^  ««'- 
dty  of  canned  roast-be^?  ^LTeh^ZI:,  'T, ""?"- 
proved   bad.     The  coMp5^  ,.,«,,i,  orand,    it  having 

1^880, being -58 "TtreLri°P™''''<=''  ''"  F^bruar;, 
able  changes  of  temperltur^rth      '"""^  ^T"f  ^"<'  ^^■"^'■k- 

"About  the  middle  of  PVK  ^  '"'"''''^  °f  "^^  day. 
fifty  miles  rom  the  place  lert'^  Z  ^^  ^°""'^  '°  ^e  about 
Island  was  said  to  have  beenT^  Zu^f  •"'"'"''■  J"^  "^"''1 
ing  these  five  months  we  had  drt^A  ""^  °"^  '^^y-  ^ur- 
approaching  and  recedlg  frif  hT^tsTh  m"  'T'T  T^- 
not  think  we  crossed  it  at  thaTtime     W   "'^".'^"'".  but  I  do 

."  this  uncertain  manner     We  n^riced^hatT'"  v'" '°,  '^"^' 
took  up  a  rapid  drift  whh  .1  .u  •    ,^'  '"*  '•"?  always 

with  northeast  winds  o  v  n  '  H.  tf,'  ^'"'^'-  ?."''  ^  ='°w  drift 
beinc;  under  our  lie    '  sZLet  '^''"J''  '°  ^^"Sell  Island 
"At  times  .and  was  reoorteTlT'*'  ""T  ""'  ^""l"^"'- 

trustworthy.     SonTfobTve  s  J^rf  c'on^tmltle'"'  r^^"^ 

all  points  ot  the  comnA^^j   :,n,i  ^^"stantJy  seeiPg  land  at 

navigator  and  the  SoUn^^^^^^  l^'^  ^"P  ''^^^  ^he 

vain.     We  were  verv  m„i  J-  '•^''^  ^"^  '^^^  crow's-nest  in 

cKift  rp-      T^r^  ^^^y  "^"ch  disappointed  in  nnf  K^in^  .ui'  . 

-d  to  our  sSiiT^Er!'?:- a^n^.f  fi^rre: 


244 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


eard  to  Wrangell  Land  being  a  portion  of  Greenland  was  no 
longer  tenable,  for  its  insularity  was  evident,  as  subsequently 

proved,  ,       •    ,  i 

"  March  and  April,  1880,  were  passed  quietly,  and  we  were 
surprised  .at  not  having  any  March  gales.  The  geese  and 
wild  fowl  that  some  of  us  expected  to  see  on  their  spring  mi- 
gration, did  not  put  in  an  appearance.  One  poor  eider  duck 
fell  exhausted  near  the  ship,  and  one  of  our  sportsmen  shot 
at  it  and  after  administering  chloroform  it  succumbed  Ihere 
were  some  birds  seen  later  in  the  season,  moving  to  the  west- 
ward but  they  were  not  numerous.  A  great  many  mussel- 
shells  and  quantities  of  mud  were  often  found  on  the  ice, 
which  indicated  that  it  had  been  in  contact  with  land  or  shoals. 
Our  hunters  ranged  far  and  wide,  and  often  brought  in  small 
pieces  of  wood— on  one  occasion  a  codfish  head,  and  on  an- 
other some  stuff  that  was  very  much  like  whale-blubber,  all 
of  which  had  been  found  on  the  ice. 

"  On  May  3d,  fresh  southeast  winds  began,  and  the  ship  took 
up  a  rapid  and  uniform  drift  to  the  northwest.  Now  Mr. 
Collins  began  to  predict,  and  told  me  several  times  that  these 
winds  would  condnue  till  the  early  part  or  the  middle  of  June, 
and  would  be  followed  by  constant  northwest  winds  for  the 
balance  of  June.  This  predicdon  was  fully  realized  and  in 
the  month  of  June  we  actually  drifted  back  over  the  May 
track  Durino-  July  and  August  there  was  scarcely  any  wind, 
and  the  weather  was  misty- and  raw,  it  being  the  most  un- 
pleasant time  of  the  year,  the  coldest  weather  not  excepted. 
The  damp  and  fog  and  cold  struck  chill  to  the  bones,  and  we 
could  not  afford  to  heat  the  ship  as  we  did  in  winter.  The 
ice  seemed  to  absorb  all  the  heat  from  the  sun  during  the 

melting  period  of  the  year.  c  .^,    a  ^    u    . 

"The  snow  disappeared  from  the  surface  of  the  hot  about 
the  middle  of  June,  and  the  best  travelHng  period  over  the 
floe  was  considered  to  be  between  the  middle  of  June  and  the 
middle  of  July.  But  this  was  a  subject  for  constant  discussion 
among  the  savans,  among  whom  Mr.  Dunbar  was  the  most 
expertenced,  he  having  been  an  old  traveller  in  the  Baffin  s 
Pay  recvion  A  considerable  number  of  birds,  principally 
phalaropes  and  guillemots,  were  shot,  and  very  much  appre- 

ciated  at  dinner.  r     i.    j         .;.i, 

i'TU^  cnrfnre  of  thp  floe  oicces  was  now  of  a  hard,  greenisft 

""     ,    n.   .      1    • .  _.   .„.,...^4   :.,    «,or,Ar  rilar^s  wlth  th?\v- 


blue,  and  flinty,  being  covered  in 


m 


any  ph 


NARRATIVE   OF   UEUTENAKT   DANENHOWER.  J45 

water.     There  were  numerous  crack<i  n™-  .1,      u-     , 

leads  that  went  in  any  definite  direction  and  th'''  "° 
ciiancetomoveJortheshiDwa=»n^K<.Jj  J?  .  '""^"'^  "^^  no 
ihat  4  whole  car<,o  of  exd^i^I  ,  m ''j"  ""^  '^^  =°  fi™ly 
Lieutenant  Chip?  an  exSeZ!  7^"'''  ^^^  I'^^"  "^^'ess. 
torpedoes  and  Tl^hc^rX "ements  fo?!"  "^'T"''  "'^''^ 
the  first  opportunity  to  free'tl"  shio  n.'"I  *^™"«g«  of 
never  came  ^  ^  ^"'P'     ^"'  'he  opportunity 

wliote  th'iitn^:  ic^Ve^rif  u?t^'T'°^"'  '*"='  <^"""g  '"e 
.he  Smithsonian  InstltutioTto  i^  Pdrrirel^dv'"'"'"'''^^  "^y 
observations  of  the  disturbance^  of  ^K      ^'^P"='l"'°"— namely. 

auroras.    He  had  wirt  fcTol  he^^^TnTf  ^^^^ 
m  the  water,  and  the  galvanometer    rthearrl„f,S'''r 
tamed  over   2,000   observations  dur  L  aurorTf  '  1  "f  °^ 
intended  to  turn  over  to  a  snpriall^i-  r„  ^  auroras,  which   he 
and  judgment.     He  always  fouTdd^f   P^'P^'^l  °f  analysis 
coincident  with  .he  morbritnt  atorl'^^Hell'"^  """t 
telephones,  which,  however,  gave  a  °  reat  d!^     ?  *"^"  .'^ 
ow,ng  to  the  wires  beina  broken  bvfh!.      •  !f    "i  "■°'''''^' 
movements.     Those  on  tTie  shio   of  .1      """^  """^  "'«  '« 
During  my  sickness  he  alfo^maTobLrvST^d,  '"  ,-'^'''- 
of  Jupiter's  satellites,  and  got  some  excellen;         T''Pf ' 
chronometer  errors  bv  nsinS  u„:        excellent   results   for 

mounted  on  a  barrel     He  aftfn^Ld    ''T?''  '^'^'^  '^'«~Pe 

similarly  mounted      TWstasTeh."f1  *V*"'''  '^'^^P^ 

■   eter.  being  far  superior  toTuUr^b^rvt-oVr  °"*-  ^'■™"°^- 

abour'fiftt'^rdrys^rn'tfvTny"/  ""'t'  '""^  P'^--"t  for 
above  40' Fahrenhd?  ie  ^^iled  it"  "'^  '^^^'"'''"eter  was 
P- Of  July  and  Aug^^^'^^e^  PaSarl^y^d.t ij  S^ 

'he  species  calle'd  by  Lament  m1  ™T^  °^'=""<=d^as 
fly  pounds  in  weight  and  thirtv  ?n  f  ,  ^^^'"^?«  about 
dressed.  The  men  4,  eralW  m»H»^  '«  forty  pounds  when 
and  trouser.      Th".^!".       '>^  '"*'^?  "P  *«  skins  into  boots 

^quired  th^  strongest  pWb:oohv''r'"K,'°  ""=  '^='<='  ^"''  it 

>ll.    Walrus  was  sfarce  thf  H  ^  I  '"/"^^le  one  to  eat  it  at 

was  scarce,  the  depth  of  water  being  a  little  too 


246  ARCTIC    EXPLOi'-ATIONS. 

great  for  them,  as  they  seldom  Inhabit  depths  of  mor;,'  than 
fifteen  fathoms.  We  got  six,  however,  which  furnished  excel- 
lent food  for  the  dogs,  and  our  Chinese  cook  was  an  adept 
in  making  walrus  sausage  for  our  cuisine. 

"  Bear  chases  were  frequent  and  exciting,  and  about  fifteen 
animals  were  obtained  the  first  year.  Mr.  Dunbar  was  the 
champion  bear-slayer,  and  was  always  ready  for  a  keen  jump 
when  game  was  reported.  During  the  first  winter  a  tr^'- 
mendous  bear  approached  the  ship  about  midnight,  drove 
the  dogs  in,  and  attempted  to  board  us  over  the  port  gang- 
plank.  The  alarm  was  given.  Mr.  Dunbar  was  on  deck 
instandy,  with  rifle  in  hand,  and  shot  the  bear  through  the 
heart  at  ten  paces.  It  was  probably  the  biggest  and  most 
ferocious  bear  secured  on  the  cruise,  and  he  had  been  at- 
tracted by  the  quarters  of  his  comrade  that  were  triced  up  in 
the  fore-rigging.  A  few  foxes  were  seen,  and  their  tracks 
quite  frequently  observed.  They  seemed  to  either  accom- 
pany or  follow  the  bears,  like  pilot-fish  with  the  sharks,  and 
jackals  with  their  ferocious  and  stronger  friends. 

"During  the  summer  some  of  us  used  to  take  the  skin- 
boats,  or  the  dingy,  and  paddle  among  the  cracks.  On  one 
occasion  Captain  UeLong  was  alone  in  the  dingy,  and  was  in- 
terviewed by  a  bear,  who  suddenly  approached  out  of  the 
mist  and  stood  watching  him  in  the  most  dignified  manner. 
The  captain  retreated  in  good  order.  During  the  summer  it 
was  very  difficult  to  get  bears,  b«^:cause  they  could  take  to  the 
water  so  readily,  and  thus  cut  off  their  pursuers.  During  the 
misty  times  they  were  very  bold,  and  on  one  occasion  a  she- 
bear  with  two  cubs  approached  the  ship  to  within  400  yards 
of  the  starboard  quarter.  Fortunately,  the  dogs  were  on  the 
port  side  anu  to  windward,  so  they  did  not  scent  the  bear. 
The  greatest  quietness  prevailed,  and  a  squad  of  about  ten 
riflemen  was  immediately  organized  on  the  poop.  I  was 
watching  the  bears  through  a  cabin  air-port,  and  it  was  a  very 
fine  sight  to  see  the  mother  and  her  two  cubs  approach  the 
ship  in  a  wondering  and  cautious  manner.  I  could  see  better 
under  the  mist  than  the  people  on  the  poop.     I  heard  tlie 

captain  say: 

"  •  Do  any  of  you  think  it  is  over  250  yards  ? 
"AH  seemed  to  agree,  and  he  said : 
.  "'Aim  at  250  yards,  and  wait  for  the  vvord  "  Fire.'" 
"Then  succeeded  a  volley.   The  bears  reeled  and  made  sev- 


NARKATIVE   OP   LIEUTENANT   DANENHOWER.  ,47 

and  >hus  escaped.  Bu  "a  'e  dmn.'^?',  ^''V'^  ^""""across. 
tl>e  she-bear  lay  down  onc?orl3  f  •r'°°''  "T^  =^<=".  ^"d 
ing  her  retreat  she  drXe  heVcX  LV  "r^''^'"'  '"  '"^^■ 
impatient  when  they  moved  sLi.  TiT  '''''\'""^  '^^'^a""' 
but  the  distance  had  been  under^^,-  *=  ^^'^  ''^''  ^^^"  hit, 
shots  had  fallen  short  This  w.f  ?^''''''  ^"^  '"°^'  »'"  the 
it  ■vas  very  misty.  '  "^^  "°'  "^faordinary  because 

wind,  and  tliat  the  resultant  of    hl^  j        Pnncipally  to  the 
east.     Some  of  us  talked  about  H,™'     I  "^'  ^-""^  ""=  =°"'h- 
ered  with  an  .^nmense  •S-ca°'  vhthP°'='''  'T°'}  ^''"S  cov- 
general  movement  in  the  dlrec^o^  nf ';?'"t''  '°,  ''^"^  ^  !''''«'. 
tlie  direction  of  the  drillof  cour  °   h  '  "'M?"'''  °^  »  "''''^h, 
ferent  segments.     The  inflL„.      r',?,  '"^  different  in  the  dif. 
to  imped!  the  drift  of  the  3e^r„,„tlvYn"';^^'  '''^"'^  "°"W  he 
eastward,  and  I  imagined  thft  theri^  ^  '°u"'*  "°«hward  and 
between  Wrangell  iTand  and  thi/T '!"'?.'  ^  ^  '"'"^^"^  »fife 
northeast.     Th?s  polar  ice-cao  we  I      ^''t'^"''  °^  '<=«  <"■•''■"  'he 
olutions  millions  of  ac  es  eve  v  ,       "  1'''°'"  "^  '"  ''^  --ev- 
Robeson  Channel  and  betwle^  irf  "^  i''™"^''  ">«  S«'«=  of 
branch  of  the  Gulf  Stream  an»iv"r  ^"''  Greenland.     A 
side,  and  its  influence!  feU  at  far  aVt    T  '^  Spitzbergen 
The  general  motion  of  this  ■  cap  •n,nsK°''"'  S^l^«°f  Alia, 
local  motions  of  course  clenend'^„nl,i^^'''^''5;  ''°^^'  h"t  the 
and  the  vicinity  of  land  and  „„  "^       the  depth  of  the  ocean 
rapid.  '  "•  ""''  "<=»■•  nature's  outlets  it  is  very 

all^a' obraSeXmtiri  H  d  ""  ^^'',^"'°"-  "<=  ----ly.^H 
Arctic  literature,  and  ma  ked  i^'%'"P-'"'  ^'«?  reports^and 
arrows  the  currents  as  reported  hv  P'-<^"'"Polar  chart  with 
as  those  mentioned  in  tife  d?eories  ?f  T  ""'•?"'°^^' ^' ™<^" 
pliers.  We  constantlv  di  cu,  ed  dt  '''^'l"S"'^hed  geogra- 
assnrcd  that  if  the  ship  couki  r.l!  .1"«tipn,  and  both  felt 
would  eventually  drift  ou     betwe    '  T^'^°"S  enough,  she 

sland  ,0  Atlantic  waers     A  v^rv1.lhr','''T'^"  ""^  Bear 
less  be  ,-ifta.v„j  _..,] .       ,  .  ^  ^"y  "iffh  latitude  wn.ild  Hp..i-f 

*e„ce  of  Fran.  Joseph  Sl^  thf  ^^^r^f'the^a'ck! 


348 


ARCTIC    EXPLOKA'I  lON.S. 


If  the  ship  passed  to  the  southeast  of  it,  the  local  motion  to 
the  sopthwest  "light  be  very  rapid  by  the  pack  impingincr  on 
those  i.uia:  ;  and  if  passing  to  the  northward,  the  park  would 
be  ']f'^^<  '<id  toward  the  Pole  and  a  very  high  latitude  would 
be  obtained,  supposing  no  p-^lar  continental  land  to  exist.  It 
is  my  opinion  that  had  we  euiered  the  pack  200  miles  to  the 
eastward  of  where  we  did,  we  could  have  worked  up  near 
Princf'  Patrick  Land ;  for  Collinpon  found  the  deepest  water 
over  there  to  il,.  .'si..vard,  and  sounded  with  133  fathoms 
without  finding  bottom. 

"  Our  smallest  depth  the  first  year's  drift  was  seventeen 
fathoms,  and  the  greatest  dtipth  not  over  sixty,  the  average 
being  generally  thirty,  and  the  ocean  bottom  usually  uniform, 
with  blue  mud  and  in  some  cases  shale — something  like  round 
pieces  of  potato,  cut  thin  and  fried,  and  supposed  to  be  mete- 
oric specimens.  We  felt  pretty  sure  that  w.e  would  continue 
10  drift  to  the  northwest  during  the  following  year,  but  I  was 
not  sure  what  influence  the  peculiar  coast-line  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  North  Cape  would  exert,  it  being  in  the  form  of  an 
elbow,  and  must  therefore  have  great  influence  on  the  general 
motion  of  the  pack. 

"  From  the  fact  that  the  spars  of  the  Shenandoah's  devas- 
tations  drifted  to  Herald  Island,  and  that  die  whaling  bark 
Gratitude  had  been  laist  seen  drifting  to  the  northwest  in  that 
vicinity,  we  augured  that  there  must  also  be  some  northwest 
current;  but  we  have  no  other  evidence  of  a  current  except 
the  formation  of  banks  and  shoals  in  the  vicinity  of  Hrrald 
Island,  which  ma'  r  be  similar  to  the  formation  of  the  Grand 
Banks,  by  the  ice  bringing  earthy  matter  there.  The  locality 
east-northeast  of  Wrangell  Land  may  be  regarded  as  the 
Arctic  doldrum' ,  as  far  as  drift  is  concerned.  We  also  con- 
sidered the  possibility  of  drifting  down  the  western  side  of 
Wrangell  Land,  and  then  again,  perhaps,  once  more  being 
able  to  shift  for  ourselves. 

"  The  general  health  of  the  ship's  company  was  excellent, 
and  we  looked  forward  coolly,  but  not  without  some  anxiety, 
to  the  long  night  of  the  second  winter,  during  which  time  we 
might  at  any  instant  be  rendered  homeless  and  at  the  mercy 
of  the  Arctic  fiends. 

"At  the  beginning  of  September,  1880,  the  Jeannette  was 
f:^.^l,,  ^..^u^AA^A    In  inp.  nf  aKniit  p-lcrht  fppt  in  thirknpss  :   hut 

there  were  immense  masses  shoved  under  her  keel,  and  the 


bows  were  lifted  so  that-  fl.„  !      i 

degree,  the  ship  at'the^'n.t^;rj'h::,i„'"f^         ^^-^  -« 
degrees,  and  so  firmly  held  in  !k-  ^""^'^S  to  starboard  two 

the  blacksmith  strucl^is  a„',"n  i"  L^"^'^  ^^  that  wh:' 
see  the  shrouds  and  stays  vib  at"  and  i;"'"""'' °"^  ^^^^^ 
taut  Our  executive  officer  Ind. I.  I  7  ''^'''^  "«t  very 
dunng  the  first  winter  andthl  ^^^^^^"^'^  up  the  ri£5.inc^ 
the  intense  cold  was^^f  ^^uVstVe^y^'^at "  ^r^  '^^^^^ 
np  under  the  main  chains  and  as  hUT;,  ^^T  '?^  ^^^  Pdcd 
the  vicmity  of  the  ship  the  ice  was  /.k,  ^^'''.  PJan'<-sheer:    In 

j.-st  confusion,  and  trLelh  g%"veVrwas  j'"'^ '"  ^^^  ^^^t" 
bility.  ^     ^e^  It  was  almost  an  impossi- 


overcame  thTbLf j:,f fJ^Trav" ^^urSf"  "'?  ^^'^'^^  f™- 
There  was  comparatively  li  tfe  snmv  ^  J'"i°°^  ™^  P""--- 
was  constantly  blown  by  the  w^^d  an  V  ^  '^'i"  ""=■•*=  "-^^ 
t.on  on  the  surface  of  the  icr  id  th,,  "^"''"^d  =alt  by  attri- 
culmary  purposes.     The  car  .In  "  '°"'''  "°'  "^e  it  for 

travelling,  and  he  several%-.Cs  Txnr^''^'^,^?'-^'"^  ">  &« 
effect  that  he  would  not  aban?^nn  ,fP'^??^«d  '"mself  to  the 
pound  of  provisions  lef   a„H      "  '"=  '""P  *hile  there  was  a 
he  would  Ld  on  a  year  ionger'Lf  ^roh'^  ""''-''"odThat 
all  travelhng  commenced,  a^year  lat^?    u/  ■^'i5"*hen  the 
that  if  our  provisions  held  o„f  t!       "'     ^^  ^'1  considered 
attacked  by  scurvy,  anS    f  the  shi"rf '"°"^''-  ''^  "^  *ere  not 
ice  we  should  eventually  dr  ft  ou  Tft!f  "°^  .'^^^'^^'^  ^Y  the 
of  Franz  Joseph  Land,  either  nor^h  ""f  ^hmg  the  vicinity 

of  the  ships  company'  w  fexcel  enf  '?"'  "J^  "'  ^he  mora  e 
toward  the  long  iligh^j  of  the  se'ond  l"':'"  '°?!^<=<'  """'""sly 
be  the  most  fearful  part  of  onr  .  •'^'"'^'■'  """^h  Proved  to 
mental  strain  on  ma^ny  of  „s~^!;'«"^e-  The  an'iioty  and 
We  were  so  completelv  :.^  1  "^  greatest  at  that  time 

»el  might  be  crushed  aL„vmo'""''''u°^  ^^  '«  'hat  the  ^sJ 
«s  which  we  constantly  Kd'  ^'  *^  "'■■■"Bering  agcn- 

~  rorTett^re"'''1hLtf  ir  H  ''^  ■■"  -'"- 

r?is  rti-'ti- -Ir  - '"  ~n.:: 

over.    Economy  and  retlZ^F    ^  ^^  '""^^  completely  housed 

':!^'rr'^'^:trz^r"^:^^  or^er  oi^ttii 

--a;c,tvvo  Hours'  e  ercisp  nn^f '  "  winter  routine  of 

^'  >«,  and  all  was  gS;fg'wet  '°  ""'  ™"""«"-ed  on  Novem- 


250 


ARCTIC    FXri-ORATIONS. 


"November  m.d  l>cemb<.r  were  ^^''H,";';'!'  ^°"'Xkal 
hatl  no  severe  uales  that  1  r.-meniber.  The  meteorological 
observations  we^e  taken  every  hour  dur  ng  'Ij?  fi-;>--;bu 
every  two  hours  only  clunnK  the  second  Fhcy  ^ere  very 
l^^orou.'h  an<l  Mr.  CoUins  was  very  watchlul  to  add  some- 
tTtoV  science  -  vvhich  he  w  s    o^^^^^ 

^rn^nTicll^otratot^reacro^^^^ 

astronomical  oo  observer  and  to  assist  Mr.  Colhns. 

Tirere  Is  a 'qtlrrerma"-  on  .atch  all  the  time,  and  steam 
was  kept  on  the  Baxter  boiler  lor  distilling  purposes  To 
rav^coPal,  fires  were  put  out  in  the  galleV  at  3  p.  m.,  being 
,i«pil  onlv  from  7  A.  M.  till  that  hour.  ,    .,     ,      ■. 

"The  month  of  January,  188.,  was  remarkable  or  its 
clianVeabrtemperature,  and  as  being  warmer  than  the  two 
oevfous  months.  About  the  middle  of  the  month  the  wind 
^et  7n  fron    the  southeast,  and  subsequent  y  to  that  time  the 

Dlaced  the  ship  before  making  the  observation      His  judg 

erally  ran  thirty-three,  but  one  mornmg  M'^;  ^"""'"^^ 
in  forty-four;    some  called   that  place  Dunbar  Hole     w 
drifted  over    his  spot  once  again  at  a  later  period.    Iheab 
tt:'of  Inimal  lif/prior  to  May  w-g--er  than  du^      jjje 

Sr ':aS  fr^s'h  'meTf!:"  tirindl^i  X^^who  was  said 


but  we 
ological 
ear,  but 
re  very 
i  some- 
ilevoted. 
ook  the 
p  had  a 
Collins. 
d  steam 
jes.  To 
M.,  being 

i   for  its 
the  two 
the  wind 
time  the 
'he  depth 
west,  but 
hwest,  as 
drift  in  a 
>  the  first 
soundings 
judge  of 
erally  tal- 
by  wliich 
noderate,' 
;iiles.    He 
drift  and 
His  judg- 
:    frequent 
ose  of  the 

an  for  the 
lat  for  the 
dings  gen- 
ir  sounded 
-lole.  We 
.  The  ab- 
during  the 
ially  as  the 
lo  was  said 


A   iiATTLE  WITH   WALRUS. 


(25 1) 


252 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


4^^ 


to  have  the  scurvy,  and  suffered  ver>'  gready  from  ao- 
scesses  on  his  leg.  On  May  ist,  Dr.  Ambler  reported  the 
physical  condition  of  the  crew  rapidly  deterioratmg,  and  six 
or  seven  were  placed  on  whiskey  and  quinme  to  tone  them 
up  The  weather  at  this  time  was  good,  and  there  were  no 
sprin,:?  gales.     Of  course  when  I  say  good,  it  is  m  an  Arctic 

sense  i 

"Durincr  the  month  of  May,  old  man  Dunbar  was  always 
in  the  crSw's-nest,  and  got  blind  several  times.  The  old 
gendeman  was  looking  out  sharp  for  land,  and  about  the 
T6th  of  May  he  was  tlie  first  to  announce  it  in  sight.  \ou 
can  imagine  the  excitement  it  caused,  for  we  had  not  seen 
land  for  many  months  and  had  not  set  foot  on  it  for  nearly 

two  years.  , 

Me?nnette  Island,  as  the  new  land  was  called  was  not 
landed  on,  but  the  astronomical  position  of  it  could  be,  and 
doubdess  was,  well  established  .rom  the  data  obtained  by 
Captain  DeLong.  It  was  by  trlangulation,  on  the  base  es- 
tablished by  observations  on  different  days,  the  ship  having 
drifted  rapidly  and  giving  a  long  base  line,  the  extremities  of 
which  were  established  by  artificial  horizon  and  sextant  obsei- 
vations  I  was  confined  to  my  room  at  the  time  of  the  dis- 
covery but  every  item  of  it  W&s  brought  to  me  by  Dunbar, 
Melville,  and  Chipp,  and  everything  was  so  minutely  de-^ 
scribed  to  me  that  I  could  almost  see  the  land  through  the 

ship's  side.  ,  ,      .         ,  n         11 

''I  understood  Jeannette  Island  to  be  small  and  rocky. 
The  southern  end  appeared  high,  and  the  land  sloped  down 
to  a  low  ooint  to  the  northward  when  the  island  was  lirst  seen, 
but  subsequendy  mountains  behind  the  low  point  vvere  ob- 
served, and  from  this  fact  the  island  was  adjudged  to  be  more 
extensive  than  at  first  supposed.  Sketches  were  made  when- 
ever the  island  was  in  sight,  but  it  would  have  been  foohsh 
to  have  attempted  a  journey  to  it,  for  the  dritt  oi  the  ship  was 
too  rapid  and  the  state  of  the  ice  so  changeable. 

"A  few  days  afterwards,  Henrietta  Island  hove  in  sight,  and 
appeared  extensive.  The  drift  of  the  ship  seemed  arrested 
bv  the  northeast  extremity  of  the  island.  Lieutenant  Chipp 
was  sick  abed  with  what  afterwards  proved  to  be  tin  poison- 
incr  and  I  was  confined  to  my  room  with  my  eyes.  So  Mr. 
Melville  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  the  lirst  to  visit  ricKii- 


etta 


Island'  and  \vid\d  his  work  admirably.    When  he  left  the 


of  the  lirdest  '^nTcord  -^MPdWI."?"?"^  '^'^""^  "^  °"- 
inense  masses  of  broken  ice    hlV  '^  '°  "'^'■'^l  "-"^r  inl- 

and in  post  cases  tl,;dogs  tVZorsT^''""^-  \"  '"°"°"' 
anded  m  a  state  of  exl^uJ"   ,     ,       '''f "  "seless.     He 
island,  and  then  ordered  the^S  tot  ^  '''°"  "'"   °"  '"« 
to  sleep  until  ten  o'clock  t  e  next    '°  n  ™  V"'     "*=  '"'^"^ed 
anxious,  and  when  i,e  turned  oi?t  Ws^?/^^'  ''•",'  "'''  Probably 
but  ,t  was  probably  p.  m      In  hi  .,       '^'','^"'  '^^«"  o'<:lock% 
an  l'0"rand  ahalf  orTwohou^s  "'^T  ^ '"  ''"^'  ^'«P'  ""b" 
felt  as  ,f  they  were  just  got  "7o  slleo  T  r"''  *^'  ""^X 
however,  that   they  had  Da«?H    ,i       P'  ,  '^^'=''nff  confident 
sleeping  bags,  he  h^ni  hed^t' <  et^:'/"'-''^'^,  'f -"-^  "'    "'eir 
started  back  to  the  ship   a  d  «-.  '°"  "^  "'^  '"'^"''  and 

*at  he  had  gained  twX  h  ,ts  fn' ti^'^" T?'  °"  '^'^  '''''"r" 
prising,  Irom  the  fact  that  durinc^  I,  1        •  ^'"'  "^-"^  "°'  ="■•- 

^erit^^>-n^:--.-:n,r./i:k^-;Se 

MeK:iiie,o„bis.t;-t^— S;;^?-,- 

«indn:™i:i'tr;^  b'^^cai'^stckt'T, '°"-  -'"'  -- 

On  the  way  to  the  island  he  wLtalL,"  P^?^ '°  *<=  ^'"P- 
and  worked  so  hard  and  used  ll  .  '°  ^''''•"^  "'<=  roa  I, 

carne  thoroughly  disabfed  Vhe'  T,'  '°  "'"'''  "■"'  ''«  ^e-' 
badly,  It  being  ,i,e  first  time  in  his  i"'""'""^"  f^^<^  very 
ever  been  physically  uneoual  Tn  A  '""Scarcer  that  he  hail 
Melville  to  leave  him  hk^i^oLfi  *!■"  °«^^'°"-  He  beg.^ed 
<o..rse  this  was  not  done.  1  f^XTs  T  '"f"""'-  ^^^''^'f 
f;ywell.  They  had  been  nicked  ^^  ","'« 'rip  remark- 
ship's  company.  ^'"'""^  °"'  ^  the  flower  of  the 

^f  rl~in\Tttr^arhte?  ".'lS"  ''V''^  -"  --d 
«er  mountain,  which  was  fal  ed^M  ""'^?.>''"'^ ' '  ^-'^o  an- 
Wd  headlands  were  called  .R  ,?^  ^'"PP^'  'wo  very 

cape  was  called  '^pe  Melville  'Tn"ho  "^%^'«"ds  ;'  one  baU 
'•"Smeer's  characteristics  Tltrl?  "''  f  °""=  "^  "'«  chief 
«pe  extendino-  to  ,|,.  i-:.,.  ' ''"''.  ^*'as  a  low,  shi,mlp.h.,.ei. 

»^-    All  the.;  nam;s7eVe'^K,;:;fv't]::%"?"<=^  'Point  Dun-' 

^i>  <  n  Dy  the  ..nilors  who  rambled 


«-.  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

over  the  island,  and  we  have  always  called  them  by  the  names 
°husori-nally  given  them.  Atone  time  the  land  appeared 
o  near°to  us'  that  Machinist  Lee  sa.d  to  me  -my  can 
walk  there  and  back,  sir,  belore  dmner.  On  that  day  1  was 
Tbt  to  get  on  deck,  and  judged  the  land  to  be  between 
twe'ny  and  thirty  miles  distant,  and  so  I  adv.sed  my  fnend 

"°'  Melville  told  me  that  he  could  not  tell  the  distance  he 
traveled  o  within  ten  miles,  but  that  the  lowest  poss.bk 
eXate  was  eighteen,  and  the  highest  twenty-etght  miles. 
You  see  Ws  iourney  back  was  on  a  different  route,  because 
ri°e  ship  Imd  ^drifted  and  had  approached  the  .sland  m  the 
mean  im-  He  gave  me  every  detail  of  h.s  trip  with  grea 
mfnuteness  ThS  island  was  bold  and  rocky,  w,th  a  small 
™n"ber  of  birds,  principally  guillemots,  and  very  M 

moss  on  the  place  where  he  landed.     But,  ot  course,  we  '■^0 
not  know  the  possibilities  of  the  extensive  region  to  the  south- 

™^.fl-hl  Stnd"wi"s'cr  red  with  an  ice  and  snow  cap,  and  the 
immense  Aacier   near  the   landing-place  was  g.gant.c  and 
ra^nfficent.    I  think  Melville  got  eighteen  fathoms  close  to 
E  and     No  seal  or  walrus  were  seen,  and  no  traces  of 
bea     on   he  island.     No  driftwood  was  seen.     Melv.lle  bu.lt 
a  cairn  and  buried  a  square,  copper  case  fontainmg  copies 
of  the  aL  York  Herald,  brought  from  New  York  by  Mr 
Collins  and  a  copper  cylinder  containing  official  documents 
thektterbeini^a  record  of  Captain  DeLong^s  determma- 
^'o  stay  by  the  ship  to  the  last  moment.     He  announce 
in  them  his  determination  to  stand  by  the  ship  as  long  as 
ross  bk  as  he  was  in  hopes  of  making  a  high  latitude  during 
Leo  Swing  summer.     We  were  all  very  glad  when  Mel- 
^Ue  s^ot  baf  k  for  the  ice  had  commenced  to  swing^  around 
Ihe  comer  of  Henrietta  Island  very  rapidly,  the  land  to  the 
westward   of  Bennett   Headlands  coming   out  rapidly,  and 
keepTng  CoUins  and  Newcomb  busily  sketching  as  the  viei, 
changed." 


le  names 


CHAPTER  XVII, 

LIEUTENANT   DANENHOWEr's   NARRATIVE   CON-ONUED. 

The  Sliip  Driftiitg  to  Ihe  Norlhwest-Thc  Fin.l  Moirienls  in  Ih.  I  rf,  „f  ,i      , 
Abandoning  ,he  J.nnnetle_Th=  Ship  Fill.  „i,h  Vvrrt.d  Si„W,    P       ""]»•«•«•:- 

Iune^^o,h  "'■'n""- '""  K  ^"^''"eto  the  northwest  rapidly  until' 
fc-lan^'r^anTth^^riro/r^^^^^^^^^^ 

shape  a  course,  and  sh^^ul^dTe  'Z^.Z^Zuf:^ 

Jean^nette  would  be  Hke  a  Ja^sf  ^^AI^InTrlit^c'^^ 

"About  eleven  p.  m.,  June  loth.  I  was  awakened  bv  the  shin'., 
motjon.  It  sounded  as  if  she  were  sliding  dolTi  oToff 
the  launch.ng-ways.     I  was  frightened  for  ?n  in^an    but  im 

"The  Jeannette  was  finally  released  f-om  her  icy  fetter, 
^fentirLTu'ron  0/0°'  '"^"'^•''"^.  -onths-that'ir,  'Z^^t 

been  d   ftingw  th   the  rk^'^Ti;;-""^  "''"''  "•"'^  ™^  ''="* 
ri-ir^  •    .1      ^  pack,      ihe    important  do  nt  of  fhi*Q 

™ in^  ?n  :r  '^'r"^'^?  '"  ™"^"-  ='«=='  °f  ocean,'artime, 

Itl^!*/'---  of  *e  ocla'n-btranrthe  ^/iftT,^ ^ 

e  that  exists  in  this  part 
the  ocean  water,  and 

(255) 


character 


256 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


many  other  facts  of  interest  which  were  finished  with  the  dis- 
covery of  the  two  new  islands.  j       -j     .1    . 
"At  this  time  we  had  a  feehng  of  pleasure  and  pride  that 
our  voyage  had  not  been  entirely  in  vain,  and  we  felt  sure 
that  we  ?ould  add  considerable  to    the  knowledge  of  this 
recrion  of  the  Arctic ;  and  if  we  could  have  got  out  safely 
without  loss  of  iife,  the  voyage  would  have  been  a  grand  suc- 
cess     Captain    DeLong.   in    my   opinion,   entered    the    ice 
boldly  and  deliberately,  with  the  intention  of  trying  the  most 
hazardous  route  to  the  Pole  that  has  ever  been  contemplated 
When  spoken  to  on  the  subject,  within  a  few  d.  ys  after  we 
found  ourselves  imprisoned,  I  stated  that  to  be  my  opinion, 
and  that  he  had  undertaken  the  most  daring  and  magnihcent 

venture  on  record. 

"  To  return  to  the  Jeannette.  She  was  Hoating  idly,  but, 
of  course,  could  not  proceed,  being  hemmed  in  on  all  sides 
bv  almost  limitless  masses  of  ice  in  close  contact,  and  having 
only  a  small  pool  in  which  she  could  bathe  her  sides  The 
starboard  half  of  her  old  cradle  remained,  so  she  was  hauled 
into  it,  and  secured  with  ice-anchors  on  the  bow  and  quarter, 
to  await  her  chances  to  escape.  The  rudder  had  been  pre- 
viously shipped,  and  the  screw-propeller  had  been  found  to 
be  undamaged,  so  every  preparation  was  made  to  move  at  a 
moment's  notice.  On  June  nth  Henrietta  Island  was  seen 
for  the  last  time,  to  the  southeast  of  us. 

"  I  will  now  describe  the  supreme  and  final  moments  in  the 
life  of  the  leannette.  A.  diis  period  of  the  cruise  I  was  able 
to  spend  one  hour  on  deck,  three  times  a  day,  for  exercise 
the  last  relapse  of  my  left  eye  having  taken  place  a  month 
previous.  I  went  on  deck  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and 
cav,  the  hunters  start  out.  The  day  was  clear  and  beautiful, 
there  was  a  light  wind  from  the  northe..3t.  and  in  some  quar- 
ters of  the  horizon  it  was  misty  an'J  very  much  as  in  the 
trade-wind  regions  of  the  Pacific.  A  large  party  was  sent 
out  to  o-et  seals  and  guillemots,  if  possible.  My  hour  was  up, 
but  I  sfill  lingered  on  the  quarter-deck,  for  the  ice  on  the  port 
side  some  twenty-fiv^e  yards  distant,  had  commenced  to  move 
toward  us,  and  I  wa^  fascinated  by  the  dangers  ot  tne  situa- 

^°"  The  captain  was  on  deck,  and  immediately  hoisted  the 
hunters'  recall,  which  was  a  big,  black  cylinder,  at  tlic  main 
truck.     They  began  to  come  in,  one  by  one,  and  the  laiF 


ones  were  Bartletf  nnr^  a         - 

ac  wth  the  port  side  of  the  sho  andJ  "'^  "f  **=  '"  ^O"" 
twelve  degrees  to  starboardrwJ'Jrt  h  ^  *f  '•^^'^''  ^bo^ 

The  two  hunter.,  approached  on  fife  n ''f -i^^'^y  P'^^ed. 
guns  to  me,  and  came  uo  bv  a  ^  .  P°'}  ^"'«'  Passed  their 
.0  them.  The  pressure'^  o^  drsh,?'"''  *="  ? ''«<J  *™wn 
knew  tliat  she  must  either  liftT„.rV,P  ,  ""^  '^'''■'''1^.  and  we 
the  ,ce,  or  be  crushed.  DurL  ,t  ?  ,"'1°^"  "P  ''"dily  upon 
tents,  and  boats  with  sleds  wire  ken '"'"  TT'  P™"='™s. 
use,  and  at  this  time  every  sten  wa,  ,fl  '^^^y  '?'  ™n>ediate 
catastrophe.  ^  ^''^P  "^^^  telven  for  the  impendintr 

"About  three  p  m    IW..  i  •  •      » 

fhrough  the  bunker^a^d  '."he'ca:.!;:'^'^"^'^''''-  becoming 
'Lower  awayl'—men  having  k^'"  'I'mediately  ordered^ 
fhe  boats'  falls,  and  LmSisbnl"  ^[^''""^^y  Rationed  a. 
.mmedmtdy  contradicted  tC  retort  Sn^?.  "'''  '•''■  Melville 
Hie  order.  Thus  the  ship  lav  for  ^'^r  ""^  '^^P'a''"  'delayed 
pressure  of  the  ice  relaxh,^  L T  °  ''°V''^  a"^  a  half,  the 
"ghttng.  Then  again  t^'e  lou  d  Thn"''  ""=  ='">  a''"ost 
hree  degrees,  and  we  felt  sure  thlr,  "  f''^''  '°  '"'entv- 

for  her,  for  she  would  not    fft  '  r-?'  ""  ^°"Sf  any  hope 
world  to  be  done  to  assist  her  at  . W  ,^  "'^'  ",?''"'"?  ''"  '^e 
pend  upon  her  shape.     She  floated  'T\-  ?^  ''a^'  '°  <!« 
we  entered  the  pack?^  and  that  led  1  To  I     '"^^''  "'^n  when 
f  easier  m  the  nip;  for  the  ore  ,„^  Tf  "''?'  ''''^  """'•J 
Wovv  the  point  where  her  sides  comm?     I^"  '"'^  "'°"'d  be 
On  the  starboard  side,  whilelhe  wThf  to  tumble  home, 
on  h.r  timber-heads,  'whkh  were  the  IT'  '^^  "'>  «'as  felt 
frame;  but  on  the  nort  ^;H»r^  vveakest  parts  of  the 

of  the  bilge.    Her  ^^te  ^at  ^racSr?^^  ^^?"  "'e  tu™ 
we  found  she  would  not  liffan^a  fr  /    ""'"'  "'«  "'°'"^'>t 

-  td  Cd  ::5 1<^  in'r^^L';?"?^'^'  ^^-  -^  '"e  offi- 

f .  vith  eyes  bandaged,  but  tSd^ht'  ^"'-     '  7^==  °"  "'^  ^'^k- 

f;e  charts  and  instnments  tn.^,         °",°''  "'a' '  -^uW  get 

He  said  he  would  as™  the  caTa In"'  S"<^,  "^V^  assistant 

napsacki„hisroom,andmos?of".  ,?ach  officer  kept  his 

navfMN,.r»  —    J     .      >/^"va  most  ot  us  thoiK^fl^*-  .v ^ 

i!i  t^-n  uccK  ,   biif-  ur#a  ,,,^.,1  !  ""   "S"^  »t  .vaa  time  to 

ordered  for  fear  of  attract~el  "°' -l^ake  ^^  ""^^  ""'" 

'7  "      "  attention  of  tlie  crew,  who 


258 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


were  at  work  on  provisions  and  boats.  Wh.le  I  was  ak  ng 
tea  1  saw  Dunbar  bring  his  knapsack  up,  and  put  .t  in  the 
rfhln  Feeling  tliat  thi  moment  had  arrived,  I  went  for  mine 
Sd  at  the  i^^ea^d  of  the  ladder  on  my  return  the  doctor  said 

to  nie :  i  i     » 

" '  Dan  the  order  is  to  get  knapsactcs. 

-It  se^ms  that  he  had%tepped  .elow  and  found  water  in 
the  wardroom,  which  he/ep°rted  to  the  -?«--  -^  A^ 
order  was  then  g  ven  to  abandon  the  ship.  1  he  national  en- 
siirn  was  hoisted  at  the  mizzen,  and  Captain  DeLong  was  on 

the  bridp-e  directing  the  work.  ,  .     ,     ,      i  .u 

..  euinant  Chipp  was  confined  to  his  bed  I  threw  my 
knaosack  over  the  starboard  rail,  and  returned  for  clodies, 
but  ^on  stepping  into  water,  when  half  way  down  the  ward- 
rooni  kdder  1  Realized  that  the  ship  was  filling  rapidly  The 
S  and  I  hen  carried  Chipp's  belongings  out,  and  1  was 
u  tn  ml-e  charge  of  the  medical  stores,  especially  the 
Hquo       ?L  ship- this  condidon  was  like  a  broken  basket 

and  only  kept  frim  sinking  by  the  pressure  of  the  ice,  which 
anu  oiuy  >^^[  &  .      ^  ^    ^^^  bottom, 

at  any  moment  miglitrel^x  ana  let  iici  ^  ^^a,„,,,,  p.pp 

"The  crew  worked  well,  and  Edward  Star,  seaman,  espe- 
ciallv  distinguished  himself.  He  was  doing  duty  at  the  time 
as  paymaster's  yeoman,  or  «Jack  o'  the  Dust.'  The  order 
was  gCen  to  get  up  more  Remington  ammunition,  and  he 
wentTnto  tl  e  magazine  when  the  ship  was  filling  rapidly  and 
Ceeded  n.etting  two  cases  out.  This  man  was  in  Lieu- 
tenant Chipp'^  boat  afterward.  We  always  thought  h.m  a 
Russian  but  he  spoke  English  very  well  and  never  would 
fpeakofl^  nationality;  but  during  his  dreams  he  talked  in 
flanaua-e  that  was  neither  English,  French.  German,  Swed- 
U  slTnlsh  nor  Italian,  and  most  of  the  men  thought  it  was 
Ruslr  He  was  an  excellent  man  and  a  g-t  -  s  -.  h. 
The  captain  thought  a  great  deal  of  him,  for  he  served  mm 

'^^^Z:?^'S^rTZ.^n  the  ship  her  hold 
was  fuU  of  water,  and  as  she  was  heehng  twenty-three  de- 
lees  o  starboard,  at  the  time  the  water  was  on  tlie  lower 
Ide  of  the  spar-deck.  We  had  a  large  quantity  of  provj  ■ 
ions  on  the  ice  about  a  hundred  yards  from  'h^^*''?' '^^ifj';, 
Dunbar,  who  was  alive  to  the  occasion,  ad^vised^he  shifting 

nf   thpqe  to  an  adjacent  and  muic  lavurauic  "^^  i"  -, 

took  us  tiU  eleven  p.  m.  to  effect  the  removal.    We  also  had 


>  taking 
t  in  the 
"or  mine, 
:tor  said 


water  in 
and  the 
ional  en- 


was  on 


brew  my 
•  clothes, 
lie  ward- 
lly.    The 
ind  ]  was 
:ially  the 
:n  basket, 
ice,  which 
ttom. 
lan,  espe- 
;  the  time 
[he  order 
n,  and  he 
ipidly  and 
;  in  Lieu- 
rht  him  a 
^^er  would 
i  talked  in 
lan,  Swed- 
ght  it  was 
1  strength, 
served  him 

ip  her  hold 
^three  de- 
the  lower 
'  of  provis- 
ip,  but  Mr. 
:he  shifting 

ck_«-\l*ifA^         it 

e  also  had 


I 


"ARKATIVE  OF  UEU^NAK^  DANENHOWER.  ,5^ 

Chipp,  he  relieved  me  at  nw  ^nt  ^J  ^''  ""'^'^d  out  for 
No.  3  sled  party,  which  iTadbe;^"^  TI!'  '°  *°^'<  "■""' 
command  The'^order  wa  given  to  camo'f  P'""°"^'y  '° 
we  pitched  our  tents  abreast  of  the^?  It.  ^^'^  ""^"'^  ■  ^° 
about  fitting  out  for  tl,e  reTreat  ™''^le-boat,  and  I  set 

"  While  waiting-  for  coffee  I  vvall.oj 
a  final  look  at  htr,  .JZLtttZlVV'''.'^''^ '° '^^- 
and  Carpenter  Sweetman  on  the  onr,      1  ^?^'r™'"  Coles 
under-water  body,  which  was  hove  ^^ei  .    '  1°°^'"^  «  her 
served  that  the  sliip's  side  between  7h    r        "^  "*'«=''•     I  ob- 
stacle had  been   buckled  in   bv  the  """"  ^""^  ""°^^- 
second  whale-boat  was  han"ri,,^  it  the  H 'T'  ^"i*  *^'  ""e 
the  steam-cutter  was  lyinc.'on  the  tt      "'"",'  ^"''  ^'^°  'hat 
Sweetman  ,.„•  ed  the  capfain  if  te  cLldTn  "'^^    ,^°'^^  ='"'' 
whale-boat,^,,,.  the  cantain  said  'Nn'     T?    T'^''  "'«  ^"=<;<"id 
ever,  were  considered  enoucW,  ■  and  whil.  ""  •''°^'^'  ''°«'- 
.ce  we  afterwards  found  Chbn's  bonr,o  t,-'°",''"7'"S  °"  'h^ 
all  hands,  because  she  was  conside?^d    ,        "'^l^vorite  with 
sufficent  carrying  capacity  for  eight  fnen""!  "f  '"'"''y-  "'"^ 
to  the  men  to  return  to  r/m„  f„    .1           '     '  '''en  suggested 
.0  be  left  alone  wit  ^^S„^°t  e  in  ' '"''-     ^""'^"'-■^^  "'^l>ed 

"  We  three  returned  to  the  camn  1     „  '''  .-"o^ents. 
across  numeroL,s  wide  criiks  and  IT    "•  '"""'"S  '°  }"">? 
soon  after  the  ,vatch  was  s^t  and  H.e  r,  ^'^"^^  '°  P'^«  «"d 
Most  of  us  obeyed  the  order  orom  ml      '^j^'^™  '»  t""""  in. 
mto  our  bags  when  we  heard  IcT^  ''"f  '""^  i"''  S""'"? 

one  m  the  captain's  ten,      The  ice  itr     t  T^-'''""'"  ^°"« 
under  the  captain's  tent  and  Fr  ^f  cracked  immediately 

the  water  buJ  for  the  mack"ntosh1;b"l,"°"'''  !'^^^  Sone  into 
others  were  Iying--th"weiCnf  ,1  ''f ' '"  ^■'"■<=''  ^'^  ^nd  the 
in.?  the  middle  of  it  fronT  fill  n  °  ,  "  '"'^"'^'  '''^  «"ds  keep! 
mediately  given  to  si  »>  fV.  .?  "'^fgh-  The  order  was  im- 
three  hund^red  ylrdtfrom  the  .rnV'^'^K?'"!-.  ^'''^  »-  ab™t 
two  hours'  work  vve  succeeded  in  1  v"''  "^.'P'     ^fter  about 

calling  his  relieV  F  L  ar  BaTtfe'rfh  '^' "^'"''"  '^-'>- 
Knehne  called  to  Bartlett  that  H"''lv"^.°T'!^ '."  ""r  tent. 
•■"tcr  jumped  to  the  tent  door'  pn^'*'  '""*  f'lkmg,  and  the 
'-nette  after  the  hui:  wa^  bX  ^htS,^  ^P- a°^  the 


-*) 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


ash  but  those  were  the  only  two  men  who  saw  the  vessel 
disaoDear  It  was  said  that  the  ice  first  cosed  upon  her, 
tl  en  relaxing  allowing  the  wreck  to  sinU ;  the  yards  cauglu 
across  the  ic^  and  bro°ke  off,  but  being  held  by  the  hfts  and 
brlces  were  carried  down ;  depth,  th.rty-e.ght  fathoms,  as  I 

'■'"The'n';xt  morning  the  captain  and  others  visited  the  spot, 
and  found  only  one  cabin  chair  and  a  few  pieces  of  wood- 
aU  tl  at  renmined  of  our  old  and  good  friend,  the  Jeannette, 
which  for  many  months  had  endured  the  embrace   of  the 

^''^,e7e"annette  sank  about  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
Monday,  June  U*.  188..  Daylight  found  us  encamped  on 
thereabout  four  hundred  yards  from  where  the  shipweM 
down  We  had  slept  late  after  the  exhausting  work  of  the 
nrrvious  ni<.ht.  The  day  was  spent  by  us  in  arranging  our 
effects  and  in  gaining  rest,  which  was  much  needed.  Many 
of  us,  indeed  quite  a  quarter  of  the  number,  were  incapaci- 
°ated  for  activi  work  by  reason  of  severe  cramps  caused  by 
fn  po  soning  by  tomato  cans.  Among  the  sick  were  Chipp. 
Kuehne    the    Indian    Alexei,   Lauderback,    and    the    cab,,, 

■  '"""The' doctor  recommended  delay  until  the  sick  party  shoiiU 

have  recovered ;  but  the  time  was  not  wasted,  and  tlie  rest 

of  die  crew  began  the  work  of  dividing  the  cloth.ng  anu 

stowina  the  sleds  and  the  boats.     We  had  as  prov.s.ons  abom 

,  TOO  Sounds  of  pemmican  in  tinned  can,sters  of  forty-tiv. 

noundr weight  each,  about  ,,500  pounds  ol  hard  ureaci,  and 

Ce  tea  than  we  needed.     We  had  also  some  canned  turkey 

Td  canned  chicken,  but  these  we  disposed  of  in  the  firs 

camn      We  had  a  large  quantity  of  Liebig's  extract-a  most 

mponai    element  In  °our*diet.     We  had  a  large  quantity  of 

Sol  whicl,  was  intended  to  serve  as  fuel  for  cooking  dnr- 

fnt  our  retreat.     We  had  plenty  of  ammunition,  and  a  good 

Wirpment  of  rifles.     The  provisions  were  stowed  on  fiv 

sleds  "ach  havincr  a  tier  of  alcohol  cans  in  the  middle^  and 

on  eit'er  side  a  tier  of  pemmican  canisters.     Another  sled  was 

Cded  with  bread  and  a  limited  quantity  of  sugar  and  coffee. 

The  werXs  of  the  sleds,  when  loaded,  were  as  follows: 

..  No.  I— Ship-made  sled,  1,500  pounds. 

■•No  1 McClintock  sled,  1,300  pounds. 

"  No!  3  —McClintock  sled,  1 ,200  pounds. 


%rS%: 


-;',.  I 


r 


if 


n 


iN-; 


t'i'Ax*: 


IWi'ini 


i    I 


y#^ 


/ 


>?' 


'^/.. 


rOLAR  BEAKS, 


f26i) 


262 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


••No  4— McClintock  sled,  1.300  P^""^^- 
.-No'  5— McClintock  sled,  1,300  pounds. 

li^^td-'STriTbot.  mounted  on  ship-made  sleds  .ad. 

J  which  consisted  of  two  heavy  oak  runners,  about  tNvelvc 

^[clTeslth  and  shod  with  whalebone,  of  about  twelve  fee  m 

eneth  and  having  eight  to  ten  cross-p.eees  made  Irom  wins- 

:red:;:d';:tfit,  ;^pCtVw:igi;tof  whale-boat,  with  sled 
r.00  pounds.  Making  a  total  of  7,800  pounds,  or  a  grand 
tAtal  of  sleds  and  boats  of  1 5.4°°  pounds.  .... 
^^To  draw  these  we  had  a  working  force,  when  the  retreat 
commenced,  of  twenty-two  men ;  and  the  ^og^  were  em^ 
oloved  with  two  light  St.  Michaels  leds,  to  drag  a  large 
^m^un't  of  stores  L  had  in  -cess  of  those  permanendy 
stowed  upon  the  arger  sleds.  Each  man  liad  a  knapsacK 
stowed  away  in  the^oats;  each  knapsack  contamed  one 
chanS  of  underclothing,  one  package  of  matches,  one  plug 
of  totecco,  one  spare  pair  of  snow-goggles,  and  spare  pa,r 

"^'oTd^treth  of  June,  three  days  after  tl.e  Jeannette  had 
sunk  the  captain  caled  all  hands  and  read  an  order  to  tl,e 
effect  hat've  should  start  at  6  P.  M.  on  the  foUowmg  day,  on 

^SfS^d^::^'^^  CiriSr^kfast,  ana 
hred  camp  at  haK  past  six ;  at  twelve,  midn.ght,  stop  one- 
ha  fhon^r  dinner  ;^t  six  a.  m.  stop  for  supper  and  sleep. 

half  ounce  tea.  two-thirds  ounce  sugar 

»  SuDPer— Four  ounces  pemmican,  one-halt  ounce  tea. 

«Mrt    , T  ieut.  Chipp,  uunuar,  auQ  nw.  ^v.,-.i^. 

.      ..  No.  3-Ueut.  Danenhower,  Newcomb,  and  five  others. 


NARRATIVE    OF   LIEUTCNANT   DANENHOWER, 


263 


;'No.  4— Engineer  Melville,  and  five  others 

"The  iTp^ainliad  ^^l'  ^°"''l^'"  ^°'"'  ^"^  ^'^  ^'^^<^rs. 
ine  captain  had  also  an  office-tent  in  whirl-.  U^\f  ^c  w 

men  were  berthed.     The  tents  were  nlnJ  f        1         .     °^  ^'^ 

width,  and  required  vervdose  sml.      T  ^'  ^°"-  by  six  in 

I    J      r  t""'-'^  very  Close  stOvva<^e  tor  seven  mfn      Th^o^k 

tent  had  a  fire-pot,  a  heavy  Ral vani zed-iron  kerlTn     ,  f 

tent,  with  an  assii^a"!""  provide  snow  anT?  t'"'"'  "?  .^^^'> 
Each  tent  had  a  Mack-nSbTank:  n  e  Lv  sir.ZT'rt 
te  men  could  lie  at  night.  The  sleep.^grb  '  s  ere  ™de 
of  deer-skm  covered  with  hairless  seal-skin  or  cotton  driZt 

Ours  had  been  designed  bv  Mr  n,X         m       ^^t^'  '^•"'^• 
and  were  the  only  oms   that  did  nl         '"  November,  1879, 
. 'V  ""|s   cnat  did  not  require  alterat  on  aftt^f 
we  (""ot  on  the  ir^      I-To^i-,  u^^,.  .%    .    «"t>-iciiiuii  alter 

wc  ^uL  un  uie  ICC.     nach  boat  was  provided  with  an  outfif  of 
oars,  a  boat-box,  w  th  suitable  pr«-;^ioo  f^  •  •        ,°"^nt  ot 

and  ., munition  for  .^^l  tCtdtVnTeSlt^rh 

(.l^^ict^hkhli'rLtrrerT''  '^h=°""'  ■7°-^' 

the  boat  compasses  were    ntentionallv  lrf?h  1 -'/t'"  "^^' 

.i>e  je  i  t'l;^^^^^^^  :^,r Jp-j. 

blWe:rp';o?idr/jf,;iT' -,«,  '^''7^^°"  ^^cl; 
ssiac:btr;iE-if^^^^^^^^^ 

.eme,..sernl  at  1  'S^tt ^^^:^'^-^- 
mov"l;  Se  CJ'^'^'  """  'I'-  Wital  sled,  were"ai;o"w 


,  r^. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
VEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


A 


M/^ 


/^  .y'^ie. 


Sf\%^ 


^/    /;4p 


/. 


u.. 


& 
^ 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


2.5 


t  m  ^ 

^  lis  IIIM 


12.2 


1.4 


1.8 


1.6 


'¥ 


UllC 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(76)  872-4503 


264 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


"  We  were  ordered  to  sleep  during  the  afternoon  of  June 
17th,  and  on  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  we 
commenced  our  long  retreat.  Chipp  was  on  the  sick-list,  and 
I,  with  my  eyes  constandy  bandaged  and  covered,  could  only 
do  light  duty — so  the  task  of  leading  the  working-party  fell 
to  Melville,  the  captain  directing.  Each  ofncer  and  man  was 
provided  with  a  harness,  which  consisted  of  a,  broad  canvas 
strap,  fashioned  to  go  across  the  chest  and  over  one  shoulder, 
and  which  had  to  be  attached  to  the  sled  by  a  lanyard. 

"At  last  the  order  was  given  to  break  camp.  The  order 
was  obeyed  with  enthusiasm,  and  the  drag-rope  of  the  first 
cutter  was  immediately  manned,  Melville,  Dr.  Ambler,  my- 
self, and  two  other  men  stationing  ourselves  on  either  side 
of  the  boat  with  harness  fast  to  the  thwarts,  and  then  our 
work  commenced  in  terrible  earnest  The  snow  was  knee 
deep,  the  road  very  rough,  and  the  ice  full  of  fissures. 
Through  the  former  our  feet  sank  easily,  soon  wearying  the 
best  of  us ;  over  the  fissures,  if  not  too  wide,  we  had  to  jump 
the  boats,  and  we  had  to  drag  the  sled  oyer  lumps  of  ice  that 
would  have  taken  a  whole  corps  of  engineers  to  level.  But 
we  advanced  steadily,  if  slowly.  We  reached  one  of  the  black 
^ags  that  had  been  planted  by  Ice-pilot  Dunbar,  but  seeing 
that  he  had  planted  another  one  ahead  of  us  we  pushed  on 
with  the  first  cutter  to  reach  that  too.  This  goal  reached, 
we  found  that  we  were  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  starting- 
place,  and  that  it  had  taken  us  three  hours  to  make  the  dis- 
tance. 

"  But  we,  in  our  enthusiasm,  had  gone  too  far.  It  appears 
that  the  captain  had  only  intended  that  we  should  make  a 
single  short  station  on  the  first  day,  but  the  order  had  prob- 
ably been  misunderstood  by  Mr.  Dunbar,  whose  only  wish 
was  that  we  should  make  as  good  progress  as  possible.  So 
we  had  to  return  ;  but  on  our  way  back  we  found  that  the  ice 
had  shifted  and  that  our  original  road  had  been  entirely 
broken  up,  and  so  we  had  to  leave  our  sled  midway  between 
the  two  flags  and  then  go  to  the  assistance  of  the  rest.  We 
soon  found  that  w^e  had  been  fortunate  with  the  first  cutter. 
During  our  absence  the  captain,  with  a  special  detail  and 
dogs,  hud  attempted  to  advance  the  second  cutter  and  whale- 
boat.  He  had  launched  the  whale-boat  across  a  fissure,  and 
had  broken  the  sled  in  hauling  her  out.  No.  i  sled,  named 
the  '  Sylvie,'  had  also  been  broken,  as  well  as  two  others. 


NARRATIVE   OF   LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER.  265 

"The  ice  was  all  in  motion,  and  we  had  a  very  bad  out- 
look,  wjth  our  boats  and  sleds  at  various  points  o^  the  road 
Cimp  had  been  ordered  to  advance  wit]/ the  hosp  tol  ™ed 
w,tl  Kuelne  and  Alexei  and  three  men  to  assist  Wm  The 
sled  was  heavily  laden,  and  the  work  was  too  severe  for  tt 
first  heutenantm  h.s  weak  state,  and  the  resuh  was  that  he 
doctr  t^Tstot  Mn:."'^"^"""'  "^^'""^  '^^  servient/ thl 

"On  our  first  outward  march,  Machinist  Walter  Lee  had 
fallen  out  of  the  ranks  and  rolled  upon  the  ice  in  a<vo^w  w.Vh 
cramps  m  the  calves  of  his  legs-1  result,  doubtfefs  of  h  L 
having  worked  for  so  many  months  on  the  iron  nlalesof  .1,^ 
fire-room,  oftentimes  with  wet  feet.  He  was  a  hr^  if.^^^ 
bodied  man,  and  the  unusual  task  fell  heavily  upfn  Wm'^; 

"At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  (we  had  been  in  the  re<.ion 
of  the  midnight  sun  smce  the  early  part  of  May)  we  hacTad 
vanced  the  second  cutter  about  three'lquarters  of  am  i^  from 
the  old  camp;  the  whale-boat  was  about  a  hundred  va^s 
back  of  her     Severa  disabled  sleds  stood  at  intervals  Ilon» 
the  road,  while  the  balance  of  our  stock  still  remlbed  in  thf 
spot  where  they  had  been  placed  before  the  Jeannette  went 
down     It  was  a  cold,  foggy  morning,  and  we  were  verl  I?.!! 
chagrined  at  our  ineffective  effortsT   We  had  a  ^n  nf  . 
then  brought  up  everything  in  the  rear  of  tlVe  posi  fon  of  the 
second  cutter,    and   then   camped  down    leavinl  The  fi.  t 
cutter  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  advance      Rvel  uT 
voted  this  the  hardest  day's  work  he"  hate";:;  dfne'K^ 

co:iinafc:ors'nrr'''ZctT^^^' '"'  -^^  ^" 
^:^T^  ""^•- "  -t;?d  MerteTr^t: 
^ura;,-^r:re;";ir y"arm:^'^i  ti-hfr- v°e";  • 

;trht;tcr:^ad\fgi::\L"°rdt."  f  r 

broke'dSrja  t"er  hVr„rBa;tle«'  ToM^'"'"'  ""■'^'• 

and  Californian  travellerlhad  secured  r        '  "'°"'"— 

Alter  two  days  we  again  made  a  start  for  the  south      W» 

made  slow  progress,  about  a  mile  or  a  mile  and  a  ha!?  a  ^y. 


366 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


over  the  rough  and  moving  floe.  It  was  terrible  work  for 
the  men.  They  had  to  go  over  the  road  no  less  than  thirteen 
times — seven  times  v/ith  loads  and  six  times  empty-handed — 
thus  walking  twenty-six  miles  in  making  an  advance  of  only 
two !     The  empty-handed  business  was  the  worst. 

"On  the  19th  of  June  the  captain  called  me  into  his  tent  ' 
and  told  me  to  go  with  the  hospital  sled  because,  he  alleged, 
I  could  not  see.  I  remonstrated,  but  without  avail.  I  went 
back  to  my  tent,  naturally  deeply  mortified  to  know  that 
thirty-three  men  were  working  for  their  lives,  and  !  was  not 
allowed  to  help  even  at  the  cooking,  although  physically  I 
was  one  of  the  strongest  men  of  the  party.  That  morning  I 
started  with  the  hospital  sled,  which  was  dragged  by  seven  , 
dogs,  driven  by  Erickson,  the  doctor  and  I  assisting  over  the 
hummocks.  We  advanced  over  rough  moving  ice  with  great 
difficulty  about  half  a  mile,  and  then  set  up  the  tent  for  the 
three  invalids — Chipp,  Lauderback,  and  Alexei — to  await  the 
coming  up  of  the  rest  of  the  party.  I  myself  would  never  go 
inside  the  hospital  tent.  Thus  the  survivors  trudged  along, 
the  well  heavily  handicapped  by  the  six  or  seven  who  furnished 
no  motive  power  at  all.  Twenty-one  men  did  all  the  work 
for  the  thirty-three. 

"At  the  end  of  the  first  week  the  captain  found  by  obser- 
vation that  the  drift  had  more  than  neutralized  the  way 
covered  by  our  advance ;  that,  jn  fact,  we  had  lost  twenty- 
seven  miles  by  the  drift  to  the  northwest  in  excess  of  our 
march  to  the  south.  This,  of  course,  was  kept  a  profound 
secret. 

"By-and-by  Lauderback  and  Alexei  got  well  enough  to 
work  ;  and  finally  Mr.  Chipp,  after  several  ineffectual  requests 
to  be  put  on  duty,  was  allowed  to  relieve  Melville  and  take 
charge  of  the  working  party.  Melville  was  put  in  charge 
of  the  road  gang,  which  consisted  of  Lee  and  seaman  Johnson, 
with  the  dingy  and  the  team  of  dogs.  Their  principal  duty 
was  to  keep  in  position  the  blocks  of  ice  that  were  used  as 
temporary  bridges  to  enable  the  sleds  to  pass  safely  over  the 
fissures.  We  often  came  to  wide  water  holes,  which  caused 
us  much  delay  in  ferrying  over.  The  method  of  doing  this 
was  as  follows : 

"  First,  a  large  ice  piece  was  found ;  on  this  the  boats  and 
sleds  were  placed,  and  then  all  the  floating  mass  was  drawn 
over  by  the  men  on  the  other  side,  who  had  transported  them- 


NARRATIVE    OF   LIEUTENANT   DANENHOWER.  ,67 

wide  These  opj:i:zi::zrztrj  'r/'f  ^"^"■^ 

could  nc:  be  used  in  the  r^;.-«^^  ^""nected,  and  of  course 
many  occasions  the  bolts  had  to  k  7  ^t"^  '°  S°-  On 
across,  and  then  halt  up  again  o^"?^''  -nd  paddled 
Chipp  took  charge  of  this  part  of  fh^  ?  °PP°="^  ^'^e. 
the  men  were  always  glad  to  haL  K'  ^°u^-  ^''""■'ably,  and 
wonderful  how  he  kepf  up.  ""  "  "'^"'  '**=^<1-     "  «"»* 

"As  soon  as  the  list  was  clear  of  ciVr,  .u.  i. 
dispensed  with,  and  I  for  manv  d^lf     i     j^°^P"'''  '«"'  was 
boat,  but  with  Melville  alwTv"L,J-     "'''^^  '■"''='■  *«  "hrle- 
and  pulling  me  o  t  when  iTlHn      ITo  "'', '"  '""'P'"^  '^^'^^^ 
judge  of  distances  will"  one  e^e  bZT  '^  """>;  ''j'^™''  '° 
covered  with  a  dark  go"X      p''V'''""'''-*=^„'""l  'he  other 
me;  Newcomb  and  sSan  sS  Wl  ^"T"^^  *^"^«''  «"" 
of  us  suspended  from  wo7k    B^side^  h°*   „°"'"''  '^"^S^'-  »» 
Melville,  and  the  doctor  addef     tie  or  nnM^^'  ''P'1'"'  ^I^W 
power.     Eight  persons  out  of  fhll  ?u  """^  '°  *e  motive 
cent,  of  the  who'^"were  thus  so  t?       T  °'"  '*<="'y-five  per 
passage  across  the  ile  '  'P**'''  "°'  »'°'-k'"g  their 

im;  wafbit't'e'r:  CtttZ  haV't""  ^','  T"^''  ^-^  '^el- 
thaw-water  and  their  feet  werf  '^'''''  ."""""S''  P""''*  "f 
Kaack's  feet  were  coTered"w?:;r  lo^Sj^s  but'  he'^''"^'"  ' 
gave  m  Nmdemann  and  Bartlett  were Xavs  h^l  "T' 
men  ,n  dragging  the  boats,  each  bein^  It S  .  u^i"^ 
to  slew  them  and  to  lift  them  over  hf,  u  ^  *'  '''^  ^"^ 
the  roads  became  better  we  were  aWeS''?"™"'""^-  .  ^^^ 
at  a  time,  but  we  would  often  iTave  to  ,™"''^.  two  sleds 

to  piece  in  crossing  leads  Ick  rJPj'o'" '^'°'"  P'^<'^ 
were  the  leading  ml n  of  one  S  ^  d"'',  ^^"V  barren 
mann  of  the  other  The  ZlT^'c^"!^  ^^'^^''  ='"d  Ninde- 
ground  was  n^wTeduIed  tHve'n  fni'tTe^S""'  "^"^  *^ 
very  much  facUitated.     Mr  Dunbkr  „i?l  "'^  ™'  '''"« 

two  or  three  fla»s  on  his  ,I,Vi  u  j    '?  ^'^"  ""t-  ^"th 

road,  planting  hfsiags  I«re  and  l"''  '""'^  ^"^  .°"'  ""^  ^est 
The  old  gentlman  Z  ve  y  care  uUnd"efr°"'rr  P^^"'^^- 
captam  would  often  take  an  ™  h-elv  dWerf„r  '  ,5'"'"^*  *^ 
eral  occasions  insistin<.  on  ferninJ, J       j     road_on  sev- 

.ce  had  come  together^w^thtafi'f^^yl'^^^^^fts"""  ^""  *^ 
About  the  ,.th  of  July  we  sai^'a  -Xle  back'  that  looked 


268 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


very  much  like  a  snow-covered  island.  There  had  been  some 
slight  changes  in  the  course  previous  to  this.  I  think  it  was 
changed  to  south  (magnetic),  which  would  be  about  south  17 
(true),  for  there  was  about  17  degrees  of  easterly  variation. 
The  captain  then  shaped  the  course  toward  the  point  were 
land  was  thought  to  have  been  seen.  At  this  time  we  began 
to  see  a  heavy  Vt^ater  sky  to  the  south  and  southeast,  and 
the  ice  to  the  southwest  was  more  broken  and  in  greater 
motion,  making  travelling  very  difficult.  About  July  20th 
we  worked  nearly  twelve  hours  in  advancing  1,000  yards 
over  small  pieces  of  ice  constantly  shifting.  We  could  not 
float  the  boats.  The  land  already  mentioned  appeared  greatly 
distorted  by  atmospheric  effects,  and  indeed,  until  within  a 
few  days  of  reaching  it,  a  great  many  would  not  believe  that 
it  existed  at  all. 

"Our  progress  toward  the  land  was  very  slow,  but  finally 
we  could  see  the  glaciers  and  water-courses  upon  it  qu'te  dis- 
tincdy.  We  were,  shaping  a  course  toward  the  noitheastend 
of  the  island,  the  drift  of  the  ice  being  along  the  east  face. 
.At  times  we  were  forced  to  remain  idle  in  our  camping-place, 
it  being  quite  impossible  either  to  move  over  the  rough, 
broken  ice,  always  in  rapid  motion,  or  to  launch  the  boats. 
On  the  24th  of  July  we  reached  a  point  not  more  than  two 
miles  distant  from  the  land,  but  the  men  were  so  exhausted 
that  we  had  to  camp.  Next  morning  we  found  that  we  had 
drifted  at  least  three 
east  side  of  the  island. 

"July  27th  was  very  foggy,  and  we  were  working  our  way 
through  living  masses  of  ice,  when  the  mist  lifted  a  litde  and 
an  immense  sugar-loaf  towered  above  us.  We  had  been 
swept  in  by  the  current,  and  now  seemed  to  be  our  chance 
of  reaching  the  ice-foot  of  the  island,  which  wa^  very  narrow, 
rugged  and  broken,  being  aground  in  ninete*  1  fathoms  of 
water.  We  finally  got  everything  on  one  big  floe-piece,  and 
as  we  caromed  on  the  ice-foot  we  made  a  rally  and  jumped 
everything  upon  the  ice-clad  beach.  But  before  the  last 
boats  and  sleds  were  hauled  up  the  floe-piece  drifted  away, 
leaving  them  perched  on  the  edge  of  the  ice  in  a  very 
dangerous  position,  and  they  had  to  be  left  there  for  some 
hours.  Then  came  the  difficult  work  of  getting  the  boats 
and  sleds  through  the  very  rough  and  broken  ice-fringe 
along  shore. 


miles  to  the  southward  and  along  the 


NARRATIVE  OF    LIEUTENANT   DANENHOWER.  ,^ 

pi™lf  ^ire^orh'cate'rtti"  '^'^^''"^  f"^  smooth 
tent  being  on  a  separat"^ 'pTece  ofrtor  T'^''' ^°""- *=^='' 
breakwater  outside  of  us-ionsen,  „„?i  ^'""'^  '^^  a  solid 
great  danger,  though  the  blocks  ^  1^  ""  """'=  "<"  '"  ^ny 
in  motion  as  the  tide  rose  a°  d  feTl  I? ,r  """•"  sometimes 
of  tlie  island  were  very  bold  and  -  P°'"'  "'^  ^''^^ 

rock  and  a  lava-like  soi^  verv  drv  .'  P'  ™"'P°^'=d  of  trap, 
land-slides  were  occurrinr^n  ,7~:-  "'""''  =«  "'^t  frequent 
Collins  and  I  took  a  wak  over  %  ZV^  "^'■^"•^^^-  ^n 
south  point  of  the  island  in  ordeAo"^'  ''""''r  ^!°"ff  "'« 
side.  It  appeared  very  ru.med  and  ,^  /  T^'Z  °^  "'«  s"""' 
northwest.  From  a  hiM,  hu^mn,lf  "^™''^'*,  "^  to  the  west- 
northwest.  °     """""'ock  we  saw  land  to  the  west- 

isi:^A%  w^s;- 1^  S't  T^rf  T^y'^'y  °"  'He 

He  then  unfurled  the  beau  fiufli   fl"'*^  t"^^y  ?«  a  footing, 
for  him  by  Mrs.  DeLong  and   ool    n^  "'"•''^''  ^^^  "^^e 
in  the  name  of  the  President  of  the  , 'if  !f'<i°"  °^  "'«  '^'^nJ 
it  •  Bennett  Island.'     Uis  wa,  i,         l'!f'  ?'='"^='  ='"d  called 
three  times  three,  with  a  L^d  Am"    ■*'"'':'  •''>'  ''<=*«y  "^h^ers. 
millions  of  birds  nen/rn, hi  ch^*"    'K'-  "^''ere  were 
almost  deafening.     I  think  one  ,.=      '     ""^  "'eir  noise  was 
during  our  stay  of  nea  ly  a  week  on"'f>'  '??'  5"'  "°  ^^^'"■^. 
cape  was  called  Cape  Emmt  If    ?i      '^  '^'*"''-     The  south 
in  latitude  70  deg  38  tin  nor  hi       -^PJ^'"''  '^""^-  ='"d  was 
east.  ^  ^    "'"•  "°™.  longitude  148  deg.  20  min. 

"The  whaleboat  was  so  lonn-  that  in  ^r„.  ■      1. 
stern-post  used  often  to  receive  he=.?f'"",  """nmocks  the 
boards  had  been  stove    indeed  .h^^^  ■^[1°'''"  ^"-^  h^"- gar- 
badlythat  .*e  was  as  limber  as  » L  t"* ''"^"/''aken  up  so 
pair.%  as  did   the  other  boats      T^    "  ^"•'^  required  re- 
thought,  too,  that  the  party  needed  Jelt  '^''f '^,'"  ^"'^    <^°"°'- 
so  the  men  were  sent  out  to  get  birds  and  dt'"^^°f*"- 
we  could  economize  on  our  alroh^l     .    ''"?«'ood.  so  that 
knocked  down  several  LndrJwA      ■',"  ^  ^w  hours  they 
These  were  brough  tto  camo  and  If-  ^'^  «'cks  and  stones 
after  being  eaten  was  like  thatS''""'"''  °"S  Their  effect 
.nearly  every  one  of  the   nartv  w/ ^°""/  ^?^''  ="^  ?"•«">• 
■ncluded.    /used  to  eat  half  a  oeX'^f''  '"''•  '^e  doctor 
day,  and  that  kept  me  well.     We  had  finnn'™"^  grass  eve^- 

mican,  and  were  very  glad  o  do  so  »fr         l'°  '^"^"^ '°  Pem- 

y  two  to  ao  so  after  such  a  surfeit  of  birds. 


«7o 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


*'  Mr  Dunbar  and  the  two  Indians  were  sent  up  the  east 
side  of  the  island  to  explore.  They  were  gone  two  days 
and  reached  the  northeast  point.  They  found  the  land  on 
the  east  side  was  more  promising  than  on  the  south.     They 


PUFFINS.  AUKS,  AND  OTHER  ARCTIC  BIRDs. 

found  several  grassy  valleys,  some  old  deer  horns,  some 
driftwood,  and  saw  large  numbers  of  birds.  Lieutenant 
Chipp,  with  Mr.  Collins  and  a  boat's  crew,  explored  the  south 
and  west  sides,  and  promising  reports  came  from  them.    A 


>rns,  some 


KARRATrVE    OK    UEUT.«.„T  .^ANENHOWER.  ,y, 

remarkable  forX° V/.  o^tht^lrd"  V  ^■•^="-  -"  ^"-^ 
was  in  constant  motion,  and  seenTd  ,„  K  ^  v^  '^^  °"'^'<'«  °f  M 
the  nse  of  the  water.  We  had  a  , S  ^  ^  ^^^"''"■'>' ""^ 
was  observed  every  hour  by  Barf',  m^^"^^  ^«  "P.  and  it 
As  I  remember,  thegreatest  rise  and  Ll^  '""."""•  ^"'l  Lee. 
they  were  regnlar  sfx  l>our  tS  wt  ^"^  *'?°"'  """^  ^et; 
t,raeofful  moon.andthe'vuga^est^hT''^  there  near  the 
established.    At  Cape  Emma  ,L  •  ""^"'   "'as  properly 

altitudes  of  the  sun'^for  chrononlt'^'""  ^  ^  =^'  °f  emS 
was  generally  misty  and  unfavSrforT',"^"'  "^  '^'^^'''-^ 
of  geological  specimens  was  obte^nt,  =.  ^  •"''''  *°*-  A  box 
It  liavmg  been  recovered  from    h?  '■'  P°* '"  "'V  '•''arge, 

mouth  of  the  Lena.  The  doc  or  1"^^"""'*  ^'^'''^^  "^ar  tfe 
certain  amethysts,  opals  and  nLv  ""^  -enthusiastic  about 
Uined;  these  are  probabiyTost'^"^"'""-''  "^^'  '"^  '«d  ob- 

"While  on  the  island  1  observed  ,h,.  ,i 
and  west  was  freer  from  ice  tl  In  ,£t  to  ?h'''  '°  *^  '°"* 
hat  water  clouds  to  the  northwest  were  „!  "^'^^'^^'rd.  and 
t occurred  to  me  that  in  good  se ,1^.!  "^  ^°'"'"°"  '•  and 
he  island,  which  mi<.ht  form  =.  .^  \''  *''^^^'^'  ^ould  reach 
farther  to  f,e  north.  "■         ™  =  ^ood  base  for  exploraSns 

.he7fifty:te'^T4"  o«  t^m'^^  ^^'^  4th.     We  were 
nette  had  sunk.     We  were  I  ,     "  P'^"^^  ^^ere  the    lean 
to  launch  our  boaVs^a^d'o'^^'^k":'!';!"'^''  ''"  '^-■"■?  "^L 
racks  between  the  floes.     Burwe  s.lll     !j'  '^'?S'ress  in    the 
for  a  short  time  longer.     Some  Xhe  V   '' '°  ¥^P  °"'  ^'^ds 
mportant  services;  but  abo^t  h,  ?  ,.  °^"  ""^"dered  us  very 
isabled  by  famine  and  weakness     W^ "",'"''<='•  ^^--^  now 
but  about  sixteen  had  died  or  hS  u^"  ""■  '°"y  originally 
"ring  the  two  winters  In' the  ice   ^Af^  ^^\"^  by^he^othe^' 
food  gave  out,  and  owing  to  the  scar.t     'r  "'^  "'""^"^  °f  dog- 
»"g  periods  of  starvation  forthen'l^  °l  ^^"^^  "-ere  ,ve?e 
kad  a  favorite  animal,  and  vvould  ^^r    ,  ^'""'^-    Each  man 

sffl'h^;V!;i=  "^^   not  stXlnt      Ar  R  °""  '•^"ions  with 
still  had,  I  think,  twenty-three  lift'  ,  j     Bennett  Island  we 
ing  eleven  of  the  poorest  n?^!,'  ^"'^  ""=  <^ay  before  leav 
^n-aining  twelve  TdL^M    ««„;?;«  shot,     ^e  to'ok'Te 

ooats,  but  m  passing  close  to  bic. 


272 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


floe-pieces  these  gave  us  a  great  deal  of  trouble  by  jumping 
out  and  running  away.  Finally,  Prince  and  Snoozer  were 
the  only  two  that  had  sense  enough  to  remain  by  us. 

"For  the  next  eighteen  days  we  were  working  between 
floe-pieces,  and  sometimes  making  as  much  as  ten  miles  a 
day  on  our  course  to  the  southwest.  Several  times  a  day  we 
would  have  to  haul  the  boats  out,  and  make  portages  across 
the  large  floe-pieces  that  barred  our  progress.  This  was 
very  severe  work.  We  had  at  this  time  retained  only  the 
boat  sleds,  having  left  the  provision  sleds  and  all  superfluous 
articles  on  a  floe-piece  about  August  6th.  We  now  worked 
during  the  day  and  slept  during  the  night. 

"At  Bennett  Island  the  doctor,  who  belonged  to  my  boat, 
had  been  transferred  to  the  captain's,  and  Mr.  Melville  was 
placed  in  charge  of  mine — that  is,  the  whale-boat.  I  was 
ordered  to  remain  in  the  boat  as  a  passenger,  and  to  assist 
in  emergencies.  I  always  carried  my  own  baggage,  and 
assisted  whenever  possible.  Dunbar  was  detailed  with 
Chipp. 

"We  made  very  good  progress  until  about  August  20th. 
On  that  day  the  leads  were  very  open,  and  we  thought  we 
were  all  right.  The  wind  was  fresh  and  favorable ;  the  first 
cutter  and  whale-boat,  which  followed  closely,  passed  safely 
through  great  quantities  of  ice,  but  the  second  cutter  was  in 
the  rear,  and  became  jammed  by  the  floe-pieces  coming 
together  very  suddenly,  and  Chipp  had  to  haul  out  and 
transport  his  boat  about  a  mile  in  order  to  get  her  afloat 
again.  In  many  cases  a  passage  was  obtained  by  prying 
the  floe-pieces  apart;  but  several  times  these  sprang  back, 
thus  cutting  off"  the  advance  of  the  second  cutter.  It  was 
very  hard  and  slow  work,  but  much  better  than  dragging  the 
sleds  over  the  ice. 

"  The  delay  caused  by  getting  Chipp's  boat  afloat  was  very 
fatal  to  us,  for  the  wind  shifted  suddenly  and  we  were  forced 
to  camp  after  waiting  for  him  several  hours.  The  ice  jammed 
up  during  the  night  so  that  we  had  to  remain  there  ten  days 
without  being  able  to  move.  Then  land  came  in  sight,  and 
we  seemed  to  be  drifting  along  the  north  face  of  an  island 
which  the  captain  at  first  thought  was  New  Siberia,  but  it  was 
afterward  found  that  we  were  drifting  along  the  north  coast 
of  Thaddeoffsky.  We  drifted  along  this  coast  until  August 
28th,  when,  at  last,  we  were  again  able  to  make  a  move.   We 


ca  led  th.  place  the  Ten  Dav  r,  „  '  '^ 

Bartlett  reported  that  Z  fl  ""J"^^0"s,  but  none  wSr^  c 

by  a  civilized  boot     Th/  ."       footprints  in  the  Tan H       !?• 

mileswestof  the  cLn       /'^^^^^  fo"nd  a  hut  1     /"^^^ 

well  as  a  smal    tusk  and^     if  '""""  P'^^«  of  black  hr"'^'^^ 
from  a  deer  horn      -??     ^  ^"ee-piece  for  a  hn^^  rl^^'  ^^ 

along  the"  ho'^the  Itr  ^1'  "^ '^"'"^  w^'p  ^c'e'^f.^^^^^^^^^^ 
mains  of  several  hi.fcoi      ^^'"Sf  very  shoal      wl        ^^^ 


274 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Strengthen  her  in  hauling  over  the  ice  and  it  was  retained 
after  reaching  the  water.  She  was  fitted  with  weather  claws 
at  Semenoffski  Island.  September  i  ith,  by  N.ndemann. 

-Second  Cw//^/-.— Lieutenant  Chipp,  Dunbar,  Sweetman, 
Star,  Warren,  Kuehne,  Johnson,  Sharvell.         _        .         ,     , 

.'Extreme  length,  16  ft.  3  in.;  breadth  5  ft.  i  in  ;  depth. 
2  ft  6  in.,  from  top  of  gunwale  to  top  of  keel ;  clinker  built 
copper  fastened,  a  very  bad  sea-boat ;  she  was  carefully  fitted 
with  weather  claws;  had  one  dipping  log  sail  and  four  oars. 
She  had  not  sufljcient  carrying  capacity  for  Chipp  s  allow- 
ance  of  provisions,  so  the  captain  had  two  extra  tins  of 
pemmican  in  his  boat  when  we  separated.  This  is  an  im- 
portant fact,  for  Lieutenant  Chipp  must  have  run  out  of  food 

""^'.y/W^-W— Engineer  Melville,  Lieutenant  Uanenhower, 
Newcomb,  Cole.  Leach.  Mansen,  Wilson,  Bardett,  Lauder- 
back,  Charles  Tong  Sing,  Anequin. 

^•Extreme  length.  25  ft.  4  m. ;  breadth  5  ft.  6  in  ;  depth, 
2  ft.  2  in.,  from  top  of  gunwale  to  top  of  keel ;  chnker  built, 
copper  fastened,  drawing  about  24  inches  when  loaded,  this 
beincr  caused  by  the  heavy  oak  keel-piece,  similar  to  those  of 
the  first  and  second  cutters.  She  had  one  mast  and  one  dip- 
ping log  sail,  and  was  fitted  with  weather  claws  about  Sep- 
^em1)er  iith.  .The  master  boat-builder  at  Mare  Island  tol 
me  that  she  was  one  of  the  best  fastened  boats  that  he  had 
ever  seen,  and  our  experience  proved  it;  for  the  racket  se 
stood  on  the  journey  over  the  ice  was  almost  incredible.  The 
plans  of  the  boats  I  |ot  from  Carpenter  Sweetman  at  Kotelno. 

^^^^The^T^^^^^^^^^  along  the  shoal  that  lies  be- 

tween  Thaddeoffsky  and   Kotelnoi   Islands.    There  was  a 
rToderate  wind  from  the  eastward,  and  the  captain  tried  0 
keep  close  in,  in  about  four  feet  o    water.     Ihe  result  wa 
that   the   first   cutter  was   constandy   grounding,  and  then 
laboriously  -etting  off  again.     We  continued  on  our  course 
rthTsolward,lhe  captain's  boat  getting  in  breakers  at  one 
time  and  calling  for  our  boat  to  pull  him  out.    There  vv 
n"t  much  ice  at  the  time,  and  it  was  decreasing     0^^^^^^^^^^^ 
about  noon,  we  ran  through  a  line  of  drift  ^^e- ^nd  the  wl  ak 
boat  struck  on  a  tongue  that  was  under  water.     She  bega 
to  fill  rapidly,  and  we  had  to  haul  her  out,  but  not  before  s 
v^s  twc^thirds  full  could  we  reach  a  suitable  ice  piece.    The 


pli/^  had  been  knocked  out  K.  .    u     , 
dan,a.e.     That  afte'^t:":;,'';'^^';'-, ''ad  -fned  no  other 
mc<:  several  square  miles  in  area  wit S  =  1?*^''  ^  '^'■««  water 
Wo  were  steering  dead  before  the  w  1?  ^^^^  '^^  running 

Lf  "=  °^  '"^  -P--  a..c  it  wa'^verdfer,::^^^^^^^ 

"About  three  p  m  tK  '^ 

brought  by  the  k.  by'aVervrsea^'rt^''  J"'?  '"d  ">«  wa. 
The  sheet  was  not  slacked  Z  .^  '"^  starboard  ainr.,.7 

aln,o.,t  on  her  port-beat1„ds""A' he'  ""  ^°^'  -""" -ve 
over  the  whole  port  side  and  filled  I       r^  ^'•^^"  »«a  swept 
»ta,?ffered  and  com.nenced  to  settle    ►.'"  "'^  "'"'arts;  sife 
baler  m  hand  quickly  relieved  her  a,',^K  Z^''^'  ""an  w  th  a 
was  never  frightened   before  in  ^   K      ''?  ""^ted  again      f 
dangerous  and  terrible  sluaUon      Tl"""'  ''"'  "  "-a^  a    .los 
.he  cap,a,n  or  Chipp  to  have  assisTed'" '''^"°  chance  for 
-  ^^oarded  us  not  a  n,an  ofr;';L^-^„Vhlve"bt' 

"1  be  weather  was  very  cold  T  ,. 
met  the  ,ce,  among  which  we  made  ^  ^°""  afterward  we 
was  st.ll  astern  and  in  the  W3teH,o?  "'7^^-  ^hipp's  boat 
.o»s  about  his  safety.  The^apiiTn  1  *"f  T  "'^''^  very  a„x- 
P,M.,and  camped  w/th  us  Thf nex  '  dt'' ."P  about  ^seven 
blowing,  and  Chipp's  boat  sdU  ^-  •  ''^J'  '''«  gale  was  still 
captain  hoisted  a'lJlack  flag        """'"^-  '°  aboufsix  .l^'Z 

"On  the  following  day  Bartinf,  .  . 

closmg  around  us,  aSd  ^Imfif  we  dir""''  *^'  ">«  '^e  was 
sl>"t   ,n.     Two    hours    af  e  ward  ^^l^' ""."^^  "«  =>>0"ld  b^ 
Land  was  also  in  sisrht  ^t  ,u^     ■    a"  outlets  were  cln..»^ 
Erickson  was  the  firrto  see  aio^' K  ""^  '^°'«'"oi  S 
saw  two  men  making  the'r  w^„  ^^     ^"'  ^""^  Presently  we 
across  the  obstructions      It  wf  nu'  ""=  ""^  and  juZir^ 
boat  had  been  nearly  swamped   a^d'^P'  "'"'  ^uehn^e    ^hI 
be  had  reached  a  piece  of  iS-^n;.         '"  a  sinking  condition 
;as  the  only  man  with  hi  boat  a^'^f"'^"'  '°  hauf  up     St"? 
'!>e  others  required  ten  or  fifilf    ' •'  '""^  '^''o  could  walk 
''»"  'n  their  benumbed  n^bf'^u'^'"'"^'.^  get  up  ciS 
fen  written  orders  tha    k  ;.    ''%'^aptain  had  previousfv 

foM  make  the  best  oTkZ^M  f  '"PS^^"'""  each  bot 
recommended  touching  M  V  !^/°.^*'"a  R'ver,  but  he  l°i 

<™ely  decided  "to  foiwthe:^"  si  '''^"''-     CI^'PP  had  ^or 
-  ^^  allowance  of  food.  "'^:  olfZtT^u'^^T.'fh^. 


"V     *■; 


2^5  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

rations  for  some  time.  He  had  remained  on  the  ice  about 
twenty-four  hours,  and  then  got  a  chance  to  get  under  way. 
He  told  us  that  by  making  a  portage  of  about  two  miles  we 
could  launch  our  bonts  and  fetch  the  land.  He  sent  his  luen 
to  assist  us,  and  after  six  or  eight  hours  of  terrible  work  we 
succeeded  in  getting  our  boat  to  the  second  cutter.  That 
night  we  reached  the  southeast  corner  of  Kotelnoi  Island 
and  camped  on  a  low  cape  extending  well  out  from  the  moun- 
tain and'formmg  a  beautiful  bay. 

"  ThiL  was  September  6th,  I  think.  We  stayed  there  about 
thirty-six  hours.  Large  pr.rties  were  sent  cut  hunting,  as 
numerous  deer-tracks  had  been  seen.  Next  morning  we  got 
under  way  agaiii  and  worked  along  shore  untd  about-  noon, 
when  we  had  to  make  a  long  and  laborious  portage,  during 
which  Mr.  Dunbar  fell  down  exhausted  and  with  palpitation 
of  the  heart.  We  continued  until  midnight,  and  then  camped 
on  a  bleak,  desolate  spot  Next  morning,  September  7th,  we 
shaped  a  course  for  the  island  of  Stolbovoi  from  the  south 
point  of  Kotelnoi,  fifty-one  miles  distant  to  the  southwest. 
We  had  fresh  breezes  the  first  day,  and  during  the  night  got 
into  a  very  bad  place  and  came  very  near  being  smashed  up 
by  drift  ice.  We  passed  in  sight  of  Stolbovoi ;  but  it  was  not 
considered  worth  while  .0  land  on  the  barren  island,  which 
was,  besides,  too  aistant.  .      ,    , 

"  On  the  night  of  September  9th  we  nauled  up  on  a  piece 
of  ice  off  the  north  end  of  Semenoffski  Island,  and  there 
slept.  On  September  loth  we  »-ounded  the  north  end  of 
this  island  and  came  down  the  west  shore,  stopping  to  cook 
dinner  and  to  examine  the  island.  Having  seen  the  tracks 
■  of  deer  going  towaxd  the  south  end  of  the  island,  the  captain 
suggeste*d  tllat  a  party  of  hunters  deploy  across  it,  and  ad- 
vance to  the  sr.uth  in  hopes  of  getting  a  deer.  About  ten  of 
u-  went  T  went  along  the  beach  with  Kuehne  and  Johnson, 
Baitlett,  Noros,  Collins,  and  the  Indians  skirting  the  hills. 
We  raised  a  doe  ana  fawn  running  to  the  northward  a^  fast 
as  possible,  they  having  previously  seen  the  boats.  Several 
shots  were  fired,  and  the  doe  fell  under  Noros  last  shot. 
We  hurled  the  body  down  a  steep  bluff  to  Chipp,  who  had  it 
butchered,  and  the  captain  ordered  all  served  ov^,  having  pre- 
viously ^iven  orders  for  all  hands  to  camp. 

"  Thai  evening  the  captain  told  Melville  that  he  and  many 
of  his  party  were  badly  used  up,  and  must  have  rest  and  a 


he  ice  about 
:  under  way, 
wo  miles  we 
ent  his  hien 
ble  work  we 
Litter.  That 
:elnoi  Island 
m  the  moun- 

there  about 
hunting,  as 
rning  we  got 
about  noon, 
•tage;  during 
ii  palpitation 
then  camped 
mber  7  th,  we 
>m  the  south 
e  southwest, 
he  night  got 
smashed  up 
lut  it  was  not 
island,  which 

p  on  a  piece 
d,  and  there 
lorth  end  of 
iping  to  cook 
zn  the  tracks 
d,  the  captain 
ss  it,  and  ad- 
About  ten  of 
and  Johnson, 
;incT  the  hills, 
hward  a.-  fast 
)ats.  Several 
•os'  last  shot. 
p,  who  had  it 
't,  having  i^re- 

he  and  many 
ve  rest  and  a 


(^77) 


278  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

full  meal  before  proceeding.  All  these  days— for  the  past 
twenty— we  had  been  on  very  short  allowance  and  had  never 
had  a  full  meal.  Melville  said  that  he  and  his  party  were  in 
excellent  condition  and  wanted  to  move  on,  and  did  not  like 
losing  time.  The  entire  deer  was  served  out  and  we  had 
orders  to  remain  till  Monday  morning,  or  about  thirty-six 
hours  We  had  noticed  that  after  two  or  three  days. of  north- 
east winds  it  generally  finished  up  with  a  heavy  gale  from 
that  quarter,  and  it  was  thought  we  would  be  likely  to  get  it 
on  Monday  or  Tuesday.  That  evening  Chipp  came  over  and 
asked  me  to  go  out  with  him  and  get  some  ptarmigan  if  pos- 
sible. We  came  upon  a  large  covey,  but  could  not  get  a  shot 
This  was  my  last  talk  with  Chipp.  He  was  in  better  health 
than  usual  and  was  cheerful,  but  not  altogether  satisfied  with 

^'  On  Monday  morning,  September  1 2th,  we  left  Semenoffski 
Island  and  stood  to  the  southward  alon-  the  west  side  of  the 
island  Wins:  to  the  south.  About  half-past  eleven  a.  m.  we 
ran  through  a  lot  of  drift  ice,  following  the  first  cutter.  It 
was  pretty  close  work,  and  our  boat  had  to  luff  through  be- 
tween  two  big  cakes  of  ice.  The  sheet  was  hauled  aft  in 
luffing,  and  the  boat  sided  over  against  the  lee-piece,  thereby 
knockincr  a  hole  in  her  starboard  side.  She  filled  rapidly, 
and  we  barely  succeeded  in  making  fast  her  bow  to  an  adja- 
cent cake  of  ice ;  there  we  put  on  a  lead  patch  and  remedied 
the  damage.  This  was  the  last  piece  of  ice  that  we  saw. 
While  repairs  were  going  on  I  had  a  chat  with  Collins,  who 
was  as  amiabh  as  usual,  and  had  some  pleasant  story  to  tell 
me.  The  doctor  was  also  very  affable,  and  asked  particularly 
after  my  health  and  comfort. 

"  We  then  started  on  a  southwest  course.  The  capt^n  kept 
his  ^oat  almost  right  before  the  wind  ;  it  was  very  difficult  to 
keep  from  jibing,  and  as  the  whale-boat  was  the  faster  sailer 
it  was  hard  to  keep  in  position.  Our  orders  were  to  keep 
astern  of  the  captain,  within  easy  hail,  and  for  Chipp  to  bring 
up  the  rear,  he  being  second  in  command.  The  wind  and 
sea  increased  very  rapidly,  and  about  five  p.  m.  we  were  out 
of  position  about  nine  hundred  yards  off  the  weather  quarter 
of  the  first  cutter.  Melville  asked  me  if  we  could  get  in  po- 
sition safely,  and  I  told  him  that  by  nbing  twice  and  lowering 

M     -  "_..ij  A T4«  tVi^n  tnlrl  me  to  take  charge;  sol    ^     K'^enip. 

tne  sail  wc  cuuivi  uw  =>v^.     ^^-  — .   ,       „i,^  .-/i    ^b     --'^i-jn^ 

jibed  very  carefully ;   ran  down  to  the  captain  s  wake  -na   H     y^^.^^  ^ 


NARRATIVE    OF   LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER.  ;,„ 

the  sel  while  sh°ftinrthe  s^l     I  ^h.?  i'P,*^  ''^^^'i;^!'  before 
at  the  helm,  as  he  was  the  b«/  hft  '•^'"?"  ^^^<^''  P"' 

eyes  would 'not  pS  my%ak  ^'1?^,"^ "  ''l'  ''°f:  J^V 

3.0.  he.  had  to  take  t^l^^^^  ^J^^^^ 

not  see  it.     At  the  sS^etimT  rv    '^''*'  "'^'"^"  '"y^  '  did 

his  sail.  Melville  asked  my  adv^J^^'aSl  Sd  '°  \'  ''Jr  ""^ 
with  the  wind  and  sea  four  n^;n,L  ?'    liT    ^^'^^.^''^  should  steer 

we  could  make  good  wtthe'-Xundtd:r\''"^"^^L  "'^ 
heave  to  on  account  of  the  1 'aMitv  t^l.  I  '  '"''*"  ^^  ^''°"''^ 
darkness.  In  the  meantime T=^^  ^  T^^'  ^"""S  "=«  '"  'he 
a  good  drag.  HrtoW  me  ?o  ^'Ih  '^*' ??''' P'-^P^^^ 
orlered  Coif  and  Hansen  ,0  ?J   l''^^  ^^'^  ''°  "•     So  I 

enough;  ,f  not,  we  would  send  down  Te  scare  fir^fj    "^ 
boat  bucket  to  help  it  ^        tire-pot  and 

were  very  wearv      Th«,.«  ,.,^  «-«*  ^^i  running-.      1  he  men 

who  would  puIMn  a  seawav?hr?;.'''°f ''"*=."  '"  *<=  ''°« 
except  the  heZsman   THk       °''"^'?-  '^'"^  inexperienced. 


28o 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


sail,  Bartlett  to  launch  the  drag,  and  Leach  at  the  helm.  I 
gave  preparatory  orders  very  carefully — at  the  words  Lower 
away ! '  to  put  the  helm  hard-a-starboard,  lower  sail  and  give 
way  with  starboard  oar,  holding  water  with  the  port  oar,  if 
possible  in  the  seaway. 

"  I  watched  more  than  five  minutes  for  my  chance,  for  our 
lives  depended  on  the  success  of  that  movement.  At  the 
proper  moment  I  shouted  *  Lower  away!  *  and  every  man  did 
his  duty ;  the  boat  came  round,  gave  a  tremendous  dive  and 
she  was  then  safe,  head  to  sea.  We  eased  the  oars  and 
launched  the  drag.  It  watched  about  three  points  on  the 
port  bow — so  I  sent  down  the  spare  fire-pot  and  a  bucket  by 
putting  loops,  or  what  we  call  beckets,  en  the  bales.  Cole 
suggested  sending  down  a  painted  bag  with  the  mouth  open. 
It  filled  with  water,  dragged,  and  was  very  effective.  We 
^  then  lay  head  to  sea  during  the  night.  A  number  of  the 
party  turned  in  under  the  canvas.  Melville  was  exhausted 
and  had  his  legs  badly  swollen ;  so  he  turned  in  abreast  the 
foremast,  leaving  me  in  charge. 

"  Leach  and  Wilson  steered  with  a  paddle  during  the  night, 
and  I  sat  at  their  feet  watching.  The  upper  gudgeon  of  the 
rudder  had  been  carried  away,  so  we  took  the  rudder  on 
board.  Our  fresh  water  had  been  ruined  by  the  seas  that 
had  boarded  us,  but  late  on  the  night  before  leaving  the  isl- 
and Newcomb  had  brought  in  several  ptarmigan,  which  had 
been  dressed  and  put  in  our  ketde,  the  other  tents  not  caring 
to  take  their  share.  This  proved  excellent  food  for  us  the 
next  day,  as  they  were  not  too  salt  to  be  eaten. 

"At  daylight,  September  13th,  there  were  no  boats  in  sight, 
and  the  gale  was  still  raging.  About  10  a.  m.  I  noticed  that 
a  new  sea  was  making  and  the  old  sea  was  more  abeam. 
From  this  I  judged  that  the  wind  had  veered  to  the  southeast 
and  would  grow  lighter.  About  noon  the  water  began  to 
tumble  in  very  badly  on  the  port  quarter,  and  the  boat  was 
down  by  the  stern.  We  were  thoroughly  wet,  and  the  sleep- 
ing gear  was  so  water-soaked  and  swollen  that  it  jammed  be- 
tween the  thwarts  and  could  not  be  shifted  in  trimming.  I 
rigged  the  mackintosh  on  the  port  quarter,  the  stroke  oars- 
man holding  one  corner  and  I  the  other  for  seven  hours. 
This  kept  a  great  deal  of  water  out  of  the  boat  and  acted 
like  a  *  tarpaulin  in  the  rigging '  to  keep  her  head  to  sea.  At 
4.40  p.  M.,  per  log,  I  called  Melville  and  told  him  that  it  was 


NARRATIVE   OF   LIErrrn-MAXT^ 

^'  i^IEUfENANT  DANENHOWER. 


261 


time  to  get  under  wav     TI 

ialling.  and  by  standing  west  at  ffrsfr'  ^^7,^^^^vy,  but  was 

second  night  was  more  comfortable  but  sH^  '^'  "'^^^-  ^he 
wet;  but  we  were  perfectly  safe  I  .  i^  ""^  T'^  ^"  very 
abreast  the  foremast  while  Melv  iTe  relf   ^  ^ox,n  for  an  hour 

'li  6lr."  "^^"^^  to  my'ld  ;t^^^^^  "^'  ^"^-^'Id  not 
At  60  clock  on  the  mornina  of  the  r  .'.K  t 
prepare  breakfast,  and  a  few  minutes  If      ^^""^  ""'^^'^  to 
by  the  boat  taking  ground  in  To  feet  o    LT  ^^'if.^^-Pnsed 
off;  and  I  recommended  standin<r^n   .1       ^''''     ^^  backed 
reckoned  that  when  we  rounded  t^o  we  t  ''T'^'"^'     ^  ^^^ 
off-  Barkm,  our  destination  ;  tha   weLT/-^T  ^^'Y  ^'^^^^ 
teen  miles  to  the  southwest  durinrth^       l'*"*'^^  ^'  ^^^«t  fif- 
run  about  twenty-five  miles  dur  "f  the  n^±  '"^  ^^^^^  ^^  ^ad 
on  the  shoals  north  of  Barkin     fsaid  ,y5  ''  '°i^^^  ^^^^^e 
we  would  have  no  show;  but  that  if  w5       '^"""^  '°  ^^^  ^^st 
water  was  reached,  and  then  Ifnn^  a  ^  "^  ;'^  ^^^^  until  deep 
of  the  coast  we  w^uld  fi^  fntv  ,/ w.T"'^  ^^  ^'^  ^^'^^'-"d^ 
ing-place      Melville  was  of  coTrse   n  r         ^"^  ?  §^°°^  ^^^d- 
on  my  judgment,  as  he  did  in  all  ern^r      "^^"^'  ^"^  ^^  relied 

"Bardett  thought  he  saw  ?1      ^^^^^g^^^cies. 
told  bin.  t.  takf  Ino, "r  ^oo7  itf  "U^^  !^^^  "P^n  it.     I 
thought  he  was  mistaken.   It  was  o 'l '  "  ^"  '^'^  ^^ 

water  among  the  shoals.  We  nodcer?!^  f  ,,'"^°°th  patch  of 
brackish,  and  that  there  was  a X,  sk^^,  t^e  water  was  only 
us.  We  stood  to  the  ep^^l^,  "  .'""  ^^  yo'Jng  ice  near 
south,  but  always  to'chTj^^rtr:-  o^r  vvt; 

'"  that  direction.  I  noticed  hefe.  "^"'"^'^^  ^'^^^"  "moving 
set  here.     The  winds  were  liiht  Lh"'  ^  V^'^  ^'^^''^"^  ^^^terlf 

n-ght  about  east-southeast  and  e-'°"^^^'  '"''  ''°°^  ^" 
^thorns.  I  then  recommended  steerinr^  "^"^'"^'"u^  ^^^  "'"- 
v^lle  wanted  to  go  southwest  bei^^^^^^^^^^^^  south,  but  Mel- 

^ourse;  so  I  assented  an/  Wd"       '^f  ^'^'  ^^^^  captain's 


282 


ARCTIC     EXPLORATIONS. 


breakers,  but  con  Id  not  get  within  a  mile  of  the  shore.  The 
land  trended  north  and  south,  and  I  said  that  we  were  evi- 
dendy  south  of  Barkin,  and  that  if  there  was  water  enough 
we  might  fetch  it  that  night  from  the  southward,  as  we  had  a 
good  bre-^ze  about  east.  With  a  view  to  finding  the  captain 
and  Chipp  we  stood  up  the  coast,  hoping  to  reach  Barkin  be- 
fore dark. 

"  The  condidon  of  the  party  on  this  morning  was  very  bad. 
Leach  and  Lauderback  were  disabled  with  swollen  legs,  the 
skin  having  broken  in  many  places,  and  most  of  the  others 
were  badly  off.  We  had  been  in  the  boat  ninety-six  hours 
and  wet  all  the  time.  I  had  taken  the  precaution  twice  during 
that  time  to  pull  off  my  moccasins,  to  wring  out  my  stockings 
and  to  rub  my  feet,  in  order  to  restore  circulation.  I  advised 
the  others  to  do  the  same,  but  the  most  of  them  unfortunately 
did  not  take  the  advice,  I  also  beat  the  devil's  tattoo  almost 
all  the  dme  to  keep  up  the  circulation  ;  so  the  next  morning 
I  was  the  best  man  in  the  party  on  my  feet. 

"After  going  to  the  northward  about  thirty  minutes  we  saw 
two  low  points  of  swamp  land,  and  it  was  evident  that  we 
were  at  the  mouth  of  a  swamp  river.  We  had  a  talk,  and  I 
advised  getting  ashore  as  quickly  as  possible  and  drying  our 
things  out.  So  we  entered  this  river  with  a  leading  wind,  the 
current  being  very  strong.  We  got  as  much  as  five  fathoms 
in  the  middle  of  the  river,  but  it  shoaled  very  rapidly  on  either 
side  of  mid-chai  nel.  It  was  four  or  five  miles  wfde,  but  we 
could  not  get  within  a  mile  of  either  beach.  I  advised  stand- 
ing up  the  river  until  noon,  and  then  to  decide  fully  what  we 
should  do.  When  that  time  arrived  I  said  we  were  probably 
in  a  swamp  river,  about  thirty  or  forty  miles  south  of  Barkin; 
the  wind  was  east,  and  if  we  turned  back  we  would  have  to 
beat  out,  but  would  have  the  current  in  our  favor;  after 
getting  clear  of  the  point  we  could  run  up  the  coast  with  a 
fair  wind.  '  But,'  I  added,  *  if  a  gale  comes  on  we  will  be  in 
the  breakers.'  Melville  then  decided  to  turn  back  and  start 
for  Barkin. 

"At  this  juncture  Bardett spoke  up  and  said  that  he  believed 
we  were  in  the  east  branch  of  the  Lena.  Melville  referred  to 
me,  and  I  said  that  it  might  be  so,  but  that  we  should  have 
higher  land  on  our  port  hand  if  that  were  the  case.    The 


trend  of  the  river  corresponded  pretty  well  with  the  coast 
oudet,  and  if  we  could  find  an  island  about  thirty  miles  up 


I 

NAKH.X,VB   OK   UEUXE....  ,,«^„„^,^_  _ 

Stream  it  would  HnnKfi^ 

Bartlett  said  Zt  he  fcru'^h  ""'  "\"""=  '"  *«  P'ace 
not  be  a  swamp  river  it  wa,  T  *  T'  """^y  "f  ""ater  could 
itsmouti,  Istillhddtolyb^ffThl?^"  *^  Mississippi  at 
but  said  that  it  would  be  a  good  tjln  ,n  '  T'  ^  fwamp  river, 
before  night.  ^""^  P'*"  '«  try  to  make  a  fending 

nialcfa  k„dt°l,"3Pve7p";i  TnthTt  w/r"".''^.  ^"""g^  to 
Tunguses  call  an  orasso,  or ^imme '  h,  '°""<',^fte™ard  the 
been  io8  hours  in  the  boit  sinc"S^"  c  "^  ^"l    ^e  had   ' 
The  men  immediately  built  a  fire  tn,?  ^f"^""'^'"''  '^''"'d. 
round  ,t  before  they  had  restored  c"^.•       L^"''  «^'^"^ 
knocked  about  outside  and  can-ied  "™''"°"  by  exercise.    I 
supper  so  my  blood  was  in  Jood  rirliTj-^^P'."^-''''?  before 
near  the  fire.    We  had  a  cuf  of  tel  ± '""  ^^°'^  ^  *«« 
mican.  having  been  on  quarter  ration,  ^  ^  "'"'■'"'  "^  P^™" 
We  went  to  sleep  with  2ur  feet  toward  Tl  "^  ^^P«>^ted. 
of  the  men  passed  the  night  in  p^^^  ^  ''':?•  ^"'l  '^^^ral 
needles  were  piercing  their  llmK.  ^o^^'l  ^^  "^  "'"'ons  of 
the  worst  night*^  he  efer  past      I  .i..  ^r!'"'  <^«"'bed  it  as 
very  much  refreshed  nex^morniniP'r^'^^^  =']"''  «"d  was 
reindeer-horns,    and    hi,mn„    r      g'  •  *^^  '°"nd  fish-bones 

fashioned  wooden "reinirwith°a°br to'   t.°  ^    -"""x 
We^w^re  very  much  ^.hted'ltth^Zr^lroftetf 

^e'rivl^r'aToutTrh^^^s'  "ante^  '"^^  ^^^"^  ^'--<^  "p 
Bardett  started   out    rreconnohre    h'^P'r^^'^  "°  '"^«her^ 
hundred  yards  distant  I  sTw  H,a,  S     "'  /''^"    ^e  was    a 
after  him  and  sent  him  Lck     I  lil^T  ''"?P'"g'  ^°  '  ran 
saw  several  s^vamp-like  rivers  coml'^r'  ^f^  ™"e  and 
tlienwent  back  to  the  boat  JLT  j^.i^?*"  *«  northwest- 
Prepare  tea  while  Hansen  a„dj    'ok    M^'^"'-  ^^  had  betteV 
We  went  farther,  and  Hansen  ,  In  t    '""''Vt^nded  scout. 
see  some  high  land  abom  two  m  les  off  ^^".^  °'  l"^'     '  -^°"W 
to  look  well  to  see  if  he  couW  „.        '  ^"'^  '  ^''^^'^  Hansen 
deep  water  lay  alongsfde  of  f  %°Z  '°,  '1''°^  '  "^'  ^'''" 
passage  to  it,  all  but  in  one  small  n1i"«^'"  ^^  ""'^  trice  a 
that  mformation.     The  land  ^=.0    T  "^ '  =°  *«  returned  with 
::i  with  good  dee'mos"    "we''°"..'  1^"  ^^«  '"gh  and  Tov 
h^ualiy  wiiere  they  had  com^  '^^  """  '"^"y  deer-tracks,  es- 
«'so  saw  another  h'ut  Ise^  onTsmaK[  "  "'^  "^^ '  ^ 


w«fr" 


284 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


i 


"  We  then  went  back  to  Melville,  and  soon  after  started 
out  with  the  boat.  We  had  splendid  luck ;  we  struck  a  pas- 
sage and  reached  the  deep  water.  We  passed  an  island,  and 
I  began  to  think  that  Bardett  was  right.  We  proceeded  at 
least  thirty  miles  that  afternoon,  and  at  dark  we  reached  a 
point  about  sixty  feet  high,  where  we  expected  the  river  to 
turn  due  south.     Here  we  pitched  the  tents  and  passed  the 

night. 

"About  four  o'clock  next  morning  Bardett  and  I  took  a 
scout.  We  saw  two  large  rivers  to  the  northwest,  and  a 
broad  river  coming  from  the  south.  We  thought  we  were  at 
the  right  turning-point,  but  were  not  sure.  At  six  I  called 
Melville  and  the  others  and  ordered  tea  cooked.  The  wind 
was  fresh  from  the  west  and  blowing  right  on  the  beach. 
We  had  breakfas:,  and  then  I  took  the  well  men  and  loaded 
the  boat.  We  struck  the  tents  at  the  last  moment  and 
assisted  Melville  and  Leach  into  the  boat,  close-reefed  the 
sail,  and  made  every  preparation  for  getting  the  boat  off  the 
lee  shore.  After  some  difficulty  we  succeeded  in  doing  this, 
and  ran  close-hauled  on  the  starboard  tack  under  close- 
reefed  sail,  standing  about  south-southwest  under  the  lee  of 
a  mud-flat.  I  was  at  the  helm,  and  Bardett  on  the  bows  with 
sounding-pole.  We  saw  seven  reindeer,  but  did  not  stop  to 
get  at  them.  About  eleven  we  saw  two  huts  on  the  west 
bank  and  in  a  good  situation  for  landing ;  so  I  recommended 
that  we  should  get  ashore  and  dry  out  everything. 

"  It  was  Sunday,  September  i8th,  and  was  the  first  real  day 
of  rest  that  we  had  taken  for  a  long  dme.  We  found  two 
very  nice  summer  hunting  dwellings,  built  with  sloping  sides 
and  shaped  like  the  frustum  of  a  pyramid,  the  sloping  sides 
forming  the  cover  for  the  occupants,  and  the  aperture  at  the 
top  being  the  chimney.  This  was  what  the  Russians  call  a 
polotka  and  the  Tunguses  an  orasso.  The  sun  was  bright 
and  beautiful.  We  opened  out  everything  to  dry  and  passed 
a  delightful  Sunday,  being  sure  that  rescue  was  not  far  off. 
Newcomb  made  a  good  warm  jacket  out  of  his  sleeping-bag. 
We  also  wrote  a  nodce  to  the  effect  that  the  whale-boat  had 
landed  at  this  point,  and  stuck  up  a  flag  to  mark  the  place 
of  the  record.  There  were  lots  of  fish  bones  in  the  hut, 
some  refuse  fish,  and  a  piece  of  black  bread,  all  of  which  our 
Indian  ate  with  avidity.  There  were  also  frames  for  nets  and 
for  drying  fish. 


;  were  at 


NARRATIVE    OF   LIEUTENANT   DANENIIOWER.  ^85 

"At  eight  A.  M.,  on  Monday,  September  mfh 
way  again  and  stood  up  the  river      T      ^    '  T  g^^  under 
Bardett  on  the  bows,  and  the  crew  ^-  'T'l  •'  ''^^  ^^^"^  ^"^ 
of  four  each,  takino  two  hourTrri    ''''^^?  '"'^  '^°  ^^tches 
was  in  the  st;rn  she^tl^,  camming"  fV^l  °^^^-     ^^^^^^"^ 

south  for  two  hours  wUh^JigMSt d  ots'^l,  "^^  ^^°°' 
well,  and  we  were  in  c^t.r^«^  wmu  ana  oars.  All  was  go  ng- 
marked  on  the X  t  bSf  „iZ^  of  reaching  a  settle^menf 
headed  off  by  mud-flats  i^d  santl^nk  "aIT^  '^'^'"  '°  ""= 
were  more  than  a  mile  from  the  west'  ba^k  1? T  *'  "•  **^ 
followmg  because  the  villasre  wa«  m„u  i  '  '*  ^'^  "^""e 
Wethensawapointofland  anH  I  ^''  f"  °"  "'="  «de. 
set  up  the  prismatic  compass  and  «t  T'"l'°  ?°  "^'^°^^  '" 
as  to  prepare  dinner  ^  '  *°'"*  bearmgs,  as  well 

ceJ^ed'In'Teactnfthe'shoTe'^'H^  ^""^  -"-'  *«  be- 
getting fire  whetfo  our  surprise  and '/r.^  ''^"^  ="  ^''°'" 
natives  coming  a^und  the  oo^nt  t  ,K  ^i'^*"'  *^  ^^»'  'hree 
pulling  with  double  „addLrw-^^*i"«^-?"«'^^"°«  and 
boat  and  went  to  m«t  them  ^,?r 'T''''""'^  "«""<=''  O"'" 
stood  to  the  southard  wT'  I,  ^''^  Reared  shy  and 
some  pemmican  and  finan^  i  r"^""'  °^"  ='"'"  ''^"d  up 
eighteej  approached  ^a^Jfou^i/J^tor:  pTece"  Th^'T 
SlntTthrrrasTo^  .heyat  ^ca^nirto  u?'="^^: 
where  we  built  aTre':nfcomtrfp.:y°4':ef  '?)"'""^' 

nets.  "^^"^y   "^^^  and   well    fitted   with 

•Bulun.'    Then  I  oZt "d  tnITi  V       "  ■"^'""ngly  he  said 

it.  and  he  also  said^  •Bulun  °  Fro"nl%°'/"^''^^''\^'  ^^  ^^"^d 
was  the  name  of  the  n^^;.      l"         u  '  '/"agmed  that  Bulun 

We  had  a  rrv  Tovous  fc"  ?^  '''^^  ^^^  °'"^'"'=d  *em. 
we  felt  thalvv^  were  safe  Th".  '"^  •"'  ""^  eating  goose,  for 
hunting-gear  and  we  show  J  ,K  """u^  ^^""^^^  "'  all  their 

and  oufgfles:  much";  terdeliS  """"''  "'^  ""^''' 

said"".':;;,::  ti' 'Th^nro'  sin  ■"  h^'^^^'  .='?°°''  •^-^^^  -"<» 

they  kissed;  and  I  w=l  L,r„  i'^'f.^  "»  'he.r  crosses,  which 
certain  talisman  whic-h  h.  '  ^7.-^^:17,^-^2:1^ 


i 


aS6 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


I 


friend  at  San  Francisco,  with  the  message  that  it  had  been 
blessed  by  the  priest,  and  I  would  be  sure  to  be  safe  if  I  wore 
it.  I  did  not  have  much  faith  in  this,  however,  but  I  showed 
it  to  the  natives,  and  they  kissed  it  devoutly. 

"  It  was  the  only  article  in  the  possession  of  the  party,  in- 
deed, that  indicated  to  the  natives  that  we  were  Christians. 
You  can  imagine  our  feelings  at  meeting  these  people,  for 
they  were  the  first  strangers  whom  we  had  seen  for  more  than 
two  years ;  and  I  never  before  felt  so  thankful  to  missionaries 
as  I  did  on  that  day  at  finding  that  we  were  among  Christian 
natives. 

"  We  indicated  to  the  three  natives  that  we  wanted  to  sleep, 
by  making  signs,  and  resting  the  head  upon  the  hand  and 
snoring.  They  understood  us,  and  took  us  around  the  point 
where  we  had  hauled  our  boats  upon  the  sand  beach,  and  then 
•climbed  a  hill  which  was  from  sixty  to  seventy  feet  high. 
This  was  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  branch  of  the  Lena,  and  we 
have  since  learned  this  to  be  on  Cape  Borchaya,  said  to  be 
about  eighty-five  miles  northwest  of  Cape  Bykoffsky.  There 
•we  found  four  houses  and  several  storehouses,  all  deserted 
but  one,  which  was  in  very  good  condition.  The»"e  was  a 
graveyard  near  by,  with  many  crosses.  We  all  lodged  in  the 
one  house. 

"  The  natives  were  very  kind  to  us ;  they  hauled  their  nets 
iind  brought  us  fish,  parts  of  which  they  roasted  before  the 
fire,  giving  us  the  most  delicate  morsels.  Some  of  the  fish 
'  we  boiled,  and  altogether  we  had  a  very  enjoyable  meal. 
Then  I  noticed  that  Caranie  (one  of  the  natives)  had  gone 
away,  leaving  only  the  youth,  whom  we  called  Tomat,  and  the 
invalid,  whom  we  called  Theodore.  From  Caranie's  absence 
I  argued  that  there  must  be  .other  natives  near  by,  and  that 
Caranie  had  gone  to  inform  them  of  our  presence. 

"  Next  morning,  while  the  men  were  loading  the  boat,  I  took 
thf*  compass  and  got  some  bearings  of  the  sun  for  local  time, 
direction  of  the  wind,  and  general  lay  of  the  land.  Previous 
to  this  I  had  interviewed  Tomat,  who  drew  a  diagram  on  the 
sand  showing  the  course  of  the  river,  and  that  the  distance  to 
Bulun  was  seven  sleeps,  which  he  indicated  by  snoring  deeply 
when  he  pointed  to  each  stopping-place.  He  appeared  per- 
fectly willing  to  go  with  us  as  pilot  to  Bulun. 

"  On  my  return,  Melville  asked  me  to  hurry  up,  as  he  wanted 
to  get  oil     I  was  surprised,  and  asked  where  the  other  native 


(287) 


388 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


was.  Mel  Ille  replied  that  he  had  left,  having  refused  to  go 
with  us.  I  then  asked  him  to  wait  a  few  minutes,  while  I  ran 
back  to  the  house  in  order  to  try  and  induce  them  to  come. 
Returning,  I  found  the  youth  Tomat  on  the  housetop,  looking 
very  sad  and  bewildered.  When  I  asked  him  to  accompany 
us  he  replied,  mournfully :  'Sok!  Sok  !  Sok!'  which,  moant 
'No!  No!*  and  then  tried  to  explain  something  which  I  coujcl 
not  understand,  saying :  '  Kornado,'  which  I  only  afterward 
learned  meant  '  father.'  I  felt  sorry  for  the  youth,  and  gave 
him  a  colored  silk  handkerchief  and  one  or  two  little  things, 
and  then  went  back  to  Melville. 

"  We  then  started  out  on  our  own  hook  and  tried  to  work 
south  (that  is,  towards  Bulun)  among  the  mud-flats ;  but  in 
this  we  were  not  successful.  At  5  p.  m.  we  had  a  consulta- 
tion, and  I  urged  that  we  must  decide  a*:  once  whether  to  re- 
main out  all  night  or  crn  back.  I  recommended  going  back 
and  forcing  the  natives  to  go  with  us.  We  had  two  Reming- 
tons and  a  shot-gun,  and  I  knew  that  it  would  be  easy  to 
carry  our  point.  Bartlett  had  been  sounding  from  the  bow, 
so  I  asked  him  if  he  knew  the  way  back.  He  said  yes,  and  we 
started  to  return.  We  did  quite  well  until  dark,  but  then  the 
wind  shifted  and  began  to  blow  a  gale.  It  was  a  very  bad 
situation  for  a  boat  in  such  shallow  "Water.  We  were  for- 
tunate enough,  however,  to  get  under  the  lee  of  a  mud-bank, 
where  we  secured  the  boat,  with  three  tent-poles  driven  into 
the  mud  and  our  line  fast  to  them.  Thus  we  rode  all  night. 
It  was  very  cold,  and  some  of  the  men  got  their  feet  and  legs 
badly  frostbitten.  During  the  snow-squalls  of  the  evening 
before  I  had  to  give  the  helm  to  Leach,  because  my  glass 
would  constantly  get  covered  with  snow  and  I  could  not  see. 

"At  daylight  I  got  Bartlett  and  Wilson  r  >  stand  up  in  the 
boat  and  take  a  good  lock  at  the  land.  Bar  s  lid  heccild 
not  recognize  it,  but  Wilson  was  sure  it  ■ ,  >  :i,--  place  where 
we  had  first  met  the  natives.  Bartlett  said  that  if  we  could 
weather  a  certain  mud-flat  we  wouU  have  a  fair  way  in ;  so 
we  close-reefed,  I  took  the  helm,  and  went  to  windward  of  the 
mud-fiat.  Then  we  ran  in  with  a  leading  wind  and  landed. 
Newf.oiab  shot  some  sea-gulls,  and  we  breakfasted  on  them 
in  or;  r  j  save  our  few  remaining  pounds  of  pemmican. 
Wlsson  insisted  that  in  less  than  half  an  hour  he  could  go  to 
the  house  where  we  had  slept  the  night  before.  Most  of  us 
laughed  at  him,  but  I  told  him  and  Mansen  to  go  and  se^ 


NARRATIVE   OF    LIEUTENANT   DANENHOWER.  ^Bg 

while  I  sent  two  men  t(\  r/. />««,»   •.. 

Wilson  and  M^nZZlTCkTJZ  sl7  "^f"'  '''"^'}'"': 
to  learn  tl.at  th.y  had  seen  the  Ee  ""^  '^^"""'^ 

rolled  "a^tlc:;;;d7r  ir,*'"'?^'^^'^ 

natives  in  the  mo^t  cordial  manner      Tht'  Z     ^'f '  ^^  '1^' 
another  native,  an  old  man  wl?„T'  ,  "'S^  "*=■•=  ''^^ded  by 
■Urasti!  Drastir  a°  the  sle  .?mrt  f  ""^  'V' =""''  ^^'^ 
me-liately  took  possessLfrf  M^^lf^'","^  ^^'"^^-     "«  ™- 
anJ  helped  hin,  up  to'he    ouse      wi  '  T'"^"!,^',  ^l''>'  '*"^«' 
carried  up  the  sleepTnff  lar     Wh}!^h     °^5^«''  ""=  ''°^''  ^"^ 
of  gulls  tliat  we  were^efnectin^to  f.^  I    "'T  '*,"'  ^  ""P''^ 
down  in  disgust,  and  iXS l^Xh^'eeTn  ^rto''"' 
place  them      Veo  VVassili,  for  that  was^l,e  old  ma „ 4  tZ' 
proved  to  be  our  great  friend  ;  he  willingly  consemed  to  nl; 
us  to  Bulun,  and  measured  the  boat's  dra.ilhf^K        i    ^■ 
t^at  he  was  wide  awake  and  knew  what  he  ts  Ibout  °Thi! 
old  Tun^use,  Wassili,  or  Wassili  Koolgiak   or  '  Cut  eJ^d 

i!:rcimotSa,i  ^z^^^^  -™f ''  i'°"^ 

hadgo;e"trbr,w''tot  ^^d'dir  ""l"'^'!  ^"°'"  ^^--e 
notfo  wid,  us  inlil  his  fether  arrived"       '  "''  '^"'^  "°"''* 

rt^o^re^'trx^b'-oat'iFi  S  ^^P^^^^ 

we  should  all  keep  too-ether  for  h         ^  u)"".^-  P'-^^'-^d  'hat 
we  were  out  of  f  X  ^urTeltTet.^'''^'  ^"^  "^  f^'  '"- 

.wo^'o  h^S:^"ne"^witt''''""'!I  "''•  W-='"-  -* 
course  that  we  had  done  on  .t"''  ^"•''  ^T"^^  "'^  ^=""« 
southward  and  eastwrri  Z^^  S''''"°"5  I"-"*""""  '<>  ^e 
ahead,  and  had  his  two  Iron  fh.fl  T"^"""'^-  "«  '^^"' 
i"g  with  their  Daddies  ThZ  I  .^"^^  constantly  sound- 
fifeen  feet  in  len'th  and  IlZ  "T  °k  ^"'''^«-  ^--^  ^^out 
ni"ch  like  a  Daoer  r?r.  h  ,  ^  15'^''"  ''.^^"'  modelled  very 
paddle.  The  Sve  facts  The  Zt^'"^""^  ,"'*  ^  ''"""e 
!l>e  right  and  lefthand,  the  fulcrum^'o    thi  te^'T'^  "'* 

Jmamno..., :_^   .  '     .       »uii-rum    OI    tne    lever   hpino-   on 

-a  ..■^^,  puuu  Detween  the  two  hands.     It  is  a  veiy"g?ac;^ 


sgo 


ft.RCnC   EXPLORATIONS. 


ful  and  fascinating  movement,  and  ^he  natives  make  their 
boa^s  skim  along  very  rapidly,  sounding  at  each  stroke  when 
going  in  shoal  water.  Wassili  tound  a  channel  among  the 
mud-flats  for  our  boats,  which  at  this  time  drew  about  twenty- 
six  Inches.  We  worked  all  day  to  tht.  southward  and  east- 
ward, and  about  eight  o'clock  p.  m.  hauled  out  on  a  flat  beach 
and  camped  for  the  night,  Wassili  giving  us  fish  for  supper. 
The  weather'  was  very  cold  and  raw,  with  a  strong  breeze 
blowing,  and  our  pilot  v/as  very  anxious  about  the  state  of 
the  river,  fearing  tii«t  we  would  De  stopped  by  young  ice  at 

any  moment.  ,     •  i 

"  The  next  morning  the  banks  were  fringed  with  young  ice, 
but  this  we  broke  our  way  through  and  continued  our  courte 
up  the  river.  After  the  sun  came  out,  the  ice  melted,  and 
we  worked  all  day  through  a  labyrinth  of  small  streams, 
passing  several  hunting-lodges.  At  night  we  slept  in  two 
houses^on  shore,  and  next  morning  we  entered  a  large  body 
of  water  which  we  thought  was  the  main  river.  About  noon 
we  reached  a  point  of  land  on  which  there  was  a  deserted 
village  of  about  six  well-built  houses  and  a  number  of  store- 
houses. Wassili  took  us  to  a  house  and  told  us  to  coiiche,  or 
eat.  I  noticed  that  one  of  the  natives  went  away  in  his 
canoe.  I  then  took  a  look  at  the  village.  The  houses  were 
in  good  repair,  and  there  were  numerous  troughs  for  feeding 
GOcrs,  and  cooking  utensils  in  them.  The  doors  were  not 
locked,  but  those  of  the  storehouses  were  well  secured  with 
heavy  iron  padlocks  of  peculiar  shape. 

"Thino-s  looked  more  promising  now.  and  I  fek  sure  that 
the  winter  occupants  of  these  houses  could  nut  be  far  off. 
During  this  resting  spell  I  examined  Leach's  and  Lauder- 
back's  feet  and  limbs.  Leach's  toes  had  turned  black,  and 
Lauderback's  legs  were  in  a  fearful  condition,  being  great  y 
swollen  and  having  large  patches  of  skin  broken.  We 
dressed  them  as  well  as  we  could  with  some  pain-extractor 
that  I  happened  to  have  along,  and  when  that  gave  out  we 
used  o-rease  from  the  boat-box. 

"  In  about  an  hour  a  boat  appeared  in  sight,  and  a  number 
of  people  disembarked  and  entered  a  house  near  us.  A  lew 
minutes  later,  Wassili  came  and  asked  Melville  and  me  to  go 
with  him.  He  conducted  us  to  the  house,  where  wt  shook 
hands  with  an  old  native  named  Spiridon,  v^^ho  had  two  very 
hard-lookincr  women  with  him,  each  of  whom  had  lost  the 


NARRATIVE    OF   LIEUTENANT   DANENHOWER.  29I 

left  eye.     They  served  tea  to  us   howr-^r  ;«     u- 

also  gave  us  some  reindeer  taUow  wh.VN  .k       ""^'"^  ^"P^ ' 

great  delicacy.     Spiridon Tool^^d  To  n^'likt'"^^ 

pirato  and  there  was  an  air  of  mysTerv  about  th/T^'  u^ 

made  me  tell  Melville  I  thought  SnlLon         ^  ^l^J"^  '^^^ 

and  that  I  was  afraid  to  trusT  him      H.  ""^^  ^"  °^^  '?'^^'' 

goose,  however,  that  was  dressed  and   stu^ffe'd    "v,"  ^"'"^" 

ot  er  pese,  all  boned,  and  this  he  Lid  wf^rsf noTel^ 

until  sleepmg-time  on  the  followino- dav     Tt.Ti        "?.   u^' 

we  would  leave  next  morning.     Newcomb  hid    p^ '^'^ '^^' 

berof  ptarmicran  flvincr  abn.,T  fkl  T  _,  ,      ^^^"  ^  """^- 

bagged^  few  of  th'  se^t^t  fut  bifdT'll  IT"'  ^"^'"•'^ 
White  winter  plumage,  featl,ered  fromtat.ftoe       '"  "'"' 

better  pilot  thaa  ?he  Cn'  We  t  r  X^ryTrd' tL'd  ^ 
until  e,g ,t  P  M.,  the  men  pullinsj  all  the  tk^eTn  onf  1  ^ 
tricks.     I  had  the  helm  and  liartl'Jtf  t hJ  I^     ?•  °ne-hour 

camped  for  the  night  in  a  ^^^^    nVX  '"v^-Clin^ 

M?rqin^=,,frti^o;.^-^^^^^ 

boat.     Melville  and  Barde  t  we^e  in  ,  ^    ?       *"i'.  '^'°'"  *« 

"About  noon  we   reaS    h  '   vin/'™  /^°"*''°"- 
(which  we  afterwards  f:und  to  be  o  'fe  Bvl^off  ^7"'?*" 
we  were  received  cordmll,,  K„    u     .     ^    oykoffsky),  where 

i^ss  than  two  weeks  hf-  i-a„o-k^  ■"•■-'w«mua,  buc  m 

-id  make  ^yslf^^fi^  SltoTd  To  C'^n'^--^^-/ 


292 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Russian  and  Tunguse.  We  stayed  at  Nicolai's  all  night,  and 
his  wife  gave  us  a  fish  supper,  which  we  enjoyed  heartily. 
We  described  as  well  as^we  could  that  three  boats  had  been 
dispersed  in  a  gale,  and  that  we  did  not  know  where  the  other 
two  boats  were ;  also  that  we  wanted  to  go  to  Bulun,  which 
place  he  told  us  was  fifteen  days  off. 

"  I  need  now  to  give  you  some  explanation  why  we  were  at 
Cape  Bykoffsky,  so  far  out  of  our  course  to  Bulun.  Old 
Wassili,  we  understood  at  the  time,  was  bound  first  of  all  to 
deliver  us  to  the  care  of  his  chief,  Nicolai  Shagra,  and  with 
him  we  eventually  found  ourselves.  The  reason  why  they 
did  not  take  us  to  Bulun,  as  they  promised,  is  not  very  clear, 
even  to  me.  It  was  a  very  unfortunate  time  in  the  season. 
Young  ice  was  making  during  the  night  and  breaking  up 
and  thawing  during  the  day.  It  was  the  transition  period 
between  navigation  and  sledding.  Nicolai  Shagra  told  us  it 
would  take  fifteen  days  to  reach  Bulun,  but  I  think  that  he 
meant  that  a  delay  of  fifteen  days  would  be  necessary  before 
we  started— that  is,  to  await  the  freezing  of  the  river.  The 
next  morning  it  was  stormy,  and  he  told  us  that  we  could 
not  go  ;  but  about  nine  o'clock  he  came  in  and  began  to 
rush  us  off,  as  if  he  really  intended  to  send  us  to  Bulun. 
He  put  sixty  fish  in  our  boat,  and  made  signs  for  us  to  hurry 
up  and  embark.  We  did  so,  and  he,  with  three  others,  went 
ahead  to  pilot  us  through  the  mud-flats.     Efim  was  in  the 

boat  with  us. 

"  We  worked  up  the  river  for  about  two  hours,  constantly 
getting  aground,  and,  in  the  teeth  of  a  fresh  breeze,  were 
making  very  slow  progress.  Before  the  village  was  out  of 
sio-ht,  however,  the  pilots  turned  around  and  waved  us  back. 
We  up  helm  and  went  back  to  the  village,  where  they  had  a 
sled  ready  to  carry  Melville  back  to  the  house.  About  four 
of  us  secured  the  boat,  but  Nicolai  insisted  on  hauling  her 
up,  for  he  made  signs  that  she  would  be  smashed  by  the  young 
ice  if  we  did  not  do  so.  The  natives  then  assisted  us,  and 
we  hauled  her  high  and  dry  up  on  the  beach.  The  condition 
of  the  men  that  day  was  such  that  I  was  not  sorry  that  we 
had  turned  back,  because  they  were  not  up  to  a  fifteen  days' 
journey  as  represented  by  the  natives.  We  were  then  taken 
to  the  house  of  a  certain  Gabrillo  Pashin,  where  we  remained 

ail  night.  , 

"  Next  morning  Efim  and  Gabrillo  came  to  me  and  made 


ight,  and 
heartily, 
lad  been 
:he  other 
in,  which 

;  were  at 

in.  Old 
of  all  to 
and  with 
vhy  they 
jry  clear, 
:  season, 
iking  up 
n  period 
told  us  it 
:  that  he 
ry  before 
er.  The 
we  could 
began  to 
o  Bulun. 
to  hurry 
ers,  went 
as  in  the 

onstantly 
2ze,  were 
IS  out  of 
us  back, 
ley  had  a 
bout  four 
uling  her 
:he  young 
d  us,  and 
condition 
y  that  we 
een  days' 
hen  taken 
remained 


NARRATIVE    OF   LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER.  ,33 

signs  that  they  wished  me  to  go  with  th^m     -n. 
to  an  empty  house  at  the  eJJfL    -n    "    ^^V  *°°^  ">e 
some  old  women  engaged  ?n  deln^nl^^^^'  ^t'^  ^  '""""d 
that  they  wished  us  to  ofcupy  it    so  I  Ld"^;    Tl'^y  indicated 
moved  the  whole  party  into  it  ahn„f  „  'L'^'P"''d  out  and 

the  party  and  told  ^em  that  he  and  r  "'^'""^'""stered 
scurvy  had  appeared  among  us  that  S  "f^  ^"'^''d  "«' 

and  ourselves  very  clean  kleDche^rri     "f  ^^"^  *«  ^°"'^ 
ably  get  along  ve^  well  un tH  nronl    f  '  t"''  "•=  ~"'d  prob- 

told  them  that  I  shLTd  Lk"  S  of         "','-^'^-    ""^  ^'=° 
sickness.  ^  "''"S^  °f  everything  during  his 

only  persons  who  were  able  to  It  J°"'  f""  ^<=  "^re  the 
was  able  to  hobble  about  thV^o^se  and  ^""^  n^"""  Wilson 
we  were  given  eight  per  dav_?ou7r"lP''^P*''^fi^'',  of  which 

in  tite  evening  YapLm  h^™;  h'us  to^thar^.'"^  *?" 
men  with  four  fish,  weig-hina  ah^,,  !  ,    '  ""^de  twelve 

and  the  same  amount  for  sfppe?  w^r^''  ^°'  "^^^^^fast. 
had  a  litde  tea  left.  After  ffew  ^  Y  "°  '*''•  ^"<^  "e 
some  decayed  wild  geese  for  a  rnSl^'  the  natives  gave  us 
high;  as  an  English^mrn  wouM™a,l?he"''l'  ""^^  ^^^re^'pretty 
stomach  them,  for  we  werTcaDawi  -^f  '  .™^  "^^"^'^d  to 
Efim  also  gave  us  somTgoosTeg^s     ''""^=''™°^'  ^"y*i"g- 

'■  Thus  we  lived  for  about  a  wffk  Ti 
or  native  feast-day,  during  which  Efim  ,„  i"  """'^  ^"  '"■«^»* 
to  make  calls,  when  the^nat  ves  nr^«  ?  ^  """^  °' "^  °« 
othergeeseof  a  similar  hi"  h  character  ",k"'  ?*  '^'■'^«" 
our  party  improved  in  condttion  dav  hv,lf  "'^  °'^l^"-  ^""^ 
ported  himself  as  fit  for  dufv  ,^,r*^  7  ^^^ '•  °"^  ^y  one  re- 
ville,  too,  was  well  e„ough^oi^ ''''°"'^,"^^'''^ '™e  Mel- 

The  natives  were  gene°ouf  to  us  fam  l„1"''«^  't™^'"^- 
resources  in  fish  were  at  th^  flm.  k  f  ?  ,  °'  ^"""^  ^''^t  their 

catching  too  many  OneL  j  h  an td  h''"°"  '^'^  ^^''^  "°' 
Burgowansky;  we  dVew  seven  n!t  !■"""""' ^"druski 
te«._a  splendid  fish  one  of  whM  1  ''"''  S°'  °"'y  ^'^en 
There  was  a  little  deerCatk  The  ^  ^ave  me  as  a  present, 
were  unable  to  get  Tny  ^  "'""^Se  at  the  timerbut  we 

the  °L^  riT.l'rl^IPf.'-f  by  the  arrival  of  a  Russian  =., 

J^e^,.we^ot  bacrthe:;rnric;for':'i/:^  ^Cr""'  "'^ 
commenced  in  o—  ..:-•--•.      .        "  '•"^  ^'^er, 


after 
sledd 


vici 


nity  about  a  week  later.     This 


294 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Russian  was  brought  to  our  house,  and  I  acted  as  interpreter 
as  well  a;  I  could.  Learning  that  he  lived  only  nine  or  ten 
versts  away,  I  asked  him  to  take  me  home  with  him,  as  I 
wished  to  talk  with  him  about  our  future  movements  and  to 
learn  the  best  route  for  getting  to  Bulun.  To  this  he  willingly 
consented,  and  at  two  in  the  afternoon  we  drove  over  to  his 
house.  With  him  and  his  wife,  a  Yakut  woman,  I  spent  the 
evenino-,  and  here  I  learned  some  news  from  the  great  world 
from  wliich  we  had  been  so  long  absent.  He  told  me  that  the 
Czar  had  been  assassinated,  that  the  Lena  was  still  in  the 
river,  that  Sibiriakoff  was  running  some  steamboats,  and  also 
that  Austria  and  Prussia  had  been  at  war.  He  spoke  of 
Count  Bismarck,  of  Generals  Skobeleff  and  Gourko,  and  the 
Turkish  war,  and  of  a  great  many  other  things  besides.  His 
wife  presented  me  with  some  tobacco,  about  five  pounds  of 
salt,  a  small  bag  of  rye  flour,  some  sugar,  and  two  bricks  of 
tea.'  And  here  let  me  say  that  the  native  women  were  always 
very  kind,  in  spite  of  their  ugliness. 

"  Next  morning  Kusmah  Eremoff— for  that  was  the  name 
of  this  Russian  exile — took  me  to  the  door  and  showed  me  a 
fine  litde  reindeer  which  he  had  bought  for  us,  and  asked  if 
it  suited  me.  I  told  him  it  would  be  very  welcome,  and  so  it 
was  immediately  slaughtered.  We  had  tea  for  breakfast,  with 
fish  and  fish  pates  which  the  good  woman  had  made  especially 
for  me;  and  just  before  I  left  Kusmah  promised  that  on  the 
following  Sunday  he  would  take  me  to  Bulun  with  deer- 
teams,  ''l  asked  him  who  else  would  go,  and  he  said  two 
other  Russians.  I  asked  how  many  Tunguses,  and  he  said 
there  would  be  none  because  they  were  bad ;  and  on  all  oc- 
casions he  tried  to  indicate  that  there  was  something  wrong 
with  the  Tunguses.  I  asked  him  to  come  over  the  following 
Wednesday  to  consult  with  Melville,  and  then  I  returned 
home  with  the  provender.  Our  people  were  delighted  with 
the  change  of  diet.  The  deer,  when  dressed,  weighed  ninety- 
three  pounds. 

"  On  Wednesday  Kusmah  came  over  as  he  had  promised 
Melville.  We  took  him  down  to  the  boat  and  had  it  turned 
over  for  his  inspection.  We  then  redred  to  an  empty  house, 
where  Melville,  Kusmah  and  1  had  a  consultation.  Kusmah 
said  he  rould  "-o  to  Bulun  and  return  in  five  days.  When 
asked  if  he  coutd  go  quicker  with  or  without  me  or  Melville, 
•  he  indicated  that  it  made  no  difference.     Melville  decided  that 


erpreter 
i  or  ten 
lim,  as  I 
>  and  to 
willingly 
;r  to  his 
pent  the 
:at  world 
;  that  the 
11  in  the 
and  also 
;poke  of 
,  and  the 
les.  His 
Dunds  of 
jricks  of 
re  always 

:he  name 
ved  me  a 
asked  if 
and  so  it 
:fast,  with 
especially 
It  on  the 
ith  deer- 
said  two 
1  he  said 
)n  all  oc- 
ng  wronq; 
following 

returned 
hted  with 
sd  ninety- 
promised 
it  turned 
Dty  house, 

Kusmah 
3.    When 

Melville, 
cided  that 


(295) 


'11 


396 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIOKS. 


Kusmah  had  better  go  alone.  Kusmah  acquiesced,  but  on 
the  following  Friday  we  were  surprised  to  learn  that  he  was 
goinfTf  to  take  Nicolai  Shagra  with  him.  I  have  not  men- 
tioneu  that  the  second  day  after  our  return  to  the  village, 
Nicolai  came  to  us  and  wanted  a  written  paper  from  us,  whicli 
he  promised  to  forward  to  Bulun  at  the  earliest  opportunity. 
I  wrote  a  paper  in  English  and  French,  which  Wilson  put  into 
Swedish,  and  Lauderback  into  German  ;  and  all  four  versions 
of  this  document,  together  with  a  picture  of  the  ship  and  a 
drawing  of  the  American  flag,  were  sewed  up  in  oil-skin  and 
given  to  Nicolai,  who  handed  them  to  his  wife,  and  that  good 
woman  put  them  into  her  cupboard  for  safe-keeping.  They 
were  never  forwarded.  Subsequently  Melville  and  I  pre- 
pared despatches  for  the  Minister  at  St.  Petersburg,  for  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  for  Mr.  James  Gordon  Bennett; 
but  Melville  sent  nothing  by  Kusmah. 

"  The  day  after  we  arrived  it  was  decided  that  I  should  go 
to  Bulun,  as  I  was  in  the  best  physical  condition  and  the  most 
available  person.  For  more  than  two  weeks  my  projected 
trip  was  talked  about  by  us  and  by  the  men.  I  was  to  bring 
back  food  and  deer  sleds  for  the  whole  party,  and  also  to 
take  the  despatches  which  we  had  prepared.  After  my  re- 
turn from  Kusmah's  house,  however,  Melville  decided  that 
Kusmah  should  go  alone,  and  as  he  promised  to  be  back  in 
five  days  he  decided  not  to  send  any  despatches  by  him,  but 
to  take  them  himself  He  seemed  to  think  that  Kusmah  ought 
to  get  there  and  back  quicker  if  he  went  alone,  and  was 
very  much  disappointed  when  he  learned  that  Nicolai  Shagra 
went  with  him. 

"This  man  Kusmah  was  a  robber,  who  had  been  exiled 
there  and  was  dependent  upon  the  natives  in  a  great  measure. 
He  could  not  leave  his  home  without  official  permission ;  but 
he  took  the  responsibility  in  this  emergency,  and  evidendy  had 
to  have  somebody  to  back  him  and  to  assist  him  as  a  witness, 
and  he  therefore,  very  naturally,  took  with  him  the  chief 
of  the  natives,  though  he  first  proposed  to  take  me.  He 
said  that  it  made  no  difference  in  time  if  one  should  accom- 
pany him. 

"The  next  morning  I  told  Melville  that  before  Kusmah  left 
he  should  be  particularly  enjoined  to  spread  the  news  of  the 
two  missing  boats  among  the  natives  everywhere  he  went, 
and  I  said  I  would  like  to  run  over  to  his  house  to  give  him 


NARRATIVE   OF   LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER.  ^^^ 

tlwse  orders.     Melville  consent^r^      t 

•n  sight  with  a  fine  team  of  nine  do^s      if  ^P\'.'^°?  ^^ove 
possession  of  him  and  his  team  anrl  Hr         '"^"^^^lately  took 
house,  where  I  had  a  lonJ^L  "f.^^^^^ 
over  the  charts  with  him  L^orVv""^  ^^'^^^  ^  ^^"t 
me  positively  that  Barkb  was  onV  fifrv       ^''^''°"  ^^  ^^^  ^ 
his  house,  and  I  immed"determinS  :;^'"^^%"°rtheast  of 
for  traces   of  the  missing   borts         f     ^^°p  there  to  seek 
and  told  him  what  I  want?d  toTo      He"^  ^/.f  ^°  Melville 
proposal  at  first,  but  finally  a/reed      mn       /^'^"'  ^°  '^^ 
wrote  a  line  to  mv  brother  \F\xi\-'^^  ^^  Kusmah's  I 

Kusmah  to  mail  aTfiu  un  Mv  e^e  wn"!l°"'  ^"^  ^^^^  '''  '^ 
much.  •     ^^y  ^y^  ^°"^d  not  permit  writing 

sle;!rd'p7„;ftowa'.d1rvie?  ^^^^  °."  SP-<'°n's 
astonished,  but  finally  obeyed  afd"  =«  f  f  t"^''  ^^'>'  ">"* 
reaching  his  house  I  had  f rn „.'  f,  .•    '^"^'*.  ''°'neward.     On 

and  trifd  toge"hi™1ornre"„'T.X*meTo'R\^^^^"'^- 
mornnjg.  But  they  said  that  the  Wwl^^f^'"  "?"' 
-would  prevent  them  from  join?  anXhlTlf  '  .P°«''-"=« 
ble  to  go  there  at  that  time  of  tKar  wV  tr\'T°'='- 
per,  after  which  I  hunted  up  o  d  Cut  ear^d  W  ".^""^  .""P" 
consented  to  take  me  to  Kahonm^h  •  f  t  ^assih,  and  he 
to  the  northwest  of  us  If  I  Z.w'  f ''  '^^P'if^"  ^^'^  ™s 
glad  at  any  rate  to  go  to  the  ni  ^^^  ^°  '°  ^^'•'^'"' '  ^^ 
quarter  and  to  spread^L  net  "°'*"''''  '°  '^^'^'^  '"  *« 

.wiiL^sjrfrSo^r'^^e^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
Ket^r'd-  ::^  st  dl?H- "-""^ 

was  surprised  at  the  tnnfh^.  .  r  ^  shallow  water.     I 

-  thatWm'atwr't'rfh    n^oXw/rt^  ''S^-h'- 1'  """ 

X^rrt'  K°u"strantLt^—  -Ifbe'r  xfn! 
rect.    They  took  mTteck  tn  ^  surni.se  proved  to  be  cor- 

had  another  talk,  a^d'Then  °ag''r::rto\r;r'  71"'  '"^^^ 
Barkm.  I  set  up  the  comoass  3  i^  ^  '°  ■'^''^  ""«  '» 
northeast,  saying  u,at  Sfn  K«smah  pointed  to  the- 

that  direction  b?t  Aat  we  J^n  iTl'  ""'^  ^^'■'^  ^^"-^'^  distant  in 
-stand  then- swiV^rLTd7A?ri!:.?°«-'  '°  'he  south- 
■We  had  to  wait  all  night-forL^^he;';!^- from  our  village. 


298  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

It  came  next  morning,  and  then  we  started  to  the  southeast. 
About  eleven  o'clock  we  came  to  a  big  river  running  north, 
and  I  noticed  that  old  Wassili  looked  up  the  stream  very 
anxiously  and  thoughtfully.  I  set  up  the  compass,  and  when 
the  needle  came  to  rest  the  natives  sung  out  with  delight  and 
surprise,  'Tahrahoo,'  and  pointed  toward  the  south  end  of  the 
needle.  I  insisted,  however,  on  going  north,  but  the  old  man 
said  it  was  impossible,  on  account  of  boos-byral  or  posh-ice. 
I  then  decided  to  let  him  follow  his  intentions  and  see  what 
they  were. 

"About  4  P.  M.,  after  having  travelled  over  a  region  cov- 
ered with  driftwood,  we  reached  a  small  hut  situated  near  a 
bold  headland,  and  the  island  that  they  call  Tahrahoo  was 
about  three  miles  off  shore.  They  said  they  would  take  me 
there  the  next  morning.  At  this  time  another  sled  hove  in 
sight ;  it  was  driven  by  an  old  man  named  Dimitrius,  who  had 
been  sent  after  us  by  Kusmah,  with  a  kettle  and  a  tea-pot  for 
me.  Wassili  and  I  went  upon  the  hill  about  sunset,  and  had 
a  good  view  of  the  river  and  the  adjacent  island.  He  indi- 
cated that  the  steamer  Lena  had  entered  there,  and  that  there 
might  be  some  signs  of  boats  on  the  adjacent  islands;  but  1 
told  him  that  I  wanted  to  go  round  the  headland  and  to  the 
northward.  But  both  old  men  insisted  that  this  would  be 
impossible, 

"The  next  morning,  to  satisfy  me,  they  started  toward  the 
island,  the  two  old  men  and  myself  going  in  advance,  to  test 
the  young  ice.  About  a  mile  off  shore  the  ice  was  black  and 
treacherous,  and  so  unsafe  that  the  old  men  refused  to  go 
any  farther.  So  we  had  to  turn  back  and  return  from  a  fruit- 
less search.  It  demonstrated,  however,  that  what  the  natives 
said  was  true — that  the  ice  was  not  strong  enough  for  travel- 
ling. The  second  night  we  slept  at  Kusmah's,  and  then  re- 
turned to  Geemovialocke. 

"At  the  end  of  five  days  Kusmah  had  not  returned,  and  it 
was  not  until  October  29th  that  he  put  in  an  appearance, 
after  an  absence  of  thirteen  days.  On  his  way  back,  at  Ku- 
mak  Surka,  he  had,  however,  met  with  the  two  men  of  the 
captain's  party,  Noros  and  Nindemann,  who  had  written  a 
brief  statement  about  the  condition  of  the  captain's  party. 
They  gave  it  to  Kusmah,  and  he  hastened  to  bring  it  to  us. 
He  told  us  that  the  men  were  to  have  reached  Bulun  the 
previous    day    (October    28th);    so    Melville    immediately 


NARRATIVE   OF   I  TEUTENANT  DANENHOWER.  299 

Started  with  old  Wassili  and  dop-  teams  tn  fin,^  ^K^ 

learn  the  position  of  .he  capt^^?par.7a"d  ct^foocTto 

"On  November  ist,  the  Bulun  commandant,  a  Cossack 
named  Gregory  IVl.ketereff  Baishofi;  came  to  us  with  a  eood 
supply  of  bread,  deer-meat,  and  tea.     He  han^^rl  „,.  o^ 
ocument  addressed  to  the  American  Mini  te"  a's"   Peter"^ 
^^d^liP^t,,^-S;.s-^^^^^^^^^ 

to  us,  and  that  Melville,  after  seeinrthe  n"    cfuld  "'eTto'th: 
captam  much  quicker  than  we  could;  so  I  immedfate  v  He 

Tn^i  '^,<^°™'"^"F  ">  Melville,  hy  spec  a  courier  tmes" 
HBartlett,  fireman,  who  was  the  best  man  of  the  palrat 
tha  t,me.  The  commandant  at  the  same  time  had  ."^fe  fore 
^ght  to  appoint  a  rendezvous  at  which  he  and  I  should  mee 
Mely,lle  on  h,s  way  north.  He  also  sent  a  letter  to  a  sutor- 
dmate,  ordenng  him  to  equip  Melville  for  the  journey  TWs 
man  was  a  non-commissioned  officer  of  Cossacks,  and  he 
ac  ed  with  great  intelligence  and  good  judgment.     He  was 

yir!!'ofage°^  ^"^  '"'"•"■'"'  ""'''  ^^e  whfskers,  forty-rwo 
"Bartlert  started  that  night  with  a  deer  team,  and  was  likelv 

togettoB.lun  only  a  few  hours  after  Melvi  le,  beca'Le  the 

;i-  had  taken  the  dog  road,  which  was   240  versts  bnt 

e  th2  deer  road  was  only  eighty  versts  across  countrf' 

^ommandant  had  come  by  the  deer  road,  thus  miss  ng 

».*,l!e.     i  told  the  commandant   that   he  must  get  us  t? 

B„ km  as  soon  as  possible,  but  he  was  rather  non-coi  .mUta? 

and  would  not  state  a  definite  time  for  startine        ^°"'"""^'- 
"That  night  I  slept  uneasily  and  was  awake  by  four  o'clock 

nat  morning.     Efim  was  up,  and  I  asked  him  where  he  was 

ZL  l^'  '"-n  """'  '"f  ^™^g°i"^  with  the  commandant  ?o 

tdd  Wm    0  r  'fh  "''"■'   ^^5'"^""   ='"''   Wassili  lived      I 

old  him    o  tell  the  commandant  to  come  to  me  immedi- 

«e!y.    I  thought  I  would  try  a  high-handed  game  wUhthis 

miri'Tf '"''='"'•""''  ■'  ^°'^'''^  admirably.     He  came 
to  me  about  five  a.  m..  in  imlfnrm  on,i  i  ._i  j  i.f:.   ,,    ..  .? .  ^ 

did  not  get  us  clothed  and  started  "by-d'a^right'next  mo;2j 


300 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


I  would  report  him  to  General  Tchernieff  and  have  him 
punished ;  but  that  if  he  did  well  and  got  us  ready  he  would 
be  handsomely  rewarded.  He  accepted  the  situation  gravely 
and  said  '  Karascho,'  which  meant  '  all  right'  I  invited  him 
to  sleep  with  us  the  next  night ;  and  the  next  morning,  at 
daylight,  fourteen  dog  teams,  with  about  two  hundred  dogs, 
were  assembled  at  our  village,  and  the  natives  brought  us 
an  ample  supply  of  skin  clothing.  This  was  Thursday,  No- 
vember 3d. 

"  We  started  for  Bulun,  and  on  Saturday  met  Melville  at 
Kumak  Surka  Serai,  which  is  the  first  deer  station.  I  had  a 
long  consultation  with  him,  and  he  told  me  that  there  was  no 
possible  hope  for  the  captain's  party,  but  that  he  and  the  two 
natives  were  going  to  the  spot  where  Noros  and  Nindemann 
had  left  him,  and  also  to  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  look  for  relics. 
He  told  me,  further,  that  he  had  left  written  orders  at  Bulun 
for  m.e  to  proceed  to  Yakutsk  with  the  whole  party.  I  will 
here  state  that  his  orders  to  me  were  given  by  virtue  of  a 
written  order  from  Lieutenant  DeLong  which  placed  him  in 
command  of  my  boat,  and  all  persons  embarked  in  the  boat 
were  made  subject  to  Melville's  orders  and  directions.  This 
I  knew  to  be  unlawful ;  but,  as  the  ciptain  was  the  highest 
naval  authority  at  the  time,  I  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  obey. 
And  so  I  had  accepted  duty  under  Melville  from  the  time  of 
the  separation,  because  I  considered  that  it  was  my  duty, 
under  the  circumstances,  to  do  so. 

"We  arrived  at  Bulun  on  Sunday,  and  the  commandant  in- 
formed me  that  we  must  remain  until  the  following  Saturday. 
I  found  written  orders  from  Melville  telling  me  to  proceed  to 
Yakutsk  with  the  whole  party  as  soon  as  possible,  and  there 
await  his  arrival ;  but  he  told  me  verbally  at  Kumak  Surka 
Serai  to  leave  Bartlett  at  Bulun. 

"As  transportation  farther  south  could  be  provided  for  only 
six  of  the  party,  I  took  the  five  weakest  men  and  started  for 
Verkhoyansk,  leaving  the  other  six  to  follow  when  Melville 
should  return.  I  left  written  orders  with  Bartlett  to  start  a 
search  party  out  for  Melville  in  case  he  did  not  return  by 
November  20th.  The  resources  of  Bulun  were  very  limited, 
it  being  only  a  village  of  about  twenty  houses  ;  and  our  pres- 
ence there  made  fearful  inroads  on  their  winter  stock.  We 
travelled  by  deer  sled  to  Verkhoyansk,  a  distance  of  900 
versts.     T.icnce  to  Yakutsk  by  means  of  deer,  oxen  and 


NARRATIVE   OF    LIEUTENANT   DANENHOWER.  30, 

Lx;%tT8TIr:^e^er;=;r"^7'- '-- p'- D. 

ville  arrived  at  Yakutsk,  and  soon  afte^^rd  V.  '°h''  "^:'- 
men  came  on.     On  New  Year'..  /Z  ,,"*™^™  'he  other  six 

Che  Jeannette  were  all  prel't" '^^  tsk     'nr""'™?  °' 
were  in  good  condition  but  mv  l^ff  '"=  "'°'"  "f  "s 

abled,  and  the  rigl^    one  47,,  ffl'  '"' u^'  <:on>pletely  dis- 
man  was  insane  and  had  to  be  k^n^!!^  ^^  sympathy.     One 

.as  disabled  slighHyw?tirf™.enPf!.et"'"  *■"'"'"'■  ^"''  '--^'' 

"  Melville  started  north  from  V^i-.V  i    i 
with  him  Bartiett  and  N  ndemaln     N    ^r"""'^'  fth.  taking 
was  one  of  the  men  who  had  btr""^:!''^^'"^""  ^^^^"'^^  J'e 
lett  because  he  had  p  eked  uptlittl'V^  ^"^  ^^'"t- 

along  first  rate  witf  the  naLe  "^  MostT.ir^'  '"'''  ^f' 
have  been  worse  than  usele«  K^o  i       ^'^"^  "'''"  ^^uld 

made  themselves   under  ^od    and    w^  l^^ve 

waited  on  by  the  natives  '  """^"^   ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^o  be 

"At  Yakutsk  Melville  rpr^^Jv*.^  fU    c 
Secretary  of  the  Navf  wS^td    e^d'hTni'^M  'T  ''t 

::^«':r  e^- .trfrkutk'-^  o^dUlt  ^'rt 
lantic  seaboard.  At  ?rkll  l  r^  •  '/"i  "'"'"'^^  '°  "'«  At- 
department  ordering  n  e  ,o  rem'^rinH  ''^^P?'^'>«,  f™-"  'he 
but  I  was  quite  unable  to  do  ^7  After  Z\T  ""  •''"■■^''■ 
of  our  life  in  the  north  my  ey";  be4„  o  troull'""""'"' 
and  more,  and  having  eot  cold  i„  ,^.  '°  '™'iule  me  more 

journey  from  YakutsUo  Irkutsk  UvaT  cn"""^„"i"  ^''^^S^ 
professional  advice  The  two  „..  r  .  I  """IP'^^^^d  to  seek 
n.e  that  my  leftTye  was  ™ined  'nH  I  .TJ  ~"^"''^d  told 
prevent  the  richt  onrfmm  belt  '''°"'1  ^^  '^'^>="  "«  to 
should  not  rea'd  or  write  TndshfuldnoH''^  ''f'""^  '  "'«  ^ 

r^ht  eye  was  in.a  betted' con1lit°n"'' Th'^el^^^^^^^^ 

lists  about  my  r  crhc  eye  were  a^  GrJ       *^^PO"s  ot  the  ocu- 

that  was  why  I  proposed  to  , J-    ^  ^^  encouraging,  and 

steamer  Lenl  in-order  to  make  .  ^"P^^^"^^"^  *«  charter  the 
also  asked  for  twrofficersTo  h'  /P''"^  '"^^"^  ^^'^  ^'^'PP-  I 
[f-y  right  eye  broke  down  Le'luldir^' ^'"'"V^^^^ 
here  to  take  my  place.  "'^"  ^*^  somebody 

"Melville  told  me  every  detail  r^f  h;.  *  •       r 
days  from  Bulun.     He  saTs  he  hL  .        i"P  ""^  twenty-three 

a.<;  far  .o "      ,      ^^y^  he  has  traced  the  canfaln'c:  ^..^v 

■  -"  «--  -  -"""cr  Hunting  station  called  Sisteranek.*  oA'^^h^ 


302 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


west  bank  of  the  Lena,  and  that  the  party  must  be  some- 
where between  that  station  and  Bulcour,  neither  of  which 
places  is  marked  on  the  ordinary  map.  They  had  been  two 
days  without  food  when  Noros  and  Nindemann  left  them, 
and  the  region  is  devoid  of  game  and  inhabitants.  The  men 
had  insufficient  clothing,  and  there  is  no  reasonable  hope. 

"  I  think  Chipp's  boat  swamped  during  the  gale,  tor  she 
nearly  did  so  on  a  previous  occasio^,  and  was  a  very  bad  sea 
boat.  If  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the  coast  he  had  less  food 
than  the  other  boats,  and  his  chances  of  life  were  therefore 
worse  than  the  captain's  party.  If  his  boat  swamped  she 
would  probably  come  to  the  surface  after  the  bodies  floated 
out ;  she  had  not  sufficient  weight  in  her  to  keep  her  down. 
The  specific  gravity  of  pemmican  is  nearly  that  of  water, 
and  we  found  that  some  of  the  canisters,  which  probably  con- 
tained air  space,  would  actually  float.  The  sleeping-bags, 
when  water  soaked,  would  be  the  heaviest  weight  in  the  boat, 
and  these  were  probably  thrown  overboard  in  the  gale.  The 
northeast  winds  continued  two  days  after  the  gale,  and  Chipp's 
boat  may  have  drifted  ashore  near  the  mouth  of  the  Olenek, 
if  not  carried  to  the  northeast  as  the  driftwood  seems  to  be 
—that  is,  to  the  New  Siberian  Islands." 


CHAPTER  XVni. 

REUEF    EXPEDITIONS    FOR   THE   JEANNETm. 

First  Cruise  of  the  Corwin    jSflr.     c 

b.,Be"-N<.Tldi„e.  of  „„;.,„„,„  '»"">"  Alliance  .o  Hamm.rf,.,  .„d  Spi.. 

When  the  North  Pacific  whaling  fleet  of  ,R,„  I  , 
from  their  cru  se  ater  than  .,«„-,!  *"  "1  °' '°79  had  returned 
of  the  Jeannette,  and  i  was  fu"  theT'  il."'"  5"k"«'"S  ''"y  word 
number,  the  Mount  WolCfon  and  ,-  v"'^'  "-'*°  °^  '''^'' 
seen  later  than  October  lotl  ad  ten  fn  ^he  '"''  "°'  ''^^" 
where  the  Jeannette  had  been  !-.«  .„  u     ^^'"'^  '''^g'O'' 

to  be  felt  fir  the  ships      In  the  fo  In^  '  "'"'''  ?"'''^'y  ''4an 

Revenue    Steamer  ^Co.l",^'V:^Z"hT%°' '''''''' 
ordered  to  proceed  from  San  F„„  •  Hooper,   was 

waters  of  Alkska,  and  to^fford,.-"""'^"  on  a  cruise  in  the 
should  be  fallen   n  with      Thf  ^^"«?nce  to  the  ships  if  they 

after  a  rough  passage  of  tw^ve  d^ vT"  T'^f  "'  0""^'^='<^ 
June  8th,  and  touching  at  St!  Paut^  iar","^.''?""  ™'"^''  P°« 
she  shaped  her  course  for  Cans  P„       ^^  J '  '°"S-  169°  Si', 
of  tlie  nth  first  struck    he  ice'^L^u'"fT^'  ?"'"  =''  ^^yl'gh 
60°  N„  long.  ,6o»  W      The   h"  "''  "f^ounivak  Island,  fat. 

along  the  edge  of  the  pack  mad.T^  P'^''""^  ^"^^  grinding 
fc  way.  and°the  CorwTn  anX'ed  ^"f  ^'°  ^"f "P'  to  fore? 
going  down  of  the  gale  on  he  ,  ,*  Ar  '''"^°'  ""'"  "'« 
twenty  miles  through  leads  d  iL/ o\  r  •*°'''"'"S:  about 

'he  15th  Captain  Hooper  C  h"  T  '""'=, '°  ""'«•  °n 
drifting  with  the  pack  southward  t?^^'  "'""'^y  ''^^'P'^s, 
miles  per  hour.     At  8  a   m  h,  •''  "^^^"^"d  about  two 

water  imong  grounded  ice  wWcir'  '"  f"'^  "^^  '"^"'""is  of 
'■•ying  her  Strength  At  on*  iri/rr  ?^  ^^■"'^'  =''■■"■?  nips, 
bodily  several  fe'it,  and  held  usnen  f  H^°/"'"  "=■=  '"''«''  "P 
conning  i„  contact  ^ith  one  ■■  stern'^on  •■  1h  L"" "  "''""'^^^ 
over,  the  screw  steering  ^ear  "aHed  t^'"'^'^^-: ''?'  fo-'ced     . 

.^  „     -    -ci..iea  away,  ana   the  wheel 

(303) 


304 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


chains  parted.  Happily  the  rudder  stock,  which  was  of  the 
best  Oregon  oak,  stood  the  strain,  although  for  a  time  it 
seemed  as  if  nothing  could  save  it.  On  the  i6th  the  ship 
continued  to  drift  helplessly  all  day. 

On  the  17th  a  sharp  northeast  gale  broke  up  the  ice  and 
started  it  off  shore,  allowing  the  Corwin  to  proceed  towards 
Norton  Sound  and  St.  Michael's,  where  she  was  agam  de- 
tained several  days. 


IN  A  "LEAD"  IN  AN  ARCTIC  ICE-FIELD. 

On  the  28th  the  Corwin  entered  the  Arctic  Sea;  on  the 
•joth  she  made  two  whalers,  one  of  which  had  communicated 
with  the  natives  at  Point  Hope,  but  could  learn  no  ROod 
tidinjrs  there.  Following  the  ice-pack  around  from  Upe 
Serdze  Kamen,  she  learned  from  the  natives  and  whalers 

...:«.i 4-  ^^r^^^ur^n  thai-  m  their  oninion  nothing  would  ever  be 

heard  of  the  Mount  Wollaston  or  the  Vigilant,     [hey  were 
reported  as  last  seen  by  Captain  Bauldry  of  the  Helen  Mar 


REUEF    EXPEDITIONS    FOR   THE  JEANNETTE.  305 

they  were  steering  '         '°  *^  ''"'•^"'^■•d.  in  which  direction 

returned  to  San'^FrSr^H^^errthVcorw'"'  ''"''''"?' 
grengthened  and  fitted  out  for^^oSe^';™™" i^he^ 

seco"d'c:ufse.  t^aZt  'I!;^f'  ^°™'"  -'  -'  <">  her 
laska  on  the  1 8th  Sailfn..  S  o^'?  f"^'^''  ^'  0""a- 
ship  reached  St  Paul's  h^^H,^?/^,  Ounalaska  May  22d,  the 
Ounalaska  that  tl  e  preceint  li^^7"f  t'^'"S  '^"^  «=  « 
snow  light.     The  thermometfrZ^  k  ^''  ''^*"  "'"''  ='"''  'he 

-ro.  !)n  the  .Xi^aT'  »^1'N"^rr^;r:^,'''^^■^ 
the  wind  blowinrhaVd  fro'"  7^,  n^  ,1"  ""■""^  ?*■  ^"^d''-  Gulf, 
sea  running;  thS  course  was^Ln.ir^'c'' ";"'' ^  ='>°«  ^eav; 
which  was  found  covered  wth,?.  for  St  Lawrence  Island, 
by  ice.  As  soon  as  Ihe  vel'l  IT.  ''"/  f^"""''  surrounded 
was  made  for  the  :ht,irch  tTytg-'^o^ ^f^^  f-^al  ™  h 
llie  nm  of  ice  wa<?  nrnKiKi,,  ^    \:'^  ,       ^  ^^^^  to  land. 

full  of  hollows  z\zltLZ'zziJ:t^,  ^".f  ■  -<» 

narrow  escapes  from  eolncr  in^o  fit  7  ^  -'  ^'''^^'  ^°"ie 
through  it  in  various  d^recdoncth  I  ^^P  "'^'""^^  ^^^^^h  run 
.general  scramble  ud  the  almn?/  '^'T  Y^'  '^^^'^^^'-  ^"^  a 
While  this  was  bei'ng  donrK^Tt"'"'  '°^'^  '°"°"^^- 
mountaineer,  came  o%er  "i";  fee  ^vkh  ,n  .""''-^^'^P"'^ 
reaching  the  island  a  few  mdred  feet  ?arH'  '"  ^''',  ^^""^''  ""^ 
a  bank  of  frozen  snow  ;,n!i   •  f       .^^  "°^^'^'  opposite 

standing  at  an  anTe  of  fift?  T"  '^""^''"^  ^^^^  ^^.^^^  ^"^ 
steps,  and  ascended  the  ice  ^liffle?'  -0";menced  cutting 
reached  without  apparent  d!fficd>v  Tr''^  ''^V'^'  ^'^  ^°«" 
niitof  the  island  wafaained  bv  i^ '  T'^^  ^'^'^  ''^'^  '^^^  ^""^- 
cuk  nor  dancrerous     ^  ^     ^'^"^"^^  ^'^^"^  "^'t^^er  diffi- 


^^::/i^^l^.^^y[t.^  -ent  through  a 
veral  n;,rrr.,„  ^..^J.. .■;  "'r.^    ^"'"  "   '     "  "     "      " 


small 

several  narrow 

top  of  the  ravine 


escapes  from  fallino- 


30 


but    then  found    that 


bed,  succeeded  after 
reaching  the 
■  ascent  was 


roc 


W 


206  ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

scarcely  begun,  for  above  them  was  a  plain  surface  of  nearly 
a  thousand'^feet  high,  and  so  steep  that  the  rock  which  cov- 
ered it  at  the  slightest  touch  came  thundering  to  the  bottom. 
Hooper  had  now  to  interpose  his  authority,  and  order  a 
retreat  for  the  safety  of  this  party  v»^hose  descent  was  made, 
one  at  a  time,  the  upper  ones  remaining  quiet  till  the  lower 
ones  were  out  of  danger. 
The  top  of  the  island,  ordinarily  inaccessible,  under  the 


A  WAVE-WORN   ICEBERG. 

skilful  guidance  of  Professor  Muir,  had  been  thus  reached  by 
a  large  party,  and  everywhere  carefully  searched  for  traces 
of  the  Jeannette  and  missing  whalers.  All  prominent  points 
were  carefully  examined  for  cairns,  but  none  were  found,  or 
anything  which  would  indicate  that  the  island  had  ever 
before  been  visited  by  human  beings. 

From  Kolintchin  Island  a  sledge  party,  consisting  of  First- 
Lieutenant  Herring,  Third-Lieutenant  Reynolds,  Coxswain 
Gessler,  and  two  natives,  with  twenty-five  dogs,  tour  sleds, 
one  skin-boat,  one  tent,  and  well  supplied  with  blankets,  pro- 


RELIEF   EXPEDITIONS    TOR   THE   JEANNETO.  ^^j 

but  did  not  hear  any  news  of  theTn     tte  "''"'y^'^^^  "^^ys. 

~Frrth:t' ^,:,  t  ai 'v '^-  "'^'°  "^""'^  ^tt''^"" 

Land,  the  n-agrtrc'Ve^.l-gtrfts"'  eT.eS  °'  ^'^"«^" 
Professor  Muir  as  south  40°  ■  west  »„M  ^  i*"""*^  8'"^"  ^y 
so„th6.«.6';  west  and  Toriu\7^f^XU°°''rr^'  '' 
tour  of  the  eastern  end  of  the  \:.nA  ^\      '-'     ^'^^  <^o"- 

about  forty  miles  distant,  but  farther  /^'  '^^-"''^  ^"^^^^  ^^ 
a  blue  line  appeared  above  tJi-  ^"^7'  ""^  '^^  "orth  side, 
to  be  land   ''tenl^^lnTh  t' J]^^^^^^^^^  ^"-  -'PPosed 

reached  the  summit,  all  sense  of  fc^cr ,?'  -,  ^^J^  Party  who 
night  sun  was  shining  ^illU^^^;  T'^^"^'  ^°'*  ^^^  '^'d- 
the  waste  of  the  ice,  s?a.  and  f  S"^  '^^'"'°^'  ^°^°""^  -" 

While  the  exploration  on  the  island  ^..  • 
Corwm  steamed  around  to  the  north  ."'^  ^'  ^?'"^  °"'  'he 
tween  the  grounded  and  L  driftTre  !  ^  '"  ^  ^^"^  '^^^  ^e- 
tion  of  the  shore  line  At  ,  ,o  /  "^  "1?^^  ^"  ^^^"^^"a- 
returned  to  the  vessel  she  ca J  off  r'  ^"  ,.^"  ^'^"'^^  ^^^ing 
steamed  throucrh  the  drift  tot  VT  ^^^  S^'-ound-ice  and 
reached  about  6.30  a  m      The  Co.  '^'"'  ^"!"^'  ^^^'^  ^^s 

.l.y  determined' hy  U^St  trtt.  r^trrtf 

From    this  first  exploration  of  Wrang-ell   I  »nH    r        • 
Hooper  crossed  over  to  Pr,;r,i.  n„  r<»ngeii   Land,  Captam 

of  the  crew  of  tl,e  wI?aW  Da„T.I°wl''^''''  ''*=  ''°""d  a  part 
not  having  een  famiHar  wT,h  A  f-  ^^^="^'-.  whose  captain, 
in  a  lead°just  ha^an  hT,  r  f ""  '  "^^'g^'ion.  had  remained 
crushed.  Nine  of  the  crew  whn^h';i°"S''  '°  ''^^"^  ''^^  ^'"P 
were  taken  aboard  the  C^jh,t  T"^?^^  '°  "'«  ^''^^e 
to  Icy  Cape.  ™'"'  °"'^''=  ''^ving  gone  overland 

™fc;i^*'in''pirr  Ba^'  T'"  """^^^  ^'"''-^  "^  ^ 

Fleece,  with  Lieuten^nrRay  J  hTu"?  a"^!"  "Tc^"'^^" 
on  his  wav  tn  ^coki.vu  ^^' °V  •  -^- '^- ^'""^^  Service, 
Barrow.      '   '"      -^"=^  ^  meteorological   station  at  Point 

On  the  .;th  the  Convin  sailed  to  the  northward,  and  soon 


2o8  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

after  a^ain  sighted  the  blue  peaks  of  Wrangell  Land,  stand- 
ino-  alo'ng  the  ice-pack  from  which  she  neared  Herald  Island, 
but,  in  a^'fierce  gale  that  lasted  several  days,  lost  her  iron  ice- 
breaker, and,  as  the  oak  sheathing  which  had  protected  the 
soft  Oregon  plank  around  her  bows  was  also  entirely  gone, 
the  captain  could  not  again  venture  into  the  ice.  After  cruis- 
ing eastward  into  the  vicinity  of  Kotzebue  Sound  and  Hotham 
Inlet,  and  at  St.  Michaels  receiving  on  board  a  second  party 
of  shipwrecked  men,  the  cutter  went  on  her  way  to  San  Fran- 
Cisco,  where  she  arrived  October  21st,  1881. 

On  the  1 6th  day  of  June,  1881,  the  steamship  Rodgers, 
Captain  Berry,  formerly  the  Helen  and  Mary,  started  from 
San  Francisco  on  a  cruise  for  the  Jeannette.  In  addition  to 
the  very  large  amount  of  stores  and  pemmican  purchased 
from  the  remainder  of  the  Jeannette  search  expedition  appro- 
priation, the  ship  ha4  received  three  years'  full  navy  rations, 
ample  for  thirty-five  officers  and  men  for  five  years.  The 
Rodo-ers  safely  arrived  at  Wrangell  Island  a  second  time  on 
September  22d,  and  on  September  27th  Captain  Berry  turned 
south  fo-  winter-quarters,  and  arrived  at  St.  Lawrence  Bay 
on  the  1 6th  day  of  October.  The  preparations  for  the  winter 
were  unfortunately  kept  back  by  continued  bad  weather,  which 
prevented  the  transfer  to  the  shore  of  a  large  part  of  the 
provisions  and  supplies. 

November  20th,  Ensign  Hunt  started  up  the  coast  with  a 
dog-team,  to  visit  the  camp  of  Master  Putnam,  but  was  com- 
pelled by  severe  storms  to  return  to  the  ship.  In  the  morn- 
ina  of  November  30th,  the  starding  cry  of  fire  was  heard  on 
bolird  the  Rodgers,  issuing  from  the  liold,  which  was  so  closely 
filled  with  stores  that  it  was  next  to  impossible  to  get  water 
into  it.  By  4  p.  m.  some  of  these  had  been  secured,  the  men 
working  in  the  smoke  and  carbonic  acid  gas  below  decks;  the 
boats  beinc^  loaded,  the  ship  was  abandoned  at  midnight. 
She  drifted  up  the  bay,  rigging  and  sails  on  fire,  and  her 
magazine  exploded  in  the  early  morning.  The  cause  of  the 
fire^could  not  be  learned ;  it  was  probably  from  spontaneous 
combustion,  or  from  the  firing  of  the  deck  underneath  from 
the  donkey-boiler. 

In  a  camp  formed  of  overturned  boats,  sails  and  tents, 
officers  and  crew  found  a  shelter  from  a  violent  snow-storm; 
next  morning  a  party  of  natives  from  the  village  Noornamoo, 
seven  miles  off,  camc^  to  offer  a  hospitable  refuge  in  their  huts, 


3  Q-et  water 


■^i^K   ^X.KI>„-IONS    KOK    THE  JEANNEnK.  309 

uncomfortable  exchange  o"sh,B  nt  f"^""^"''  "'=''='"2  "'« 


ATTACKED  BY  WALRUS. 

;livided  into  four  parties,  and  sr;,tf...d  -n  '■h--^-      -         -m 
•'vunin  a  radius  of  twenty  miles" ""  '''"^'*  vUhges 


3IO 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


relief,  meeting  Lieutenant  Berry,  who  was  on  his  way  to  Mas- 
ter Putnam's  camp.  The  latter  had  been  left  near  Cape 
Serdze,  to  explore  the  coast  in  search  of  the  Jeannette.  Con- 
tinuing his  trip  under  orders,  he  delivered  his  provisions  on 
January  4th,  and  on  the  loth  started  on  his  return  accom- 
panied by  Hunt,  Zane,  Castillo,  and  three  natives,  driving 
his  own  team  of  nine  dogs.  In  an  attempt  to  face  a  heavy 
gale,  probably  not  having  th^  ability  to  control  the  dogs,  or 
not  being  aware  of  the  abri  -ation  from  the  course  taken 

by  the  other  sleds,  he  misseu  >  way  in  crossing  the  bay  and 
drifted  out  to  sea  on  an  ice-floe.  An  immediate  hunt  which 
was  entreated  of  the  ratives,  was  not  permitted  that  night 
by  the  violence  of  the  gale,  and  the  wind  unhappily  detached 
the  ice  from  the  shore,  and  carried  it  to  sea ;  next  morning 
all  was  clear  water.  On  the  14th  and  on  the  17th  the  search 
was  renewed  along  the  shore  thirty  miles,  but  no  good  news 
was  heard ;  on  the  29th  it  was  learned  that  six  of  the  dogs 
had  come  ashore  without  harness,  one  of  them  with  a  pistol- 
shot  wound  in  his  neck,  given  probably  by  Putnam,  who  in- 
tended to  use  it  for  food,  had  he  succeeded  in  escaping.  He 
was  seen  three  days  afterward,  being  carried  out  to  sea,  but 
an  earnest  effort  to  reach  him  in  a  canoe  failed,  the  ice  cut- 
ting through  the  boat.  How  long  he  survived  can  never  be 
known ;  the  temperature  was  from  twenty  to  forty  degrees 
below  zero,  and  he  had  no  protection  from  the  fierce  winds, 
except  his  warm  clothing.  His  death  was  either  from  the 
cold,  want  of  food,  or  from  the  breaking  up  of  the  floe.  A 
month's  search  on  the  shore  made  by  Waring  and  Stoney 
revealed  nothing  more  of  one  of  the  most  promising  officers 
of  the  expedition. 

In  the  meantime,  February  8th,  Lieutenant  Berry,  as  yet 
unacquainted  with  this  sad  disaster,  left  Cape  Serdze  with 
Hunt  to  follow  the  coast  westward  in  search  of  the  missing 
crews ;  arriving  at  the  Russian  post  of  Nishne  March  24th, 
he  learned  of  the  landing  of  part  of  the  Jeannette's  crew  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Lena,  and  continued  his  journey,  overtaking 
Chief  Engineer  Melville's  search  party,  and  proceeding  to 
Yakutsk.  Berry  intended  to  fit  out  a  new  expedition,  but  on 
learning  that  Lieutenant  Harber  had  been  ordered  by  Secre- 
tary Chandler  to  make  a  summer  search,  he  returned  home, 
and  Hunt  joined  Harber. 

The  party  from  the  Rodgers  left  on  shore  at  St.  Lawrence 


krisions  on 


RELIEF   EXPEDITIONS    FOR    THE   JEANNETTE.  3,, 

Bay,  under  Master  Warino-  IT   Q  m 

the  whaling  barque  North^Sf^;  C.  r  ^^^  ;:.^c^ived  on  board 
Bedford,  May  8th  llf^rcaotafn  £  ^  '?  ^^  ?"  ^^^"■^'  ^^  New 
letter  which  Vanngha7ntru  SI"!  '.f^  ^^^-'^^  P^^^^  ^^  ^ 
passing  whaling  vessel,  had  forced  ll  ""^^?^  ^^^  ^"X 

site  ice  for  their  rescue      On  tW  'P  through  the  oppo- 

inwith  the  reven^e'cuiter^'corlln  ^ 

transferred  to  her  arrivfn,,  in  c      i^        .^odgfers  party  were 

Another  exp'S'tionTn  s^earch  of  tt' 1'"'°  ^""^  '''^■'^''■ 
by  the  United  States  government  undir""'"''  T'  '™'  °" 
and  Wadleigh.    The  United  St?,^'=  Commanders  Cooper 

Hampton  R^oads  Jm,e  "eth  Tsl     .T/'^'T^'"?'  ^"'^"'=«  '^f 
of  Hammerfest,  Norway  July  t'th"^  ^°'''°'^'' '"  "'«  ''^^^^^ 

unto  :^„s  se;t^ir,.'ft '&''^'^^^n"'  -"  "--d 

rw^uMTeVntfir'at^tTt:^^;^^ 

.ember  ajth.  under  the  ii^  actons  ofThe  r"?'-  ^''P" 
already  named,  he  began  his  re  n^^  ^  •  •  ^''P^I}'"^"^  as 
October  loth,  Halifaxl^ov^lr,-  nV """"^i"?  ^^  Reykiavik, 
York,  on  the  m  WhratT;k^r'r^'  '^''.^"^  New 
from  Governor  Finssen  of  tht    Keyk  avik  he  received  news 

chant  vessel  o?  ."c^Tont  u::'."?' '"fsTtrTf^^  °^^  "•- 
outs  de  of  Thorshaven     Thi  „1  , '  °"  '"*=  '■°<^'^s  just 

had  been  made  of  this  sWo  1,?H  f.^T"'^'  -^^niination  which 
Jamestown,  Boston  Mass  fe  /°""''  "P°"  "  ""=  '"^'^nption 
tion  offered  to  Comniander  wl  ,?■'"?"■  '!,°^'=^"'''  "°  i"^™^- 

ner  the  slightest  S:Tei:^r\S;'of"1rA^^^^^^ 


li^ 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

METEOROLOGICAL   STATIONS   IN   THE   POLAR   REGIONS. 

An  International  Congress — Stations  Recommended  by  the  Polar  Commission — The  In- 
structions  of  the  Officers  in  Command  of  these  Expeditions — Preliminary  Expedition  of 
the  schooner  Florence — Valuable  Scientific  Observations. 

In  September,  1875,  the  late  Lieutenant  Carl  Weyprecht, 
one  of  the  commanders  of  the  Arctic  expedition  in  the  ill- 
fated  Tegetthoff  and  the  discoverer  of  Franz  Joseph's  Land, 
first  made  the  proposition,  that  the  world  should  unite  in  one 
uniform  system  of  magnetic  and  meteorological  observations 
at  as  many  stations  as  possible,  as  well  in  the  Arctic  as  in 
the  Antarctic  regions.  These  results  were  to  be  compared 
with  those  to  be  obtained  in  the  temperate  zones.  The  estab- 
lishment of  an  official  Polar  Commission  was  the  result,  all 
the  members  of  which  were  clothed  with  authority  by  their 
respective  governments.  This  commission  recommended  that 
the  following  stations  should  be  occupied  by  observers,  to  be 
appointed  by  the  respective  governments : 

By  the  United  States,  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  Grinnell  Land, 
N.  lat.  81°  44',  W.  long.  64°'  30',  and  Ooglaamie,  near  Point 
Barrow,  Alaska,  N.  71°  18'  lat.,  long.  W.  156°  24';  by  Austro- 
Hungary,  Jan  Mayen,  lat.  N.  70°  58',  long.  8°  35',  and  Pola, 
lat.  N.  70°  52',  E.  long.  13°  51'-  by  Denmark,  Godthaab,  lat. 
64°  10',  W.  long.  51°  45';  by  Finland,  Soudan  Kyla,  lat.  N. 
67°  24',  E.  long.  26°  36';  by  France,  Cape  Horn,  lat.  S.  56* 
00',  W.  long.  67°  00';  by  Germany,  South  Georgia  Island,  S. 
lat.  54°  30',  W.  long.  38°  00',  and  Kingawa,  N.  lat.  67°  30',  W. 
long.  67°  30'  (Hogarth  Inlet,  Cumberland  Sound)  ;  by  Great 
Britain  and  Canada,  Fort  Rae  or  Fort  Simpson,  on  Great 
Slave  Lake,  N.  lat.  62°  30',  W.  long.  115°  40',  and  Toronto, 
where  observations  will  be  made  by  Canada,  N.  lat.  43°  39', 
W.  long.  79°  23';  by  Holland,  Dickson  Haven,  or  Port  Dick- 
son, N.  lat.  'jT,°  30',  E.  long.  82°  00';  by  Italy,  Punta  Arenas, 
Patagonia,  S.  lat.  53°  10',  W.  long.  70°  55';  by  Russia,  Nova 
Zembla  (Karmakule  Bay),  N.  lat.  72°  30',  E.  long.  53°  00',  and 

(312) 


METEOROLOGICAL    NATIONS. 


MoiK-h  Of  the  Lena.  N.  lat.  730  00'  F  In 
Sweden,  Spitsbergen.  N.  lat.  7qo  ,?^k  ,  ^°"^-  '^4°  40';  by 
Aro^entme  Republic,  steps  have^LnM"!?'  '^°°°'''  ^^  ^^^ 
magnetic  observatory  at  CoTdoh^    q",  ^^"  '°  establish  a 

64°  30'.     A  number  of  ''Auxihart  sf..^'  ^'^  ^°'  ^-  ^°"^ 
posed.  auxiliary  Stations     were  also  pro- 

In  addition   to  thf  ft««    ^  .• 

.he  Geographical  SocieTy^f  /CcounT'^  ""'"^^  f""-  ^"^^ia, 
tarn  seven  special  me.eoro  olical  Z  7  P''?P°^5d  «o  main: 
United  States  Signal  Officer  r?nn!,^°"^  '"  ^^^ri^-  The 
ing  named  countries  v,-ere  cConer.  ?  '"  -"P?  """  '^e  follow! 
in  the  work  of  Polar  research  •'^?^^"^  """'  "'«  ""''ed  States 
North  Adantic,  and  SolTceo^ZT'lV'/^"'^"^""'  '^'^"d 
Ocean  ;  England  and  CanadkT    ■     i^"'^'  '"  ">«  Antarctic 

land  Finland,  Norway  and  stdenTnd  n"'"''  ^""^''  "°'- 
The  Bulletin  of  the  Geno-rJli  •    i'  S     .  ^^"^ark. 

W/^,   .883)  rev%^„:X''pS  oteT'V'^f''^  f^'--- 
locates  the  observers  as  followrXhe  ri?'f?,  c    '""''■  ^"^ 
jKints  before  named;    Enpland    =,,    ^      "J^^''  States,  at  the 
Lake,  62°  30' N. ;  Germanv  on  r      /T'  ^^^-  Great  Slavl 
Denmark,  at  Godhavn  Gre^nlS  l?''o^'''^"^  <^"'f  66°  30'  N 
Mayen,  between  Non"'ay  and  p-'    ^    i°'       '  '^''='™'  =»  Ja" 
Mosoel  Bay,  Spitzbe^Ien,  790^;.  N    "m'  ^°°  ='''  Sweden,"*:" 
le  north  cape  of  Finmark,  69  ",6' N     Z7V  ^""^kop, 
laven  the  mouth  of  the  Yenesei  •,,«■    ,  J^"'i^'  Dickson- 
hndyla,  Finland,  67"  24' N    ,f  f['/^    f°\^-J.  R"«ia,  at  So- 
0  Nova  Zembla.  jl'  'A,  and  L^=.™''p"'^  ^^^^  "°"'>  ™ast 
of  the  Lena  Delta,  73°  N      Fo,  d?i"     '"■'^■'^>'^'  °"  '^"^  east 
moneys  have  been  contributed  rhifl    1"""°"''  '''^  following 
"ons.-  For  the  two  pan  es  fn\h  J  ??'  ^^  ,"^"°"^'  .-ippropria! 
or  the  English,  $3Srfor  te   nT'1  ^'''''-  ^'°°-^: 
Austnans,  by  CoSnt  Wibczek  iv.1    ^"'f'''  *^°'°°°:  for  the 
Swedish,  ^,6,000;  fortf^eH:ilanfc''^'-*4o,ooo;  for  the 

Sonvay,  ^8,000;  for  Russia Tq"  o^  f™"^"'' <"  ^■°°°  •  ^o'' 
Horn,  j!6o,ooo ;  for  the  German  ^A  '  °'  ^'■^"<^<='  at  Cape 
Wands,  U36,ooo ;  for  observation^ b    T?t'°"'  f'  ""=  Georgian 

Republic  at  tl.e  South  SlXd  I  lan'dst  g"'^  "'^  ^'•^-"'ne 
"  we  add  tn  all  fi,^  ^ /^^iauas,  ^i6,ooo. 

R;ssia,Sibel'°Ai:skft  :reTsVp°"-^'^^^^^--'-"S  in 
«c  .twtll  be  se-n  that'around  §  "th ---?'  ~  '^-'  ^°"''' 
:..,i:"'^.°f  observatories,  whose  ofee^ratiot^''     "^^  ""'"  ^^ 


,  --">   "in^ac  oDser 

globe  to  the  eightieth  deg 


-m  the 
ree  of  north  latitude; 


3H 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


while  in  the  southern  hemisphere  England  has  a  meteoro. 
logical  observatory  in  the  Falkland  Islands.  ...  The  larger 
number  of  the  civilized  nations  are  striving  by  scientific  means 
to  wrest  the  mysterious  secrets  of  the  deep  from  the:r  hidden 
recesses  of  the  North." 

At  the  date  of  the  issue  by  the  United  States  Signal  Ser- 
vice, Washington,  of  the  "  Memoranda  "  from  which  some  of 
these  notes  of  the  stations  are  cited,  it  is  stated  by  General 
Ha/en,  that  since  the  organization  of  the  International  Com- 
mission other  nations  have  enlisted  in  the  work  ;  the  observ- 
ing parties  have  all  been  despatched  to  their  respective 
destinations,  and  they  now  are  actually  engaged  in  the  con- 
templated observations.  The  stations  will  be  occupied  for 
at  least  one,  and,  in  some  cases,  for  three  years,  and  may  be 
divided  into  two  classes,  namely:  (i.)  The  special  polar 
stations  within  thirty  degrees  of  the  north  or  south  pole ;  and, 
(2.)  The  auxiliary  stations,  which  are  spread  over  the  rest  of 
the  habitable  globe.  Besides  these  land  stations,  observations 
made  on  shipboard  are  extensively  called  for,  and  it  is  hoped 
that  enough  observations  will  be  accumulated  to  allow  the 
making  of  a  complete  map  of  the  weather,  and  of  the  mag- 
netic dtsturbances  throughout  the  whole  globe,  for  any  moment 
of  time  durino  the  period  in  question.  In  addition  to  the 
main  work  of 'lihese  international  stations,  all  possible  atten- 
tion will  be  given  to  numerous  collateral  subjects.  Thir- 
teen nations  have  thus  far  entered  heartily  into  the  project; 
fifteen  polar  stations  and  over  forty  auxiliary  stations  have 
been  established.     • 

A  distinction  was  made  between  the  observations  con- 
sidered obligatory  and  those  regarded  as  desirable.  Those 
considered  obligatory  in  the  aid  of  meteorology  are,  observa- 
tions on  the  temperature  of  the  air  and  of  the  sea,  barometric 
pressure,  .lumidity,  winds,  clouds,  rainfalls,  and  the  weather 
and  optical  phenomena ;  those  for  magnetism  are  for  abso- 
lute declination,  inclination,  and  horizontal  intensity ;  and  for 
variations  of  the  same. 

In  the  Official  Report  of  the  Chief  of  the  United  :>tates 
Signal  Service  for  the  year  1881,  he  said  that  "  Owing  to  the 
very  mobile  nature  of  the  atmosphere,  the  changes  taking 
place  on  our  portion  of  the  globe,  especially  in  die  udic 
Zone,  quickly  affect  regions  very  distant  therefrom.  The 
study  of  the  weather  in  Europe  and  America  cannot  be  sue- 


METEOROLOGICAL    STATIONS. 

IS  to  accomplish  by  observatlono  r^^^'j'  -'  '  ^^^  general  object 
stations  sPch  addLns  rourk^owl '^^"^ 
quired  by  isolated  or  desulton'tr.v.n^'^^  ^'  ^^""°^  be  ac- 
attempt  will  be  made  ar^eoar'aohica  l"^  f^'"'-'-  ^°  '^^^'^'^ 
expedition  is  in  any  sensfaFat^t  exploration,  .nd  neither 
Tiie  single  object  is  to  elucfdlte  ^^nl.      ''"^'^^  ^^''  ^'^'^'  ^ole. 

out,  as  GenerarHa  en  said  thf """""''  ^"'^  '"  '^e  carrying 
.he  late  General  M%Vbfcoon^'T'""°u  ^''  P^«dece4o^ 
Committee  he  was  Iho  {IrZ7nTZSr}^     ■  '"'^""''""al 
late  Professor  Henrv  JZJll"^ }■    ^^J"^""  '"  ^'^w  by  the 
A  Willis,  in  whiih  [fe  wrote^'fr":^  '"  '''?  '"'^^  '"  Hon.  B 
any  rational  plan  for  exolorAfinn  ,  /''I  ^^P"^'^'' '°  advocate 
Arctic  Circle'^    Much  hbo^Lr '     ''  °''=«'-™tion  within  the 
ject   especially  wfth  a^'f/wt  SX'pl  °"  *'^  ^""^ 

in  question.  ^    "nents  are  required  in  the  region 

*e  now  possess  are  necfssa^  an?^  ?'"'^";5!'?"= '^an  'hose 
'ions  on  temperature  ^'  "''"  additional  observa- 

by  c!ilel!!:„:  i^'^helLlfrrn'v  """^^  r"'^  ■'^  -riched 

>n<i  facts  of  interest  "Lafned.Xi-'";""''-"^^'  ?=°'°8y'  «^- 

".extreme  cold  on  ani^al'rnd™;Ti;it.°  '^^  ■"«"-- 

Ihe  plan  referred  to  by  Profess 


Hen 


<y  was  the  one  em- 


-ig  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

braced  in  a  Memorial  which  had  been  submitted  to  Congress 
by  H  W.  Howgate,  then  on  duty  at  the  United  States  Signal 
Service  Office.  The  efforts  for  this  preliminary  polar  expe- 
dition resulted  in  the  despatch  to  Cumberland  Sound,  by  the 
aid  of  private  subscription  only,  of  the  Florence,  a  fore  and 
aft  vessel  of  fifty-six  tons,  built  in  Wells,  Maine,  in  1851,  for 
mackerel  fishing;  afterwards  used  by  Williams  &  Haven, 
Hall's  benefactors,  as  a  sealer  in  the  Southern  seas.  Although 
a  staunch  and  fair  sea-boat,  she  was  too  small  for  the  pur- 
pose  and  sailed  at  least  two  months  later  than  was  desirable, 
leaving  New  London' August  3d,  1877.  Her  three  professed 
objects  were,  to  collect  material,  dogs  and  sledges ;  secure  the 
help  of  the  Esquimaux  for  a  second  steamer  which  it  was  pro- 
posed should  follow;  accomplish  some  scientific  work,  and 
repay  the  outlay  by  whaling.  ,     ^  ^        •     ^^ 

The  Florence,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Ueorge  h. 
Tyson,  the  leader  of  the  floe  party  from  the  Polaris,  first 
anchored  in  Ni-an-ti-lic  harbor,  on  the  western  shore  of  Cum- 
berland Sound,  and  aftersecuring  there  a  numberof  Esquimaux 
and  materials,  anchored,  October  7th,  in  An-naw-nac-took,  in 
about  latitude  67°  N.,  longitude  68^  40' W.  A  small  observa- 
tory and  working- place  was  erected  under  shelter  for  meteo- 
rological and  other  observations,  and  as  soon  as  the  snow 
became  compact  a  snow-house  built  over  this  tent,  which 
remained  as  a  lining.  Scientific  work  was  begun  at  once  in 
the  interests  of  meteorology  and  the  collection  of  specimens 
in  natural  history.  The  co-laborers  were  Mr.  Ludwig  Kum- 
lien  and  Mr.  O.  T.  Sherman. 

But  on  the  return  of  the  Florence  to  Godhavn,  July  31st, 
no  expedition  steamer  was  to  be  seen,  nor  a  word  of  news 
of  such,  or  of  letters  from  home ;  after  three  weeks  of  wait- 
incr,  therefore,  profitably  employed  in  scientific  labors,  the 
Florence  returned  to  Cumberland  Sound  and  re-landed  the 
Esquimaux  and  their  effects.  September  1 2th  she  headed  for 
home,  reaching  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  on  the  26th,  from 
which  port,  after  encountering  a  storm  of  unusual  fury,  Cap- 
tain Tyson's  skill  brought  her  safely  into  Boston,  October 

30th,  1877.  „    ,  ,., 

The  value  of  this  expedition  will  thus  readily  appear  to 
consist  in  the  labors  of  the  scientific  officers  who  have  been 
named. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

LADY   FRANKLIN   BAY. 

The  Gr«Iy  Expedition-The  Names  of  the  Memb.™  «f  .i,     » 
the  Chief  Signal.Officer_The  Pro.eus  se„  0^?  "  u"^*"^-"^*  Instructions  o  J 

Establishing  Fort  Conger-Attemptd   ZiJ^         T"^ '^'  ^"^^^ '°  ^'■""•^'i"  Bay- 
Neptune  and  the  Proteus-The  SrCruI,      "   ^  ^'  ""''   '883-Expeditions  of  the 

Congress,  appfoprttiisr  Te's^n  o  to:;  for"?,"  '"  ""  "' 
First  Lieutenant  A.  W  GreeW  11  S^f^  T  '"'^  Purpose. 
charged  with  the  estabiishin^oV  ,  T  ' '"  ■'""^'  "**'•  "-^^ 
most  suitable  point  nor,h  of  §,e  gtsfrr'^l"'  'T''°"  "'  '^'^ 
to  the  coal  vein  discovered  near  LadrF^V''"n'°"."2"°"= 
This  station  was  to  be  maintained  forCryearsaX"  /'". 
an  annual  visit  should  be  naid  f„  ,,,  '   ,  ^^'^'"^       '«^ast,  and 

food  and  supplies,  and,  if  nefelo,    "bri  tbacMnvaPd'  '""''' 
bet^of  the  expedition  and  to  carr^y'out  St n rllTS 

The  party  consisted  of: 

Lieutenant  and  Brevet-Mafor  A    \\r    n      i 

Biederbeck;    Privlt^s'^Co^Ty^B";  de'  ""^^f^ 
^l^:M$^--'  ^-^-'c.cti.ia"nt  a^^'j'^- 

^Mi':&i'^::i'^'^  '"^'"'«'°'^^  ^^^ "-  a-f 

<voA'of*hep°a«vafter'':erv""''/°y='^'^'  ='"'•  "'<=  general 

i:i^a-££i??1??"-^^^ 

-^,  onl/such  X-r^iut'S;-'  tL^--nd  Uper. 

(317) 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

ice  necessitates,  or  as  are  essential  in  order  to  determine  the 
exact  location  and  condition  of  the  stores  cached  on  the  east 
coast  of  Grinnell  Land  by  the  English  Expedition  of  1875. 
During  any  enforced  delays  along  the  coast  it  would  be  well 
to  supplement  the  English  depots  by  such  small  caches  from 
the  steamer's  stores  of  provisions  as  would  be  valuable  to  a 
party  retreating  southward  by  boats  from  Robeson's  Channel. 
At  each  point  where  an  old  depot  is  examined,  or  a  new  one 
established,  three  brief  notices  will  be  left  of  the  visit— one  to 
be  deoositcd  in  the  cairn  built  or  found  standing,  one  to  be 
placed  on  the  north  side  of  it,  and  one  to  be  buried  twenty 
feet  north   (macrnetic)  of  the  cairn.     Notices  discovered  in 

cairns  will  be  brought  away, 
replacing  them,  however,  by 
copies." 

The  steamer  Proteus,  on  her 
arrival  at  Lady  Franklin  Bay, 
was  to  discharge  her  cargo  with 
the  utmost  despatch,  and  return 
to  St.  John's,  bringing  a  report 
of  the  proceedings  and  observa- 
tions made  during  the  voyage, 
fSH^^^MJI^^^^'  while  the  party  which  landed, 

^I^^^BI^B^^^K.  after  erecting  a  dwelling-house 

and  observatories,  were  to  make, 
j  in  accordance  with  the  proposals 
|i  made  to  the  navy  department, 
sledging  expeditions   for  geo- 
graphical surveys  to  the  high 
land    north    of    Cape   Joseph 
Henry ;  their  chief  work,  however,  was  to  be  that  of  the 
scientific  observations  which  have  been  named. 

Leaving  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  July  7th,  i88t.  Lieuten- 
ant Greely  reached  Godhavn  on  the  i6th,  the  voyage  being 
made  in  the  face  of  continuously  adverse  winds,  two  strong 
northerly  gales  and  constant  cloudy  and  foggy  weather.  The 
ship  behaved  admirably.  The  only  ice  seen  south  of  Cape 
Farewell  was  a  few  icebergs  off  Funk  Island,  and  about  forty 
in  52°  N.  and  53°  15'  W.  Pack-ice  was  fallen  in  with  at 
10.30  p.  M.July  1 2th,  in  lat.  61°  30'  N.,  53°  30' W.,  and  a  second 
pack  encountered  the  same  day,  at  2.30  p.  m.,  in  62°  30'  N., 
52°  15' W.,  was  passed  through  in  an  hour;  neither  offered 


LIEUTENANT  A.  W.  GREELY. 


LADY   FRANKLIN   BAY. 

Farewell  into  Davis  Strait  '^'■'''  '"'■'■^"'  '''■°"'  Cape 

brief  period  of  cold  in  March  Tr^K       ^'^^^"^?"^.  except  a 

unusual  mildness,  and  tlTthe  t  noT^of  Uoe'^'^'  f".' 
broken  up  very  earlv      Tnlv  -,ofl,  n     A  Upernavik  had 

expeditions  'ctinlLi^ra'n^\tg?o''„.°Tw;^,r:iJf;f  '"^^ 

a  very  valuable  anti-scorbutic    ltd',  f       °'^-'^  *''''«  "''=''«■ 
ing  obtained  by  barter   aftWr^  fT^"''l^' "f^""- "='°'h- 

n.S„ey.    Hard  breaTand  totecL  w^  e  princtll  °"?'"  '?^ 
exchange.  «*v-i.u  were  principally  given  in 

isJoteTeTal-e^nltard":^^  Florence  in 

of  buffalo  pemmican  S  by  The  san  ^exVer^         T""^^ 
set  of  observations  for  time  were  r^adeT.fl''"-   ,^ -ood 
only  hours  during  which  the  sun  shone     ^    ^  '^'°'^^'  ^'  '^^ 
Leaving  Godhavn   the   morning  of  the   2rst   th.  i 

reached  Rittenbenk  the  same  forenoon  A^  .  .  •  ""^^^^^ 
purchased  a  number  of  sealsl/bs  TT-  ''^^^  P^^nt  were 
food  and  other  minor  articles  whJrh  ^f  ^^"^"^'^7  of  dog. 
for  the  expedition  tl/rmigh  tL  en  r4"of  ^^ V""""ri^-^^^ 
delayed  by  the  foo-  Lieutenanf  T ?f.P  .  ""■  ^^^^^  ^^'^^ 
party  to  oLain  birds  from  TwlpH^^^^^^^^^  ^^^  t 

that  even  no-  with    sIvm.  fi,,^        .^""^^siand.     He  returned 

Bruennichijf  Tt  was  slid  JtRi'ielr",''  ,^^^T^^  °^  ^Ica 
been  the  n,Ut  forward  one^'Jyea"'"''  "'"'  ""  ^^""^  '>^<' 

no.  enter'^the  harb'or  unt  1  'n^exf  morn.w'"^-/"  "'^  ^°^-<^°"''' 
who  were  exoerteH  tr.  ,JL         """^mng.     Two  Esqu  maux 

available,  a'firconsequTnreTU'VT '''■°"  T^^  ."<" 
miles  distant,  was  necessary  to  obtain^thefs°Ti;-'''°l",'^'''y 
wuld  not  be  obtaineH  ,^LZ.  .   "'"  P"iers.     Skin  clothing 

made  by  ordL  of  the  h»n  T V'™  '"'"'  "'''*  '""^'"^  f"^™ 

InternaLnalPoL  Station  of  fT'''"'"'^-?'''°/  "'^  -'^-^  °f  ^e 
now  sold.  °^  Upernavik  of  1882-83,  were 


320 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


On  the  morHing  of  July  25th  Lieutenant  Lock^ood  left  in 
the  steam-launch  Lady  Greely  for  Proven,  taking  a  circuitous 
route  inside  the  islands,  rendered  necessary  by  bad  weather. 
He  returned  early  on  the  28th,  bringing  for  service  with  the 
expedition  a  native,  Jans  Edward,  and  a  half-breed,  Frederick 
Shorley  Christiansen ;  he  also  procured  about  a  dozen  suits 
of  skin  clothing,  which,  though  second-hand,  were  very  ser- 
viceable. He  had  killed  one  hundred  and  twenty  guillemots 
during  his  voyage.  The  launch  behaved  admirably,  both  as 
a  sea-boat  and  under  steam. 

Lieutenant  Kislingbury,  under  orders,  made  two  visits, 
July  24th  and  25th,  to  the  "Loomery"  near  Sanderson's 
Hope,  bringing  back  the  first  day  three  hundred  fine  birds, 
and  on  the  latter  one  hundred  and  fifteen,  all  guillemots  (Alca 
Awa),  and  ten  dogs,  five  of  whom  died  of  dog  disease,  and 
must  have  been  sick  when  sold.  Additional  dog-food,  sledge 
fittings,  dog  harness,  and  sealskins  were  also  bought.  It  was 
through  the  marked  interest  and  kindly  influence  of  Inspector 
Smith  that  the  expedition  secured  the  services  of  the  natives 
and  obtained  so  fair  a  stock  of  needed  articles. 

The  meteorological  records  of  the  past  winter  showed  it  to 
have  been  very  mild,  and  the  spring  very  early.  Inspector 
Smith  remarked  that  in  fourteen  years  Upernavik  had  never 
been  so  green.  Reports  from  Tessi-ussak  were  to  the  effect 
that  the  ice,  breaking  up  very  early,  was  all  gone.  On  the 
afternoon  of  July  29th  the  anchorage  of  Upernavik  was  left, 
and  at  7  p.  m.,  having  run  out  the  southern  way,  the  vessel 
was  distant  three  miles,  just  off  the  island  to  the  west.  Run- 
ning northward  a  few  hours  the  Middle  Passage  was  taken, 
and  at  7  a.  m.,  July  3  ist,  the  enq;ines  were  stopped,  as  the  dead 
reckoning  placed  the  vessels  only  six  miles  south  of  Cape  York; 
a  dense  fog  prevented  the  land  from  being  seen,  but  an  hour 
later,  the  fog  lifting  a  few  minutes,  showed  land  about  five 
miles  distant.  This  experience  of  the  "  Middle  Passage  "  may 
be  fairly  said  to  have  been  without  parallel  or  precedent. 
The  run  of  the  English  Expedition  of  1875-76  from  Upernavik 
to  seventy  five  miles  south  of  Cape  York  in  seventy  hours  was 
said  to  have  been  unprecedented ;  this  passage  by  the  same 
route,  and  to  withir.  five  miles  of  Cape  York,  was  made  in 
thirty-six  hours,  half  the  time  taken  by  the  expedition  under 
Sir  George  Nares  to  run  a  less  distance. 

Nothing  in  the  shape  of  a  pack  was  encountered  in  Baffin 


jvood  left  in 
a  circuitous 
ad  weatlier. 
ice  with  the 
i,  Frederick 
dozen  suits 
re  very  ser- 
y  guillemots 
ibly,  both  as 

two  visits, 
Sanderson's 
d  fine  birds, 
emots  (Alca 
disease,  and 
■food,  sledge 
ght.  It  was 
of  Inspector 
f  the  natives 


showed  it  to 
'.  Inspector 
ik  had  never 
to  the  effect 
ne.  On  the 
ivik  was  left, 
Y,  the  vessel 
west.  Run- 
e  was  taken, 
1,  as  the  dead 
f  Cape  York; 
,  but  an  hour 
d  about  five 
assage  "  may 
r  precedent 
m  Upernavik 
ity  hours  was 
by  the  same 
^as  made  in 
edition  under 


:red  in  Baffin 


<,' 


*',    . 


'■■  •*>,:^  '^y 


I^DY  FRANKLIN   BAY. 

Bay;  but  in  about  750  08'  N    fii-  >,^'  w 
the  westward ;  whether  open  or  comn^*;  ^  ^^'^  ^^^  ^^^^  to 
8.15  A.  M  July  3, St,  the  fo^c.  lifinP^f  was  uncertain.     At 
near,  to  the  north  of  whic?  J    l5ii     "''^"^'^  ^^^^^'k  glacier 
color,  was  seen  the  Jh  """^  F^'^^^^s  of  dirty  reddJ^K 

Sir  John  Ross."  %:Sn,7: ^Z^^^^^^^^ 
parties  were  landed  on  L  soutS  1      "^^  ^'  ^"'^  ^-  '^•.  two 
under  Dr.  Pavy  obtained  from    h.      -^  ^^^  ^^  m.    The  party 
record  left  by  Captain  A  lenYoL'^''"  T  '^'^  ^"nimit  the 
with  Lieutenants  Greelv  and  I   °.    -  "]  '/^^  and  1876.  and 
the  whaleboat  and  dep'ot  of  proWs^^^^  '^r"!^"^  ^^^--"^ 
Naresin  1875;  they  were  in  Xd'nT  ^^'  ^y.,^'''  George 
August  2d  Littleton  Island  was  re  "1  'f^'^^ble  condition 
and  exhaustive  search  of  sevZh^'^-     ^""'^  ^  Personal 
the  English  mails.     There  w^"       "'"  ''^^  necessary  to  find 

mails  but  with  no  recoirrrecorZ^nT'"  '''''  -'-^^^- 
and  Lieutenant  Lockwood  ^n•t^^n  '  ?    ,^'71  ^^^^  ^^^t  here, 
a  half  tons  of  coal,  as  a  deoot  of  /  1?  ^^""^^^  ^^°"t  six  and 
Lieutenant  Kislingbury  and   o/  P      ^''-  P°'^'^^^  ^"^ure  use 
to  communicate  with  the  Etah  F^      '^'  """'^^^  ^'^^^oat  Cove 
-•nter-quarters.     Several  ptF.l^,";^"^'^^^  '''  '"'^  P^^-^s 
were  taken  by  Sergeant  rL^  and  ?       ""V'^^  surroundings 
brought  off.    The  t^lnsit  instrument  of^T^^D^  °^  ^'^^'^^  ^^^e 
abou^t  twenty  feet  from  the  Srn    "        '^''  ^^^^'^^  ^'^^  ^^^nd 

|and  ::l  pLd  ^'  t  "^J^^;,^  '--y  pack  against  the 
the  vessel  was  stopped  for  the  fir.f  ?:  ^■'^'  ''•'  ^"^^^t  4th. 

southeast  part  of  LVSlin  r1^^ '^f  ^^"' '"  ^^'^  ^^trem 
estination.  The  pack  was  a  "rv  '  °^^  ^'^^''  "^'^^^  ^^"^ 
from  Cape  Baird  northward  in  7  l^^'^- °r' ^"^  ^"""^ng 
Greenland  coast,  where  it  touched  th""rt'.  ''^'^'"^^  thf 
Offley  Island,  near  the  mouth  of  pl.  ^a"djust  south  of 
ssted  of  thick  Polar  ice  rLn   •      f^^erman's  Fiord.     It  con- 

,4"'"Xo';r'6r?!;,f --t  Cape  Lieber.  with  Lieu- 

«  from  t!>e  cliffs.     Lieu  en/nf  ?     f  P"?"'  '°   ^^^mine   the 

2» h«hest  peak.     NTlluTca°rl:X  7"''"^  =>  ^^-"  °" 

'™>n  It,  nor  on  otiier  peaks  vi-L,?^'  ^  "*^«"  °n  ''  or 

^_  r  peaks  visited   by  Greely  and  Dr. 


322 


ARCTIC     EXPLORATIONS. 


Pavy.  Occasional  lanes  of  water  could  be  seen  through  the 
rifts  of  the  fog-cloud  which  covered  Hall-basin  ;  but  the  main 
pack  was  firm  and  unchanged.  August  6th,  the  pack  moving 
slightly,  obliged  the  vessel  to  change  her  mooring-place  from 
time  to  time ;  it  drove  the  ship  out  of  Lady  Franklin  Bay, 
and  durinsf  two  days  she  was  gradually  driven  south ;  prob- 
ably twenty-live  miles  of  ice  in  huge  fields  passed  southward. 
Every  opportunity  was  improved  to  steam  around  such  fields, 
to  keep  head  against  the  southerly  current ;  but  by  the  even- 
ing of  August  8th  the  steady  north  wind  had  forced  the  whole 
pack  down,  while  the  fields,  previously  driven  southward, 
packed  fast  together,  formed  a  huge,  compact  barrier,  stretch- 
ing from  Carl  Ritter  Bay  across  to  Hans  Island.  Only  a  mile 
or  so  of  open  water  remained.  A  nip  appeared  most  prob- 
able, and  preparations  were  hastily  made  to  unship  screw  and 
rudder.  During  the  night  matters  improved  somewhat ;  but 
again,  during  the  9th  and  loth,  the  ship  was  forced  slowly 
southwards  to  within  about  five  miles  of  Hans  Island,  having 
lost  about  forty-five  miles  of  latitude. 

About  noon  of  the  loth  the  long-desired  southwest  gale  set 
in,  accompanied  by  snow,  starting  the  pack  northward.  The 
snow  cleared  the  next  morning,  but  the  gale  fortunately  con- 
tinued, and  open  water  was  visible  on  the  west  coast  as  far 
northward  as  could  be  seen.  At  7.30  a.  m.  the  ship  rapidly 
ran  northward,  and  about  i  p.  m.  again  passed  Cape  Lieber, 
and  at  2,40  p.  m.  had  crossed  Lady  Franklin  Bay.  Either  ice- 
foot or  pack-ice  jammed  against  the  shore  covered  Water- 
course Bay,  but  a  narrow  lane  permitted  the  vessel  to  enter 
Discovery  Harbor  just  inside  Dutch  Island,  where  harbor  ice 
about  eighteen  inches  thick  was  found,  covering  the  whole 
harbor  as  well  as  the  western  half  of  Lady  Franklin  Bay. 
Lieutenant  Lockwood,  sent  to  examine  the  bay,  reported  the 
place  an  excellent  one  for  camp,  the  bay  partly  clear,  but 
shallow.  He  thought  it  probable  the  vessel  could  come 
within  about  two  hundred  yards  of  the  shore ;  the  bay,  how- 
ever, was  of  such  shape  that,  while  discharging,  the  vessel 
would  be  unprotected  against  ice,  as  it  is  exposed  to  all  winds 
from  northeast  to  south-southwest.  The  coal  was  so  located 
that  it  could  be  readily  mined  after  ice  formed,  and  could,  if 
required,  be  hauled  without  difficulty  to  Watercou-^e  Bay  or 
to  Discovery  Harbor.  Lieutenant  Greely  reluctantly  decided 
to  setde  at  Discovery  winter-quarters  ;  and  it  was  a  fortunate 
decision,  for  Watercourse  Bay  was  full  of  pack-ice. 


LADY    FRANKLIN    RAY. 

On  the  1 2th  the  vessel  Kr^u     u  ^^^ 

of  l.eavy  ice  and  a;choTed'offM,e'?ai:n^  k'™"^''  '^  -•'« 
yards  from  shore ;  the  men  were  divfl?.  '"'"'  °"<^  ''""^red 
work  day  and  nijjht  bv  (oZhl  ''""°?'i  '"'o  two  jjangs  to 
cargo  was  discharged.  whi°h  wa^do^e'' i^  •"?"''.  "'«  g<=-"° 
was  landed  of  which  there  was  about  nn  f""^  ^°"'^-  Coal 
tons  enough  to  last  two  winter,  w^h"?""  ^"^"^'""^  ^"d  forty 
on  the  house  progressed  rapfdfv  ,ho?  1"k"'"^  ^"J-  Work 
men  could  be  spired  for  X^io,,.  '^!}-k''"V  "'^S^  °'-  fo"-" 
finished,  floor  stringers  laid  a n)^,k  ^""^  foundation  was 

set  np  Fourteen^m"  sk  0x1^'  tt^e'  ?"'="!?'"'',  "^  *«  f-™" 
enough  meat  procured  for  issue  three  ?"'*"'"'>'  ^'^^^'^'  ^"^ 
followmg  seven  months,  besTde's  r^n  J  """'  ^  "'*=='^'  for  the 
birds     "The  post  was  nkmed  Fort  r"  ''^>''  ."''""^  °f  dried 

^"J^:  ^ro^^rCf  r  ^.tr  ^'°"  °""«^^^"  °"^  ^^"  ^^^' 

from  here  southwa.d  w  c^^'    SaWn'r"'  ^'""'y'  *"  =>  ^^treat 
here  in  ,882-3,  will  be  safe  and  nra^ic^tf"  "V,"''''^  "^^'^"^^ 
Ae  most  important  records  will  n^e^s    '^'"j  ^'"'""S^  ^!'  but 
doned;  abstracts  could  and  wUl  be  madL  ' V'1''^  '°,  ''^  ^l^^"- 
,  In  the  reports  of  the  Si<rnal  flffl       r     °'  ''""^^  left, 
that  "The  statfon  has  supX   kfZ     '  '"^'V^  "  ''=  ^'«ed 
templated  to  be  visited  in  .Ss/and^/s'f  k'  "'^  "  ™=  ^°n- 
or  other  vessel,  bearincr  such  s.fnnl-     ^  i'^'  '^  '<==''  ^'earner 

Partyas  might  be  deem°edneed?Tanrf  ^1"^  "''*"°"'  '°  ">e 
sel  IS  unable  to  reach  Lady  Frankhn  R»        Vj'  <^^^^  ="<=',  ves- 
a  portion  of  her  supplies  and  all  of  I,  ^ '"  '  ^^=' ''''«  *'"  cache 
at  the  most  northerly  pofnt  she  atL''  '""■'  ^l'^  despatches 
of  Grinnell  Land,  and^estebl  sh  a  smal    H   °"  "f  ^ast  coast 
Lt  leton  Island.     Notices  o    the  loca  tv  ?f      i  ^"PP"<^^  « 
he  left  at  one  or  all  of  the  folln»fr,      f  ^  °^-  """"^  depots  will 
Cape  Sabine  and  Cape  Isabd,r"8^,P'^'^"^' "^- ^  Cape  Hawk 
>hepermanentstation!n    882  tiiele  "'<"  "°  ^'''^  "-^^ches 
"am  m  Smith's  Sound  until  there  111'     ''"V?  '^^^  ^""  re- 
ce,  and  on  leaving  will  land  aH  L      """^f-'  °^  "^  losing  by 
Littleton  Island,  which  oart,,  f-iiu""  ^"PP''^=  ^nd  a  party  at 
'•ay,  and  will  be  rnstr  c?ed  fo  send'"'  rf'""'"^  f^  ^  »'"  et^s 
east  side  of  Grinnell  I.a„d%        ^  ?'?'^S:<=  Pa«ies  up  to  the 
'"  'SS.,  Lieutenant  G^efywir^L'd'  ^k'-^^'-     "  "°^  -^-  ed 
*^"  ^~-  '--  ■««3,^-1ll&3^ruraVb^  ■:- 


324 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


following  closely  the  east  coast  of  Grinnell  Land,  until  tha 
relieving  vessel  is  met  or  Littleton  Island  is  reached. 

"  During  the  first  session  of  the  Forty-seventh  Congress  an 
act  was  passed,  June  27th,  1882,  appropriating  $33,000  for  the 
supply  and  relief  of  Lieutenant  Greely's  party;  and  under 
this  appropriation  Mr.  William  M.  Beebe  was  sent  out  with 
men  and  supplies  on  board  the  Neptune  on  the  8th  of  July 
following.  His  report  to  the  Signal  Officer,  dated  St.  John's, 
N.  F.,  September  28th,  tells  the  brief  story  of  the  failure  of 
this  vessel  to  reach  the  station. 

"The  Neptune  met  the  first  field  ice  July  13th,  lat.  60°  N., 
long.  54''  W.  Mr.  Beebe  says  that  these  fields,  though  not 
large,  wer^  very  heavy  and  solid,  and  this  was  undoubtedly  the 
heavy  ,vinter  ice,  borne  from  the  eastern  coast  of  Greenland 


PACK-ICE. 


t 

by  the  strong  cur.  snt  which  sets  southward  from  about  Ice- 
land, turns  to  the  westward  and  northward  around  Cape  Fare- 
well, and  flows  up  the  western  coast  of  Greenland,  until,  in 
lat.  (about)  67^  N.,  it  meets  and  mingles  with  the  current 
from  Baffin  Bay.  These  united  currents  set  southward  with 
great  strength  down  the  coast  of  Labrador,  and,  trending 
eastward,  pass  around  and  down  the  eastern  coast  of  New- 
foundland and  into  the  Gulf  Stream,  carrying  with  them  the 
immense  icebergs  launched  from  the  numerous  glaciers  of 
West  Greenland  and  so  much  of  the  ice-fields  as  had  survived 
the  passage  from  Davis  Strait."  The  passage  of  the  ship  did 
not  exceed  three  miles  an  hour,  but  she  broke  through  the 
fracrments  of  solid  ice-pans,  clearing  the  floe  within  two  days, 
and  arrivin<'  at  Godhavn  on  the  17th.     Here  she  learned  the 


LADY    FRANKLIN    HAY. 


325 


death  of  the  l);ini'ch  f„ 

July  Mth,  the  Neptune  encoumercd^" %,,-   !^^'"«  ^'°dl,avn 
mncermg  ,t  impossible  to  piclc  lierl.,  ,1     "''',"«,  ""ow^^'orm, 
Mie  tied  up  to  tl,e  ice-tields  for  ,r      ^    ^""K^''  ''"-'  <-l'annds 
witl,  difficulty  from  tte  "3d  to^|  ,,"  g,"'!'-     T'rf'"^  =>?=>"> 
mg  with  the  tides  in  plain  view  of  C-       I    ,  '"^'plessly  .frift. 
son  Cliffs  of  Beverly,  she  ^ssedL^Tf  ^7^  '''?''  "'«  Crim- 
hour  later,   was  checked    bv  an  unbr  ^     '      u'  '^"'' ^ ''^''f 
twelve  to  twenty  feet  diirk  ,.v,    ","''™?<^"  '^e-barrier,  .from 
on  tl.ewest.acroL  the  sound  To1^^.\'^'°'"  ,^^P^  '"ffl^-field 
horizon.     Turning  a™  n  sout hl^^^ '      /?"'' '°  ""=  "°"l>"n 
Lifeboat  Cove  a,?d  ^o  "  Cir^t  ma  ,'°"''"f  '"  ""'^  « 
fortable  anchorage  in  Pando  a  Harbor  fi^„r  ^  f"''""™'''''  '""'■ 
Young's  record  of  his  visit  in  the  Pn^'  i         I  '"''■'■'  ^'''  ^Hen 
most  acceptable  change  from  tie  „^"''°'■»•  l^/S;  and,  for  a 
dance  of  game-Arctic  hare    e  der  dt?'^  '  "f ''^  ''^^^^  ^'^un- 
f  Rulls.     August  7th,  the  field  i^I  1      •''  ''"}''■  *"^  *  variety 
broken  by  thi  sou.hie  ^  gats    the  N '"?  '""'"  "'''^"gWy 
northward,  reaching  on  the^oth  laV  ,J^  '"'"^''»■■>'"  '"™ed 
Cape  Hawks  and  seventeen  from   cK  =°V"'«'*"-'  "''les  fr.m 
I8lh  she  anchored  in  Payer  HaZrVf^o'''^'"""-     O"   'he 
21',  finding  on  Brevoort  Kllnd  n„.l    '        =^*,  4^'  N.,  long.  740 
Nates'  record  and  the  depott'tablkhe'r/''^^  """^'■''  «P«"' 
son.     The  broken   cache*^  was  rib     f       -<      ''"""  ^""P'"^"' 
Neptune  placed  in  it  ''  ''"''  "  '•'^"■■d  of  the 

inf  Cirn''4;r,';7lt:n^^-r  "'%^^^'  -^^  ^"-^ed 
prevalence  of  the  southwe  t  winds  ,0°  I   °'  "l"  '""  ^"'^  "'-^ 
should  seek  a  harbor :  he  returned  to  pT''"''n"'"  "'<=  -^'"P 
thence,  after  several  unsuccessful  .T,"''"''''  ^^^-  """^  f™"" 
»  depot  as  far  north  rc-toeHlt      "'''.'  '=™"  '"  ^^'^"i^'' 
Island  on  the  .Sth.     Mrlfeebe  1  .r!'  T''°''f''  ,°'^  Littleton 
established  one  cache  on  Caoe  S.^.^  "^r""^  "  '^"*"S'  ^"^ 
ton  Island,  securing,  these  so  as  toh'""^  1?"';°"'^  °"  '  '"le- 
afe^vyards  distant,  that  t  hey  „'°ht  T's^f  %  °'"  ''!'"'°'"' 
Esquimaux,  a  party  of  whom  TSll       f      ^'°"'  ""^  Etah 
Neptune.     Minute  directTons  for  1^'^^''^'  '"''^  "■•"'''^'l  tl'e 
as  a  whaleboat  placed  o    Cane   sahir^  these  stores,  as  well 
part  of  the  island    as  Lrl   h!  '^'  ''""'  '"^ft  °"  another 

Greely's  letter  of  the  previous  ve  """^"^ft  "^^  Lieutenant 

fied  that  if  Lieutenant^  Gredy  ^Suld  ^n    ^"f''  "^^  '■''''■ 

v^'ceiy  snould  come  clown  to  Cape 


/ 


226  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

Sabine  he  would  readily  find  these.  After  effecting  this  pro- 
vision for  the  future  of  that  party,  lie  was,  however,  reluc- 
tantly compelled  to  assent  to  the  decision  of  the  captain  of 
the  Neptune,  its  first  officer,  Mr.  Norman,  and  the  surgeon, 
to  return  to  the  United  States.  Further  delay  was  useless 
and  extremely  hazardous,  and  the  safety  of  the  ship  and  the 
lives  of  all  on  board  demanded  an  immediate  departure.  On 
the  8di  of  September  Godhavn  was  again  reached,  and  the 
do"-^  dog-food  and  lumber  put  on  shore  for  a  subsequent 
expedition :  on  the  24th  the  Nc  une  anchored  again  at  St. 
John's.     The  voyage  was  another  and  a  striking  illustration 


■'^'^fi^r''^' 


mm,  \ 


.ra.> 


^S^4l^^!^^vi^  r' 7  w^"'- 


^^^^S^, 


ESQUIMAUX  BUILDING  A  HUT. 

of  the  uncertainty  of  ice-navigation,  especially  as  contrasted 
with  that  of  the  Proteus  when  she  took  out  the  party  under 
Lieutenant  Greely  the  previous  year.  It  was  disheartening 
to  the  friends  of  Arctic  exploration,  as  well  as  to  the  relatives 
of  the  explorers,  that  no  supplies  could  be  afforded  to  those 
at  such  distance  from  home,  and  no  reports  of  their  labors  or 
of  their  condition  could  be  received.  Nothing  whatever  could 
'be  done  until  the  summer  of  1883. 

In  obedience  to  orders  from  the  War  Department  and  from 
the  chief  signal  officer  U.  S.  A.,  Lieutenant  E.  A.  Garlington 
left  New  York  on  board  the  United  States  Steamer  Yantic, 
Commander  Wildes,  June  12th,  1883,  and,  on  arriving  at  St. 


LADY    FRANKLIN    BAY. 


327 


&ber„  ct«^d''t"L't:;!!';'''--''',p  p^'^-,  which 

C.redy's  party,  nLrly  ^^V^f  Aft^  '^f  "-'"f  "^"' 
with  Commander  Wildp<!  th,  .,  i-  ,,  "^  ^  consultation 
left  St.  John's  Juno  2nth  it?,,  '^''"'5'P',-^^'"''"^  ""'l  P™'eus 
joined  on   boar  "the'  &'  ft  7  ^='^''"ff'°"  ''^ving  been 

U  S.  N.,  on  duty,  under^de^^s  f^'X^Talv^b''-  ""f^"'"' 
as  a  volunteer.  ^^avy  Department, 

somferrir  ii^'hrbeltS'' !an' b "'•, ""'  ^^P«'"  P"«=^  " "X 

bor,  and  was  makin'^^S  d  ^c  Ls^foTEb'"  !*"=  '^.'"- 
some  one  on  deck  discovered  n  nllof  k     /      ^'ttenbenk,  when 

The  ship  was  put  about-:?d^£^i-,r-StrS 

unlj;\lra^d'e;rum:ri,;'/„'r'^''^%^'"ff  ^'"'^  ^"  "-™y 

forming  tlie'  lieutenant    hftL  p°"'"'='"'ier  Wildes  in- 

probably  a  week"and  then  ^o  „  hT°W  •''""I'"  "'  Godhavn 
coal  Ga'rlington'left  the  hfrbor  on'  Zl'feiT.  '"  ^'"T"" 
push  his  way  forward  without  fur°herde4v  tTT""^  '° 
and  the  Governor  of  Godliavn  k1,k  ^;  , .    ^  Inspector 

would  probably  be  no  dffirX,  ■  u"""^  ''""  "''«  'he"-" 

the  :yl  wl-n'pL'sfnglfa  c-'ltl  "dTefes'"  ^''''°"-  °" 
m  every  direction.     On  the  i8t    tl,;  Prof5    "<='•<>  ""herons 

way  through  ice  varying  from  wo  to"  rLTin  ,r' 1^  ^'' 
and  on  the  second  dav  fSllowln<,  cL  ^  thickness, 

penetrable  pack         ^  '°"o"'ng  she  was  stopped  by  an  im- 

th  J':d''th?::uSt  %zt  s'd  ?'"  ''r'^  /"  ^'s""  ^  ™ 

pedition,  was  visited  and  a  rL!,!.^'  1  "'"''"'  "^  fares'  Ex- 
there  August  ^^.Ts's^  '^''^"  "P  "''''*  '^^'^  "ade 

The  record  is  as  follows : 

fit.;i"o;rbnhe  Wa^Oe^o?, '"'■°"  '".  "^'y  P-"k!i„  Bay, 
General  w/B^'AaY^n  ChPTsTI-IrStefuTT'^'""  1 

Juiy';;*.".*! 'an'd^lJ'P  rT"ru'i"'^"'  °'  "P^™-»='  r  -  «., 

%  about  six  miles  so^^ti;  ort&r.^iZZ^  ^y^l  'y^Z 


i: 


328 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


Middle  passage  taken  and  found  tohe  entirely  unobstructed  hy 
ice.     All  well.     This  notice  deposited  August  1st,  1881. 
(Signed)  "J.  B.  Lockwood, 

"  Lieut.  23d  Inf.  U.  S.  Army,  Third  Officer." 

(Memoranda.) 
"One  keg  of  biscuits  opened  and  found  mouldy.     One  can 
of  beef  opened  and  found  good.     Stores  generally  found 
apparently  in  same  condition  as  when  deposited  here  in  1875. 
(Signed)  "J.  B.  Lockwood, 

"  Lieut.  U.  S.  Army." 

At  Cape  Sabine,  Payer  Harbor,  the  cache  of  stores  made 
by  the  party  from  the  Neptune  the  year  previous,  was  found 
to  be  in  fair  condition. 

Under  the  ever  quickly  changing,  but  now  favorable  con- 
dition of  the  leads  in  the  ice.  Lieutenant  Garlington  deter- 
mined to  go  out  in  the  harbor,  to  examine  these  and  en- 
deavor once  more  to'  go  north.  By  his  glass  he  saw  that 
"  the  pack  had  broken  and  open  lanes  of  water  had  formed, 
leading  across  Buchanan  Strait  along  Bache  Island  and  across 
Princess  Marie  Bay.  At  8  p.  m.  the  Proteus  rounded  Cape 
Sabine  and  proceeded  through  the  open  leads  in  the  broken 
ice  to  within  four  miles  of  Cape  Albert,  where  the  ship  was 
stopped  about  six  hundred  yards  from  the  open  water,  and 
Captain  Pike's  efforts  to  force  a  passage  by  ramming  entirely 
failed." 

The  Proteus  on  arriving  next  day  again  within  four  miles 
of  Cape  Albert,  discovered  that  the  open  lane  was  now  filled 
with  a  solid  pack ;  she  turned  southward  in  a  fruitless  at- 
tempt to  make  her  way  out ;  at  2.45,  movement  in  any  direc- 
tion was  impossible.  Ice  from  five  to  seven  feet  in  thickness 
came  against  her  sides  and  then  piled  itself  up  on  the  floe 
amidships  and  astern ;  at  4.30  p.  m.,  the  starboard  rail  gave 
way,  the  ice  forced  its  way  through  the  ship's  side  into  the 
bunker,  the  deck  planks  rose,  the  seams  opened  out;  at  7.15 
she  slowly  passed  out  of  sight  on  an  even  keel.  Alive  from 
the  outset  to  the  coming  crush  of  the  nip,  Lieutenants  Gar- 
lington and  Colwell  and  Dr.  Harrison  had  succeeded  in  sav- 
ing  one  of  the  boats  and  a  quantity  of  the  stores ;  the  report 
to  the  Siirnal  Officer  affirms  that  with  the  exception  of  the 
chief  engineer  of  the  Proteus  and  the  boatswain,  none  of  the 


LADV   FRANKLIN    BAY. 


329 


clothing.  With  some'of  the "torfs  tviff •'  ^"^^  °^  P"™'« 
made  a  cache  three  miles  west  of  r,'  ^'^«^"ant  Colwell 
afterwards  increased  by  the^wo  ,M»  T  u^^'"^'  '"^'"^^  ^^^ 
quantity  of  clothing.  The  cache  itf.  "^'•°"?™«e«  and  a 
Greely's  party.       ^  '^''''*  """^  mtended  for  Lieutenant 

re™i„^:d  t*1ntrrh:°p?;i:i^f^tfh"°?  ™P°-»"^'  *ere 
choice  either  of  ^speJin/tClillTJ^  ITT  '"^^P'  "'^ 
attempting  to  cross  Meltille  Bav  in  T  ,  "'%  Esquimaux  or 
well  headid  boldly  across  he  bav  .  Tu,-  lieutenant  Col- 
with  the  Yantic;  the  rest  of  th^  L  ^  ^'''"i'  '=°""""nication 
the  bay  and  reach  UpeJnavk    Sf^'^d  '°»ast  around 

ence  Colwell  reached  Vernavilcif  the":d1„d''fi''S- ^''Pf'- 
he  Yantic  was  not  there,  pushed  forward  to  Tn^S"'''"^."'^' 
he  found  the  tender,  and  o^laHl,,  ul  j  S  Godhavn  where 
Wildes  that  on  the  2d  of  the  rnnni  ?rf  ^'""^  Commander 
ceived  on  board  all  of  the  oZr  "  PPJ'^^^ik  he  had  re- 
Lieutenant  Colwel 'stoats  had  sP^^'  ^T  "'^  P™'«"»- 
days,  making  a  voyage  of  neariy  on^e  ?ho'u"sand  mi,'''"^""^''' 
On  September  i  uh  the  YanHo  J    •     j      ^    "^"^^- 

ing  Captain  Pike  anVcr^I^"  '  irPr^t's'ani^'j"'^'  '^""«- 
Garhngton  and  the  Greely  relief  narV^      A  LieV'e"ant 

was  ordered,  before  which  Mr  TinH^^  ^  '^°""  °f  '""Jui-y 
for  Lieutenant  GarhWton  and^lhlT  ^T^^''^^  ^^  ™""=«1 
honorable  acquittal  offll  blame  ^"''"^  '"  '^'  °f^<'^^^ 

rXoT£^TJ:!'olZTc7j  '"f  «'-fa.ed  Greely 
W.B.  Hazen.  Chief  Si  JnTofficer:^"^  '"'"  '°  ^^"^^^' 

■■  General  W.  B.  Hazen  •_"  ^'''""'°™''' •'"'>' "*  ■884- 

lin;™Tn  freTi^e^in^^tS  ;f'^^'°"f  -f  ^'^«--'  Gar- 
expedition  under  his  command  wil  •  ^'t '^°'^  "'<=  P"'*"^ 
sion  for  this  letter      hTTk     '  ^1^"''^  '°  }'«"  *e  occa- 

">ents  on  his  fa  We  t"  leave'm'.  ^"'^^°'"  P"'^"^'''^^  »"'" 
^"ggested  to  me  the  pron  Itl  „f  » J^J  "°''''  ■"  '^^P'^  Sabine- 

sole  object,  I  must  assume  ;?^°fi^'L"""S  "  '°  V""-  Your 
los..  pf  -:.i .         .'  assume,  is  to  fix  the  rpsnnno,'!,;!;,..  /■.... .. 

'^e  shadoS  Of  this^  g—l-r.  ^^T^^  ,i" 


330 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


can  have  a  less  pure  motive.  We  have  been  through  this 
investigation  together,  general,  and  as  the  source  of  our  intel- 
ligence is  the  same,  I  feel  that  you  will  the  more  readily 
accept  the  aid  that  I  cheerfully  tender  to  the  common  cause 
of  truth. 

"  The  world  now  knows  that  the  sad  fate  of  the  eighteen 
victims  was  due  to  the  failure  to  deposit  a  proper  quantity  of 
stores  at  Cape  Sabine.  You  say  that  'the  rations  which 
Lieutenant  Garlington  left  at  Cape  Sabine  were  in  accord- 
ance with  Lieutenant  Greely's  instructions.  Of  course,  if 
more  stores  had  been  left,  more  lives  would  have  been  saved.' 
The  legitimate  inference  from  this  is,  that  while  the  few  stores 
left  by  Garlington  saved  the  lives  of  six  of  Greely's  party,  the 
loss  of  the  others  was  due  to  his  failure  to  leave  a  larger  sup- 
ply. Whose  fault  was  it  that  there  was  not  a  sufficient  deposit 
of  stores  at  Cape  Sabine  ?  If  Garlington's,  let  him  answer 
for  it ;  if  not,  you  would  not  wish  that  he  should  remain  longer 
under  such  suspicion.  ■> 

"In  1882  the  Beebe  expedition,  under  your  instruction, was 
organized  for  the  relief  of  Lieutenant  Greel^.  It  was  trans- 
ported north  on  the  ship  Neptune,  and  arrived  in  the  vicinity 
of  Cape  Sabine  on  the  29th  of  July,  and  remained  until  the 
5th  day  of  September,  having  been  stopped  in  its  northward 
course  by  a  barrier  of  ice.  'In  accordance  with  her  instruc- 
tions,' derived  from  you,  a  cache  of  provisions  was  estab- 
lished upon  '  Littleton  Island  and  another  on  Cape  Sabine  of 
250  rations  each.'  The  rest  of  her  stores  were,  by  your 
orders,  brought  back  to  St.  John's  and  landed  for  future  use. 
There  was  every  opportunity  to  establish  a  cache  of  10,000 
rations  instead  of  250  at  Cape  Sabine  had  you  so  directed. 
In  your  testimony  before  the  court  of  inquiry  on  the  15th  of 
November,  1883,  you  approved  of  Mr.  Beebe's  course  in 
thus  making  the  depots  in  accordance  with  your  instructions, 
though  in  your  testimony  before  the  same  court  on  the  20th 
of  November,  in  relation  to  the  propriety  of  leaving  the  stores 
at  Cape  Sabine,  you  say :  '  I  have  regretted  very  much  ever 
since  that  such  instructions  were  not  given,  and  that  his  sup- 
plies were  not  all  left  at  Cape  Sabine.'  Surely  it  was  not 
Garlington's  fault  that  the  stores  of  the  Neptune  were  de- 
posited at  St.  John's  instead  of  at  Cape  Sabine,  or  Litdeton 
Island,  nor  can  I  believe  that  it  was  Greely's,  as  you  suggest 
in  your  memorandum  of  the  19th  inst. 


ough  this 

our  intel- 

re  readily 

non  cause 

i  eighteen 
uantity  of 
)ns  which 
n  accord- 
course,  if 
;en  saved.' 
few  stores 
party,  the 
irger  sup- 
:nt  deposit 
m  answer 
ain  longer 

iction,  was 
vas  trans- 
be  vicinity 
until  the 
northward  ■ 
er  instruc- 
^as  estab- 
Sabine  of 
:,  by  your 
uture  use. 

of   10,000 

•  directed, 
le  15th  of 
course  in 
structions, 
n  the  20th 
the  stores 
nuch  ever 
t  his  sup- 
t  was  not 

were  de- 

•  Littleton 
(U  suggest 


(331) 


332 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


I 


I 


"Under  your  sole  direction  the  relief  expedition  of  1883 
was  sent  north  in  the  Proteus  under  Lieutenant  Garlington's 
command,  and  arrived  off  Cape  Sabine  on  the  2  2d  day  of 
July,  1883.  If  he  had  had  orders,  or  even  permission,  to 
leave  supplies  at  Cape  Sabine,  there  was  abundant  oppor- 
tunity  to  do  so;  but  the  court  of  inquiry  found  that  under 
your  instructions  he  had  neither,  and  justified  his  course  in 
not  doing  so. 

"  Permit  me  to  remind  you  that  you  specially  emphasized 
the  necessity  of  not  permitting  Lieutenant  Garlington  to  de- 
posit any  of  his  stores  on  the  northward  course  of  the  Proteus 
in  the  very  first  lines  of  your  written  instructions  to  him, 
wherein  you  say :  '  You  are  aware  of  the  necessity  of  reach- 
ing Lieutenant  A.  W.  Greely  and  his  party  with  the  expedi- 
tion of  this  year.  This  necessity  cannot  be  overestimated,  as 
Lieutenant  Greely's  supplies  will  be  exhausted  during  the 
coming  fall.'  When  your  attention  was  called  to  this,  as  the 
records  of  your  olifice  disclosed,  that  Greely  then  had  a  full 
year's  supplies,  you  said :  '  It  was  either  a  clerical  error  or  it 
was  put  in  by  Captain  Clapp  in  his  first  rough  draft,  and  the 
matter  was  overlooked  afterward.'  This  is  found  by  the 
court  to  have  been  one  of  the  nine  grave  errors  or  omissions 
noted  in  your  action  'as  having  either  directly  led  or  largely 
contributed  to  the  abortive  issue  of  the  expedition.' 

"Again,  you  justified  your  course  in  not  permitting  Garlino-- 
ton  to  land  any  of  his  supplies  on  the  northward  progress  of 
the  ship  upon  the  ground  that  the  tender  (the  Yantic)  being 
at  Littleton  Island  would  actually  be  a  depot.  Your  instruc- 
tions, both  wntten  and  verba!,  were  explicit  on  this  point. 
In  the  attempt  to  carry  out  your  instructions  '  that  no  effort 
must  be  spared  to  push  the  vessel  through  to  Lady  Franklin 
Bay,'  the  Proteus  was  caught  in  the  ice,  and  lost  off  Cape 
Sabine  on  the  evening  of  July  23d,  1883.  With  respect  to 
Garlington's  conduct  at  this  time  the  court,  in  its  finding,  says: 
'After  the  disaster  the  evidence  clearly  establishes  the  fact 
that  Lieutenant  Garlington  and  his  party  saved  all  they  could 
from  the  sinking  ship,  and  that  they  cached  near  Cape  Sabine 
all  the  stores  and  provisions  that  could  be  spared  before 
crossing  to  Littleton  Island.' 

"Whether  the  responsibility  should  be  fixed  upon  Greely 

will  relieve  you  of  any  doubt  as  to  where  it  should  in  fact  rest 


LADY    FRANKLIN    BAY. 


333 


ken  in  the  stealers  &Z  Y?„  ,c'".„^d 'r/"'""'  ™<=^^ 
beyond  Littleton  Island,  and  yet  of^hkt  "l-mK       '  "^  '°  ?■• 

=.  ^t  ^-e  sit  T,t,£'i-^-^^^  ^-■™3 

ment  connected  whh  this  sS   tl"^'"?  '">""'  '*'=?«"- 

propriety  of  .aki  g  lal^e'detots^^'  hrea:tnrd;a^h^ 
Sound,  and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  ill,,.  °'  ^m'* 
liimself,  in  a  letter  addresse^d  o  yot,  from  I  Vh"^''",',-^^'''' 
bearing  date  August  .5th,  .88      saM     M  fe^ni:'"''''"  ^"y- 

here  state  that,  in  my  opinion  a  refrJ,/ f  ,  P^P^""  '° 
^   n        c  L'       •       -^  '-'i-'i'iion,  a  retreat  from  here  soiifhu-nrri 

chief,  charged  wirSlf-t,;  ZVttTX?  1°"!!''' 
quently  pursued  with  such  indescribably  terrible  "',1,''" 

I:— u:VortreT5tn„Te:hSrr"''^r°"^ 

Garlington's  instruction^  fro;''y.^Le  f  o  Gredl^ 

court  says  Garhngton  carried  out  your  orders  v"""       ►- 

stance  answer:  'They  were  Gree  ,/=  ;1,      !^  '  '        '"  '"''" 

night  of  ^sufferinf  r^J^aiZ  """''"^^^J^r 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

LIEUTENANT   RAY's   EXPEDITION. 

The  Expedition  of  Lieutenant  P.  H.  Ray  to  Point  Barrow — His  Letter  to  General  Hazen 
— Return  of  Lieutenant  Ray — Tiie  Greely  Party  left  at  Lady  Franklin  Bay  by  the  Pro- 
teus— Relief  Expeditions  sent  out  in  1882  and  1883 — They  do  not  find  the  Colonists- 
Two  Years  on  the  Shore  of  I^ady  Franklin  Bay — All  in  fair  health — Lieutenant  Greely's 
Instructions  to  the  Relief  Vessels — The  Provisions  should  be  Cached  near  Cape  Sabine 
and  at  other  Places  on  the  East  Coast  of  Grinnell  Land — The  Instructions  not  heeded 
— Lieutenant  Garlington's  Orders. 

The  location  of  an  observing  party  in  Alaska  was  made 
under  the  general  power  .of  the  Signal  Officer  to  establish 
stations  in  the  United  States. 

The  Chief  Signal  Officer  intrusted  this  expedition  to  the 
charge  of  First  Lieutenant  P.  H.  Ray,  Eighth  Infantry.  Lieu- 
tenant Ray's  party  consisted  of  Acting  Assistant  Surgeon  G. 
S.  Oldmixon,  with  three  sergeants  and  eight  subordinates. 
His  orders  were  to  sail  as  soon  as  practicable  from  San 
Francisco,  and  establish  a  permanent  station  near  Point  Bar- 
row. Special  instructions  in  regard  to  the  meteorological, 
magnetic,  tidal,  pendulum  and  other  observations,  and  for  the 
collection  of  specimens  for  the  National  Museum,  were  placed 
in  his  hands.  He  was  informed  that  it  was  designed  to  visit 
the  permanent  station  by  steam  or  sailing-vessel  in  1S82,  '83, 
and  '84. 

Ray's  party  sailed  from  San  Francisco  in  the  steamer 
Golden  Fleece,  July  18th,  i88i. 

On  the  15th  of  September  he  wrote  to  General  Hazen  from 
Ooglaamie,  Alaska :  ' 


"  Sir  : — I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  the  expedition  ar- 
rived at  this  place  on  the  8th  inst.,  and  after  a  careful  survey, 
found  the  most  suitable  place  for  thf*  station  to  be  on  the 
northeast  side  of  a  small  inlet,  whi^  1  1  have  named  Golden 
Fleece,  about  eight  miles  from  the  e  :treme  northern  point 

(334) 


LIEUTENANT    RAY's    EXPEDITION.  33- 

ir°' and'aHL"'- ""f  ''*='"f-  "°  ^'^^  ^^"^  ''"»««•>  here  and 
k  I  am  tnlH  ckLT      j  iviacguire,  K.  N„  had  his  observatory. 

encountered  off  Capelisburne,'^riv^;,g  us  out  o7ou^co«T:I 

covered^with  snow;  icfls^'SngT^p    ,  tTetnkt  "and 

S^h  ^  '^'^°  "^=  landed  with^xLme  difficulty  as 
It  had  to  be  done  on  an  open  beach;  and  for  two  day" through 
a  heavy  surf,  which  often  half  filled  our  boats  in  land/r  ,h^ 
spray  freezing  where  it  struck,  and  the  vesseT  liabfe  fo  be 
dnven  out  to  sea  at  anv  hour      Or,  ,u^  .X  ,?    ,    °® 

was  bull,  and  that  nighYfortunatdy  tt^Jind  andTefaS 
and  the  balance  of  the  cargo  was  landed  on  the  x  3th  anf  14th 
the  natives  rendering  valuable  assistance  with  their  00m  als 
Everything  is  now  on  the  beach  above  hiah-tide  mark  no  h 
mg  damaged  or  broken  of  any  importan'^ce/so  .V  as  I  ca»^^ 
find  out.  It  IS  utterly  impossible  for  me  to  statfnow  wha^ 
may  have  been  omitted  with  the  time  I  have  o-nf  .=  T  I 

detain  the  vessel  for  fear  she  n^ayte  Vo  ^  n\1C  plTsfn^^^ 
Behnng  Straits  ;  I  will  only  be  able  to  check  and  correct  as  ! 
put  my  stores  m  the  building.     I  have  no  changes  to  recom 
mend  as  to  the  merabers  of  ^he  party  ^ 

partv^findM^'h^'''"'  ^^''J^  ^^^^  ^°  '^^^  "^^"^bers  of  the 
party,  1  hnd  that  he  expected  me  to  procure  specimens  of     • 

^p;ps^W&Cri^^^^ 

fcpi/to^Sas-^^^^^^^^^^^ 

Ihe^^attlr    '"^'  '  "'P^''^""^  "^"^  "'at  I  may  be  instructed  in 

al't'"^  "V"'  ^""^  ^^""^  "^ay  I  mentioned  the  necessity 

it  ::^^l^Z:^S^  frr  San  Francisco'^^rL'n' 

perienceof"th7i,«  fiff""'"'^'"""  "!?  >"=a"';    'he  severe  ex- 
perience ot  the  last  fifteen  days  confirms  my  impressions  of 


33^ 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


that  date.  Have  not  seen  the  sun  since  I  have  been  here.  I 
eive  the  latitude  and  longitude  by  dead  reckoning  from  my 
own  log-book — latitude  71°  1/  50"  N.,  longitude  ise'^  23'  45" 
W." 

June  24th,  1882,  Lieutenant  J.  S.  Powell,  U.  S.  A.,  sailed 
from  San  Francisco  in  the  schooner  Led,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  tons  burden,  with  supplies  for  the  Signal  Service  Station, 
Ooglaamie.  At  St.  Michael,  July  26th,  Powell  shipped  as 
cabin-boy  a  native  named  Kan-u-ark,  to  act  as  interpreter  and 
messenger.  This  was  effected  only  after  much  persuasion. 
The  news  of  the  loss  of  the  Jeannette  having  already  reached 
the  people,  they  seemed  loath  to  venture  abroad  in  the  white 
man's  ships.  "The  simple  native  of  these  shores,"  says 
Powell,  "  when  he  sees  the  mighty  oomiaks  of  the  white  men 
go  away  in  the  gloom  of  the  mysterious  North,  refuses  to 
venture  within  the  reach  of  the  baleful  power  of  the  icy 
North." 

On  reaching  Behring  Sea,  a  heavy  gale  from  the  north  was 
experienced,  with  weather  too  thick  to  make  headway  toward 
the  straits.  The  Leo  for  several  days  lay  without  sight  of 
land  or  sun  about  four  miles  from  the  entrance  of  Plover  Bay; 
the  fog  clearing,  she  was  towed  up  the  bay  by  the  United 
States  Revenue  Cutter  Corwin,  Captain  J.  T.  Healy,  and  again 
brought  out  to  sea  by  the  same  ship. 

The  ship  lay  at  anchor  three  days  at  Port  Clarence,  and 
thence  passed  through  the  strait  and  crossed  the  Arctic  Circle. 
On  the  14th  Cape  Lisburne  was  sighted  under  the  experience 
of  another  heavy  gale ;  but  at  12  m.,  on  the  :5th,  Powell  was 
in  a  calm,  longitude  158°  50'  W.,  latitude  71°  21'  N..  and  at  8 
of  the  same  day  a  southeast  breeze  sprang  up,  which  Powell 
thought  would  quickly  bear  the  ship  to  Point  Barrow.  The 
next  morning  he  was  surprised  to  find  himself  considerably 
to  the  northeast  of  it,  by  the  action  of  a  strong  northeast  cur- 
rent. On  landing  at  the  station,  August  20th,  Lieutenant 
Ray  confirmed  the  observations  of  this  current,  adding  that 
had  it  become  calm,  the  Leo  might  have  drifted  to  the  north- 
east and  been  crushed  by  ice ;  the  vessels  caught  in  this  cur- 
rent move  off  to  the  northeast,  and  not  a  piece  of  timber  ever 
returns. 

Lieutenant  Ray's  party  were  recalled  by  a  positive  enact- 

l■nr»n^  nf   r^r»nrrr#^cc    af-    its    cpdJ'^'"*    f^^ 


in  Washington  in  October,  1883. 


Tlipv  n-rrived 
J 


LIEUTENANT  RAy's    EXPEDITION. 

The  Proteus  left  the  Greely  party  on  August  i8th  >S«, 

=ent  out  in^.SS.  a"ri1^rrtturSS,;:^obuCanv 
news  concerning  the  party  "Dcainmg  any 

Fr Jnkli?  B\t  n tThf  ir  Liro?i'"  •=''°'=  ,°f  ^^''y 
without  sufferincr  from  aSenTnr  T  ^\T  ^P'o^ation. 

the  te.perature;wn.1regret°£^r;:;:'%^tarofX^ 

:&j::5^frtte":tatrr^ ""''-''  ^--^^^ 

but  when  the  camp  was  aban- 
doned, in  1883,  the  twenty-five 
men  were  all  in  fair  health. 

Lieutenant   Greely  had  for- 
warded to  Washington  several 
suggestions    which    ought    to 
have   been    carefully  followed 
He  knew  that  if  the  relief  vessels 
should  fail  to  reach  the  station 
his    own    journey    southward 
would  be  very  difficult  and  per- 
ilous.    He  expected  that  if  the 
relief  parties  should  not  reach  Si 
him  they  would  at  least  deposit  llP 
additional    provisions  at    sev-    * 
eral  places   on    the    southern 
half  of  his  line  of  retreat.     He 
sucrgested  that  one  of  these  de- 
posits should  be  within  a  lew 
miles  of  the  spot  at  Cape  Sa- 
bme  where  he  and  his   com- 
panions   were     found.      They    ^'^"'^- ^^^^^^'ck  f.  kislingburi 
were  all  to  be  on  the  west  side  of  the  channel  or  stra't  t  e 
on  the    eas     coast   of   Grinnell    Land,   for   he   well   knew 
Ian^w'1%"^'  ^V"^'^  ^°  ^^°^^  ^'^-  strait   to   Ltinon 

of    h?  s   ait    and  til  P'^'''''^"  t?°'^  °"  ^^^^  ^^^t  side 

man     t      atLt    i88/'th.°  ^'''1  ^^"^  '^"^^^^^  ^^^^  P^^" 
-ain  in  sS'^LI^^^fti:^!^^;:,  ^l  should 

o>  i^c,  and  on  leaving  should  land  -"  >—  ... °_rr-~"  "',  -'^-^"'^ 


23 


all  her  supplies  and  a  party 


338 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


at  Littleton  Island,  which  party  should  be  prepared  for  a  win- 
ter's stay  and  should  be  instructed  to  send  sledge  parties  up 
the  east  side  of  Grinnell  Land  to  meet  his  party.  If  not 
visited  in  1882,  he  would  abandon  his  station  not  later  than 
September  ist,  1883,  and  \  ould  retreat  southward  by  boat 
following  clost  !j'  the  east  coast  of  Grinnell  Land  until  the  re- 
lieving vesr  1  was  met  or  Littleton  Island  was  reached.  The 
relieving  party  should  keep  their  telescc;  -^s  on  Cape  Sabine, 
the  very  spot,  where  the  survivors  were  rinally  rescued,  and 
the  land  to  the  northward.  Not  only  must  these  rescuers 
carefully  scan  the  western  coast  for  the  appea.ance  of  the  re- 
treating colonists,  but  they  iusc  iiom  time  to  time  send  sledge 
parties  across  the  strait  to  Cape  Sabine  and  northward  from 
that  point.  "  Such  action,  from  advice,  experience  and  obser- 
vation," said  Lieutenant  Greely,  "  seems  to  me  all  that  can  be 
done  to  insure  our  safety.  No  deviation  from  these  instruc- 
tions should  be  permitted." 

When  the  colonists  left  their  camp  they  relied  upon  the  pro- 
vision   depots  at  Cape  Sabine  so  completely  that  they  left 
provisions  sufficient  for  eight  months  in  their  cabin.    As  they 
advanced  winter  set  in.     The  ice  robbed  them  of  their  boats 
and  at  last  cast  them  upon  the  west  shore  of  Grinnell  Land, 
below  Cape  Sabine.     They  found  no  relief  ship,  no  relief 
party  watching  for  them  on  the  other  side  of  the  strait,  and 
only  a  few  rations.     Two  expensive  expeditions  had  reached 
that  point,  but  the  stores  which  should  have  been  deposited 
there  had  been  carried  back  to  the  United  States  or  had  gone 
down  with  the  Proteus.     It  is  evident  that  the  lives  of  all,  or 
nearly  all,  of  the  colonists  would  have  been  saved  if  the  re- 
lief party  of  1882  or  1883  had  landed  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
provisions  on  the  west  side  of  the  strait  at  Cape  Sabine,  or 
Payer  Harbor,  or  near  Bache  Island.     But  Lieutenant  Gar- 
lington  received  instructions  to  push  his  vessel  throu^^h  to 
Lady  Franklin  Bay,  and  not  to  deposit  provisions  unless  he 
should  fail   to  push  his  way  northward   through   Kennedy 
Channel.     If  he  could  not  get  through  to  the  northward  he 
should  retreat  to  Lifeboat  Cove  on  the  east  side  of  the  strait, 
land  his  stores  there  and  remain  for  the  winter.     He  was  then 
to  send  sledge  parties  across  the  strait  to  Cape  Sabine.    Fol- 
lowing instructions,  he  landed  no  provisions,  but  attempted  to 
push  his  way  through  and  lost  his  vessel.     If  he  had  first  de- 
posited his  stores  at  Cape  Sabine,  not  at  Lifeboat  Cove,  on 


LIEUTENANT   RAY's   EXPEDITION. 

the  other  side  of  the  ^traiV  ;«  ,  ^^^ 

tions  of  Lieutenant  Gredy  o  gS  h"'^  \'  ^"^^-- 
have  been  found  by  the  retreating  ^^i  •  "^^^"'  ^^^V  would 
would  have  been  saved.  "^^^''"^  colonists  and  many  lives 


CHAPTER    XXII. 


LIFE   AT   FORT  CONGER. 

The  I  ife  of  ihe  Colonists  at  Fort  ConRer-In  Camp-Erecting  a  House-Scientific  GbKr- 
valions-Sergcant  Brainard  Establisl.cs  a  Depot  of  l'...vlsions  at  Cape  Beechey~A« 
Arctic  Winter-Meteorological  rhenomena-Aurora  Uorealis-Tidal  Observations- 
Pastimes  and  Amusemenis-Among  the  Floes-Difficult  Travelling  oyer  Hummocks  and 
on  the  Frozen  Sea— Dr.  P.ivy.  Sergeant  Rice,  and  Esquimau  Jens  Edwards  Undertake  a 
Sled.re  Journey  on  the  Frozen  Arctic-A  Wonderful  Escape-Graphic  Description  of 
Sergeant  Rice- Lieutenant  Lockwood's  Journey  to  the  Highest  Point  ever  Reached- 
Along  the  Coast  of  Greenland-Lockwood  Island-Incredil.le  Hardships. 

Out  of  the  twenty-five  colonists  left  by  the  Proteus  at  Lady 
Franklin  Bay,  but  seven  could  be  saved  by  the  rescuincr  party 
under  the  command  of  Commander  W.  S.  Schley,  which  left 
the  harbor  of  New  York  in  May,  1884. 

The  story  of  the  life  at  Fort  Conger,  as  told  by  Major 
Greely  and  the  other  survivors,  is  most  interesting,  while 
the  record  of  their  scientific  observations  and  explorations 
adds  o-ready  to  our  knowledge  of  a  land  hitherto  almost  un- 
known and  the  tale  of  their  sufferings  from  hunger  and  cold 
during  the  winter  of  1S83  to  1884  is  sad  and  harrowing  in  the 

extreme. 

After  the  departure  of  the  Proteus,  which  conveyed  the 
colonists  to  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  on  August  25th,  1881,  the  coni- 
mand  lived  in  tents  until  September  2d,  when  the  double 
house,  which  had  been  constructed  in  the  United  States,  hav- 
incr  been  erected,  was  taken  possession  of.  This  afforded  far 
greater  protection  from  the  cold,  as  it  was  a  house  within  a 
house.  It  was  divided  into  two  main  compartments,  with  a 
small  kitchen  between,  the  officers  occupying  one  and  the  en- 
listed men  the  other  of  these  two  rooms.  Cooking  was  done 
in  common  and  all  fared  alike,  messing  in  the  quarters  in 
which  they  lived.  The  meals  were :  breakfast  at  eight,  a  light 
lunch  at  eleven  a.  m.  and  nine  ?.  m.,  and  dinner  at  four 

Their  house  was  finished  about  a  week  after  the  Proteus 
left  It  was  named,  in  honor  of  Senator  Conger,  Fort  Con- 
ger.    During  the  first  month  the  cold  affected  the  men  more 

(340) 


LIFE    AT   FOKT   CONGER. 

341 

trees  below  .ero.  STr'^i  ^^dt"  Sa^s'^'a^^t^'^: 
even   in  that  weather  the  cooks   hJ^ri^^  "^'  ''"' 

ordina^ry  outside  ^o^,^i:^l^:^^::^t^^ 


ARCTIC    REGION-BEECHEY   HEAD 


Five  of  the  men  were  o-enerallv  fr.-  ^  ^     .     r    t 
gaged  in  scientific  work^nd^r  Lieuten.^f  ?  of  the  day,  en- 
Scientific  observations  had  Wn  Greel/s  direction, 
landinsj,  and  were  con  tinned  ^5"  ^'^'"^"ced  at  once  upon. 

abandonmentrr  the  post  Vet°  '"'<=™i^='°"  ""'il  the 
tronomical,and  mf/n^re  co  Jn  S^ 7,11!  ,T!'f°-'°»--'.  =>- 
sea-water,  thickness  of  ice,  and  the  direcrionl^dTplS  oTth 


342 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS, 


tides.     Major  Greely  also  conducted  a  series  of  experiments 
on  the  velocity  of  sound  at  different  temperatures. 

The  men  not  engaged  in  scientific  worlc  were  employed 
generally  about  an  hour  a  day,  and  devoted  the  remainder  of 
the  time  in  amusement.  Ail  slept  in  bunks.  The  quarters 
were  heated  by  a  large  coal-stove,  the  average  heat  main- 
tained being  fifty  degrees  above  zero.  Playing  checkers, 
cards,  and  chess,  and  reading  were  the  amusements  of  the 
evening.  The  life  was  said  by  Lieutenant  Greely  to  be  far 
from  a  lonely  one,  and  many  of  the  men  said  they  had  never 
passed  two  happier  years  than  those  spent  at  Fort  Conger, 

On  September  ist,  Kennedy  Channel  having  opened,  Ser- 
geant E5rainard,  in  charge  of  a  party  in  boats^  established  at 
Cape  Beechey  a  depot  of  supplies  to  be  used  in  the  projected 
exploration  of  North  Greenland,  and  in  November,  twenty 
days  after  the  departure  of  the  sun,  Lieutenant  Lockwood, 
Sergeant  Brainard,  and  seven  men,  with  a  sledge  and  doo-. 
team.,  attempted  to  cross  over  to  Greenland  to  examine  the 
provisions  left  at  the  Polaris  camp  by  Hall ;  buc  the  darkness 
and  drifting  ice  prevented  their  success,  and  they  were  com- 
pelled after  much  suffering  to  return,  one  of  the  party  being 
badly  frostbitten.  It  will  be  remembered  that  when  the  Pro- 
teus left  Lady  Franklin  Bay  the  number  of  dogs  was  much 
reduced  by  sickness  and  death,  but  those  left  were  carefully 
looked  after,  and  by  breeding  Major  Greely  was  able  in  the 
spring  of  1882  to  put  two  good  teams  in  the  field,  and  in 
nearly  all  of  his  explorations  the  dogs  were  found  most  use- 
ful and  almost  indispensable  accessories. 

On  October  15th  the  sun  left  them  for  135  days,  and  a  twi- 
light, varying  from  half  an  hour  to  twenty-four  hours,  suc- 
ceeded. For  two  months  it  was  so  dim  that  the  dial  of  a 
watch  could  not  be  read  by  it.  On  April  nth  the  sun  came 
above  the  horizon  and  remained  there  135  days,  giving-  the 
party  a  great  sufificiency  of  midnight  sun.  During  three 
months  the  stars  were  visible  constantly,  the  constellations  of 
Orion's  Belt  and  the  Great  Bear  being  the  brightest.  The 
North  Star  looked  down  from  almost  overhead.  Standing 
alone  outside  the  fort  on  one  of  these  nights  the  scene  was 
weirdly  grand.  To  the  north  flamed  the  aurora  borealis,  and 
the  bright  constellations  were  set  like  jewels  around  the  glow- 
ing moon.  Over  everything  was  dead  silence,  so  horribly  op- 
pressive that  a  man  alone  is  almost  tempted  to  kill  himself,  so 


LIFE  AT  FORT  CONGER. 

days  at  a  time.  ^'^^^  ^"^^  ^^^"^  eleven  to  twelve 

preceded  by  a  bright  flame  from  u^M  u  °'  '''^  *'''«  arch, 
pale  straw-color.  Anoth";!™"  "ane'us  To'"""'  ''^^  °''  ^ 
at  both  extremities  of  the  arch  untM  =  "'^^'nent  occurred 
formed  of  wavering  perpend'cdar  .in  •  T'^'^  ^^g"^"'  ™s 
was  complete,  the^l^hfbecame  Ireaih  ^'  '°°"  ",^  *^  «^* 
prismatic  colors,  whicS  had  before  been  l-l"^"'''"!'  """^  *« 
m  a  bnlliant  manner.  The  sfmn™  f  1^'"''  """^  ^''""e  forth 
the  outside  ones,  wire  pfnk  and  ''  "*'"''  ''"''  ^^'^ 

purple  and  pink,  all  of  whrch  were  ^/f"'  °"  "'^  S-"^^"  -'''de 
as  in  the  rainbow.  The  Teen  wa-  th  ™P^-'<='=P'ib'y  "ended 
nith.  This  magnificent  dlplav  llteH  ,  f'°'"-'  ^^^""'^  ""^  '<=■ 
liglit  had  nearfy  vanishe<^^nhe„  tl  "u  '""""'^^^  ^"^  the 
forth  a  vigorous  display!and  near  V  •,,"?."''""''  ^""'^'-  ^^nt 

respondingcoruscationemrnated  from  the  onn"'  """"  ^  '°'- 
The  western  foot  of  the  arch  the„^°  °PP°.S'te  extremity. 

Iiorizon,  crooked  to  t  ie  ^orhw.rH  i  '^^t^^'^J'f^'f  f""'  Ae 
the  northeast  quarterwhere  a  b'vht  .^^°''  '^''^^''  '° 
ment,  and  all  las  darlTne  s  Thefe  wSno '^'^ '"°'' r°- 
clu.mg  any  part  of  the  ohennm^n^n  °  "°'^«  and  ble 

perceptibly  affected."     P''™"'"^""".  "or  were  the  compasses 

t^'^lglf  ^  :/'obse:"tio"nT""'lT°"e'°---  tut 
tary  discipline  as  was  no°  ha^CprLl",^^  f"^  "•*  ^"^'^  ™'"- 
mode  of  living  renderf.,1  i^  '^  ,'°  ""^  ei'mate  and  the 
exercise  daily  ^ks  exS  of  alT^Th'"''''^'^''^-  «"«  four's 
bathe  once  a  week,  andTreat  rL  "  "f"  '""^  '^1"'^^'^  to 
spection  to  see  tha  The  n uarte"  alTrf  '"^■",^^,  ^''^"''"'  '«" 
were  kept  clean.  The  efficacv  nf  th  ,P^«'™'arly  the  berths 
adopted  is  fully  demonstrated  bv  tif  /^'^T  ^'''•angements 
scurvy  i„  the  exoeditio"    I^^'luL^^t  f^".  *at  there  was  no 

-  from  melted  ke  LvariabrobtaleTV^^^r  fl^e' 


344 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Thanksgiving  and  national  holidays  were  invariably  cele. 
brated  by  a  good  dinner,  and  the  first  Christmas  was  ren- 
dered  pleasant  by  presents  for  every  member  of  the  expedi- 
tion from  unknown  but  thoughtful  friends. 

The  thermometer  registered  on  June  30th,  1882,  the  high- 
est temperature  at  Lady  Franklin  Bay  which  we  knew  during 
our  stay.  It  was  fifty-two  degrees  above  zero.  The  lowest 
was  in  February,  1883,  and  was  sixty-six  degrees  below  zero. 
In  this  February  our  mercury  froze  and  remained  solid  for 
fifteen  days,  so  intense  was  the  cold.  The  mercury  in  the 
thermometer  invariably  rose  during  storms  or  high  winds.- 
The  highest  barometer  was  slighdy  above  thirty-one  inches 
and  the  lowest  slighdy  below  twenty-nine  inches,  showing  a 
great  range.  The  greatest  variations  were  in  the  winter. 
The  electrometer,  an  instrument  used  to  ascertain  the  pres- 
ence of  electricity,  was  set  up,  but  to  the  astonishment  of. 
Lieutenant  Greely  not  the  slightest  results  were  obtained. 
The  displays  of  aurora  were  very  fine,  but  not  to  be  compared 
with  those  seen  at  Disco  Island  or  Upernavik.  As  far  as 
Lieutenant  Greely  could  observe,  no  crackhng  sounds  ac- 
companied the  displays,  and  the  general  shape  was  that  of  a 
ribbon.  The  southwesterly  horizon  was  the  quarter  m  which 
the  brightest  displays  were  seen.  Sir  George  Nares  reported 
in  1876  that  no  shadow  was  cast  by  the  aurora,  but  Lieu- 
tenant Greely  says  that  he  distincdy  observed  his  shadow 
cast  by  it.  There  were  no  electrical  disturbances  save  those 
manifested  by  a  rumbling  of  distant  thunder  heard  twice  far 
away  to  the  north. 

In  the  case  of  the  tidal  observations  made,  a  very  mterest- 
ino-  fact  was  discovered,  viz. :  that  the  tides  at  Lady  Franklin 
Bay  come  from  the  nortl),  while  those  at  Melville  Bay  and 
Cape  Sabine  come  from  the  south.  The  temperature  of  the 
north  tide  is  two  degrees  warmer  than  that  of  the  south  tide 
at  Cape  Sabine.  Why  this  was  Lieutenant  Greely  would  not 
venture  to  state.  He  used  in  measuring  the  ebb  and  How  of 
the  tides  a  fixed  gauge,  an  iron  rod  planted  in  the  mud.  The 
averacre  rise  of  spring  tides  at  Lady  Franklin  Bay  was  found 
to  be?ight  feet.  At  Cape  Sabine  the  highest  tides  rise  twelve 
feet  Surf  was  only  observed  twice  dunng  the  two  years, 
A^Lady  Franklin  Bay  the  average  temperature  of  the  water 
was  twenty-nine  degrees  above  zero,  or  three  degrees  below 

y.  •  •     ,         -iir-l ...<>: ^Ult-t/^v     n'infit\r    rir\nnf\<i   were 

tiie  ireezing   pome.     Vvoivcs  wtij^nxiij^    ^^t. .-.»_;•  ^ * 


I 


iinrl*;  were 


LIFE   AT   FORT   CONGER. 

killed  around  Fort  Cono-Pr  a„^  *u 
animals  there.  Of  fish  ^h 're  fs  a  wond  ""'r  ^^^  """^  °*er 
haps  the  greatest  si,rpriseo?the  .  ..•^•'■'"'  ^''""^-  P^r- 
from  Lake  Alexander^"  frelhwater''!i'"?r™='=  *«  '^king 
the  sea  level,  of  a  four-pound  salmnn  P  '  ^^'^1"  ^^^  ^^ovf 
»ly  two  very  small  fish  were  tk"'  d.fr™""  t  ''^y  »■■  =ea 
years,  and  very  few  are  to  be  found  north  of  Ca'  "fl?  '^"° 

The  vegetation  at  Ladv  Frankh-n  nf  ■  u  -P"  ^^^'ne. 
at  Cape  Sabine,  and  comnrisefZ^  ^  r  u''°"'  *«  ^'"^  « 
saxifrage.  Snow-stormsTe  of  ?^  ''  '"*"="'•  "'''l°«'=.  and 
rain  falls  very  rarely.  The  hi^he^7J?  "°'V  '''■"I'^'^"'.  ^nd 
registered  during  I  terrific  towt^  "'"^  °^  ""=  ""'"d  "^^ 
hour,     Lockwood's  trios   ofh-™~"'''^<="ty  miles  per 

productive  of  the  V,r  fa,  Te^rtl'^'st^".''-  ''''  "'- 
19th  of  May  in  each  year,  where  DrH  ^'^"/''"ff.  on  the 
stood  at  about  the  same  dav  iZLl:   ,  r    ^"^  ^^'^  formerly 

Three    memorable   exnf>HiV;^«.. 

Greely  party  from  theif:fa  ^^  aTTort"  ct'^'^"    '^>;  ""^ 
Franklm    Bay.     One  was  fn  fl,=  .       .'-onger,  on  Ladv 

Grinnell  Land,  by  Dr  Paw  and  «  '  ^i°"^  "'^  '=°='^t  "f 

was  also  to  ri,;  n'orth,'  alonl  the  coaToTV^'''^',  "^''^  ^^-"^ 
tenant  Lockv.-ood.  in  whid,  the  n'-°  ^''f  "'''"«'•  by  Lieu- 
reaci.ed.  The  third  waT to  the  L^^  '  f""''"''  "°«''  ^vas 
nell  Land,  by  Lieutenant  GeeKi;"  d'"  T'"°'  "'  ^™- 
whiL-h  consisted  of  Sem-eanf  pf^'  n  n  ^"^'^  -'xpcdition, 
Jens,  the  party,  after  vlitfn  "  a  ^ uole  of  c'7'  '']''  "l'^^"'"^^" 
previously  deposited  alon.She  si  o  e  1  -ft  I'h' 1  "'!'  '■^''  ^''" 
elled  ,n  sledges    over  th,'^  frn„  n  ■.  '"''"'^  »"d  trav- 

getting  as  faT  north  as  oslle  Th?";,  "i',^''  '¥  "bj^ct  of 
the  purney  were  carefulh,  no^H  In,  '"'"«  '""''™t=  "f 
scribed  by  Sergeant  Ri  7in  °^s  dh  '  "'^Jntf'P'"'"''"^  '^'■ 

.tfe^L^trtilfi^fare^^^^^^^^ 

of  ice.  :iip  rnfa'  7^;m''„°;rth:"ho™"«''  t  ^"-''""  -"-^ 

a.  t^es  and    truggling  i^  :;Vtt ol^oTh^i^f .  ?--/!!':?« 
■""  '°'  ™"^"'  "P  '"  "•«  l-"mocks.  and  "cutdnS      " 


(346) 


AMONG   THE    FLOES. 


347 


«i47 

mg-on  the  other  side.  Then  a^a7ni„  S  '"^'=™'''=  foot- 
treacherous  snow  which  had  "recces  Ind  fi"'''  ''"'"'''«  '"<> 
which,  standing  thigh  deep  vve  had  ?n  ^'"'■^''  ^""^  ''°"' 

extricating  the  sled|e  and'ianlin'  it  a:^aron' ^"'  .^^^''^  '" 
travelled  over  all  the  ground  twireP  "?'■''  "''=•     We 

move  at  all  with  more  than  half  on?'       j '"^  'nipossible  to 

anticipation  of  reaching  at  last  the  eiJ^^f'  "".     **=  ''°P<=''"' 
buoyed  us  up  when  Ca^^e  stridan  wfittn*^  Panillel,  that 
ray  to  a  keen  appreciation  of  the  flct  that  if  f'  ''^  «"^" 
day  could  be  made  it  would  be  »ll  ,.    "'^'  f  fo"-- miles  per 
would  place  us  at  the  hicrhest  latitul"     ™"''*  ■^''^^"-     This 
twenty-five  miles  of  ice  lay  be  ween  '    Ind  T"]f  "''"^  °"'y 
est-and  we  had  twenty  days' rations  <f,  if  Markham's  farth- 
the  value  of  our  trip  was  fal%?       ■    ?""  ""'Consumed;   but 
that  the  difference  berween  the  h'^X':;'"^-^''""  *^  ^^A^'ed 
and  tl,at  ='l'-eady  attained  coSdlveL'TiUeT  ^°"".-^* 
hope  of  unlockmg  any  additionafsecre  s  ^f  thf  f"'''^"°"  °' 
sea.  secrets  ol  this  mysterious 

"We  were  at  all  times  so  hp=»f  ,„j 
mocks  that  a  view  of  even  the  shn«»  ,  i-^"''™'""''^^  ^V  hum- 
attained  by  scaling  a  palX1rber''"^AT;  "''' ""'^  *>« 
advance  of  perhaps  fifty  or  sev-ntl  fi    ^'     ^  ""^  """"y  '^l'"''! 
an  ele-ation  to  ascertain  wheVet^r/""'*'  *■"  "°"^'^  '"-^k 
Often  Jens,  descending  from  an  icv  n'       7""'"^  o^^i-red. 
us,  and,  withdrawing  his  htZ  frnm^,."^  ""■"''=•  "'°"'''  '"■•"  to 
pain,  upward,  would%x  end  his  seoatt '.'"'"  ^"'^  '>°"''"g  '« 
hB  head  in  a  hopeless  manner      Never  in  ^fr  ^"'^.'^^^^^ 
m  the  land  of  desolation,  had  his  e^.X  ^'    '"^  existence 

ooservations  from  differ;nt  points  snn  "  '"•'''  =»  "•=*•  O'"" 
vance  directly  north  fron"  Cape  Hen"  '"""'"F^'i  «■'  that  ad- 
tiie  route  across  James  Ross  Bav  to^f  T^,,™P0"iWe,  but 
peared  to  be  better.  ^  '°*^''''   <-ape  Hecla  ap-     • 

^^^^si'^^^'^Z  \tZZ  "f ';f-duri„g  which 
crowded  agr.n,.>.-  the  tent  for  sheheT  frL  '^""^ 'f^^  ""'  they 
,™d  that  was  blowing-we  am, '  '•  ^  ^  ""'''"S  southeast 
n«  high  wind  of  the1,ig"t  was  folWed  b'^^'P""'*  '°  ^'^"• 
*nng  morning,  the  atmosphere  hi,!  ^V  f="'Se  bewil- 
rt'ch destroyed  shadows  and  dLorfel  '"^.^"^^"^  condition, 
-    v^cxH^c  manner.     The  wav  .,,^r^«^     j"^  ^  a.^cances 

way  appeared  smooth  until  our 


348  ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

Stumbling,  uncertain  movements  and  false  estimates  of  dis- 
tances  proved  that  our  eyes  could  not  be  trusted  We  care- 
fully advanced— the  conditions  gradually  becoming  more 
favorable— until,  as  we  neared  the  shore  at  Cape  Hecla,  Jens 
cried  out :  '  Emerk  ! '  or.  water  ahead  !  We  paid  no  attention 
to  his  remark,  which  we  supposed  referred  only  to  some  tidal 
crack  or  local  affair,  and  were  soon  astounded  to  see  before 
us  a  belt  of  open  water  extending  the  whole  line  of  coast 
from  Heda  to  Henry,  and  also  as  far  as  we  ccmld  see  toward 
Cape  Columbia.  To  the  north  also  there  was  an  open  space 
of  water  indicated  by  the  heavy  water  clouds  that  hung  over 
the  place.  The  water  in  front  of  us  was  at  least  half  a  mile 
wide,  and  ice  of  considerable  weight  and  draught  was  sailing 
toward  Cape  Kenry  with  the  tide.  The  doctor,  by  planting 
stick'-  and  taking  bearings  on  the  land,  soon  proved  that  the 
floe  was  pivoting  and  swinging  from  the  shore. 

•As  isual,  we' had  only  half  our  effects  on  the  sledge.    We 

deposited   these  and  returned  to  our  camp  for  the  others. 

Reach  ng  the  open  water  again,  we  luand  it  had  widened. 

After  watching  for  some  time  in  hopes  of  a  favorable  change 

in  the  movement  of  the  ice,  we  decided  that  our  only  chance 

of  getting  off  the  floe  was  at  Cape  Joseph  Henry,  where,  from 

our  aistant  view,  the  ice  appeared  to  touch  the  land.    With 

light  sledge,  selecting  only  our  most  valuable    effects— or 

ratker  those  most  necessary  to  our  preservation— we  started 

for  the  cape,  and  by  a  very  forced  march  arrived  near  there 

at  half-past' four  p.  m.  to,  find  the  water  extending  around 

Cape  Joseph  Henry  and  also  to  the  northeast  as  far  as  we 

could  see.     We  could  do  nothing  more  in  any  direction,  and, 

tills  part  of  the  floe  appearing  most  likely  to  connect  itself 

with  the  land,  we  concluded  to  make  it  our  headquarters  and 

keep  in  readiness  to  take  advantage  of  the  first  chance  for 

landincr.     We  melt  some  ice  to  quench  our  thirst,  feed  the 

doers,  and  then  select  the  most  substantial-looking  part  of  the 

floe— near  the  edge— where  we  can  be  close  enough  for  a 

dash  ashore  should  opportunity  offer,  and  ct  the  same  time 

safe  from  the  possible  breaking  up  of  the  margin  of  the  ice 

Jt  next  occurred  to  us  that  our  near  future  might  be  a  stay  of 

months  on  the  floe,  in  which  case  all  our  provisions  would  not 

be  too  much.     The  doctor  and  Jens  then  started  to  return  to 

the  northern  end  of  our  track  at  Cape  Hecla  to  bring  tnat 

xnrhlnh  ^vn  had  abandoned.     Two  only  wre  required  to  go 


AMONG  THE   FLOES. 


349 


over  the  broken  road  •  in  f^nt  f^.-  ^11  r 
duce  the  chances  for  an  orr^^  ^n  l  .°^  "'  .^°  ^°  ^°"'^  '^' 
going  out.  T^e  v^iLr  was  ft  ^h^V'  """-  ""P'^  ^'"^-^ 
fappfd  with  a  hL'd  whicM  ad  f  e  ved  a  t^  r^^^  '""'^- 
and   stayed    behind      As  if  ,.,,  ^'^^"'  severe  cut, 

should  be  kept!    was  toU  sol  "^'f ''"'>'  "'"  ^  '°°k-out 
on  the  retur?  of  my  compLbns      Th  '°f  V°  ^°  °"  ™'^'' 

The  weather  was. th^'Sardplea^an^   th^  "'  ^  'i  "" 
the  tent  was  part  of  the  In^ri  r«  t''^f.^^"t;     ^  had  no  shelter 

int  as  soon  asCt°d  ^ve  up  tS  »  tetS"'f  "'"^"l''^' 
unpromisinsj  surroundinp-s  7.",'^°'^'^"'?'='"°"  of  °«r  rather 

.h  II^^":rl:"dfth:tr^^'^'■^""'>"^^^^^ 

do  not  kLw  how  lo„fl  't'JZ^  '°  "«=  f°"h  -"d  [vest.  I 
drifting  in  the  mouth'of  mv  L  T I  '"'^^T"'^  ^Y  ">«  ^now 
found  ft  snowing  and  drifX  vb'len  if '^?f ''  ^^f 'f  <?«  ^"d 
evidently  increfsing,  was  "from' the'norh'a'nd'ir'at''  "'^ 
occurred  to  me  that  the  storm  was  In.,i       ?  •  ^'.  """^^ 

water  clouds  that  hunl  over  t|"  I  u  ^'' ?'''S'"'^''"g  '"  'he 
step  was  to  look  up  our  traos  so  ,t^  "^  ^"^     "^  f"'' 

blown  away  or  cove^rec^  u^  The  *, "  -"d  ii  t.  ""^\'  ^, 
tied  to  the  heavy  ones      I  thf  n    !li    /    u        "S'"  articles  I 

that  I  thought  there'wa  ca  "se  for llal""'  "n'^'  """^  "^"^'^ 
falling  thickly  and  accomDanipH  J;?i  u^™'.  ""=  ''"O"'  "^s 
ice,  sS  that  to^indSTcould  s^'onw  a  f'"'""  ''5'^'  ""^  "'« 
opposite  direction  the  dark  rownin.'Lnt'^f'S'o;  ,'""'t 
Henry  loomed  up  through  tl,-  storn?  Ihhi  f^,^  ^"^^P^ 
posing  appearance      Wish  int^,  i  Z,   ^"  ^"f"'  ^"d  im- 

the  sl^r^,*^!  clambered  up  the  frin°.:'^V"hP'^'  'f^  "'^''^'^ 
edge  of  the  floe,  and  saw  that  aklm.l  ZTf''  r°"  ""^ 
separatino-  us  from  lanH  '"f^  ?'™"g"  the  belt  of  water 
fonned  an  impassable  barrtr  f'""."'-'''«d  in  width,  it  still 
through  the™orm      i  ,n,^W     •  f  °"'?«  ",P  '"  '"^y  blackness 

dark  iuhne  onTe  distance  w^tl  the'  '"'  ''•"'  ?"'""  ''°"°^'  "« 
Conical  Hill  and  to  tht^!  1       i^  ^^"^  '"  ">«  direction  of 

Ti>ey  might  become"  lot  -^  TlfeTtorm  "and  "tl""'"  "'"^^'■- 
from  me,  which  mi<rhf  h,.  ,  <,.,/     r    i^     "d  dius  separated 


350 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


from  the  provisions  they  had  gone  for  and  those  with  me. 
The  observation  I  made  that  the  ice  was  moving  out  of  James 
Ross  Bay  did  not  add  to  my  peace  of  mind.  This  was  cer- 
tainly the  case,  as  the  shore  to  the  south  around  the  cape 
was  opening  up  gradually.  I  could  do  nothing  but  hope  that 
the  storm  was  local  and  would  not  be  of  long  duration,  and 
that  my  unfortunate  companions  might  not  go  astray  before 
it  ceased.  Being  now  about  as  cold  from  standing  in  the 
storm  as  I  could  very  well  bear  to  be,  I  emptied  the  snow 
from  the  sleeping-bag  and  arranging  the  flap  so  as  to  keep 
out  as  much  of  the  snow  as  I  could,  I  crawled  in  but  was 
truly  miserable ;  the  snow  was  driven  with  such  force  as  to 
effect  an  entrance  through  the  smallest  openings.  That 
which  had  entered  at  first,  melted  and  then  froze  around  my 
face  and  neck ;  more  drifted  in,  and,  added  to  the  physical 
discomforts,  ray  anxiety  was  too  great  to  admit  of  rest 
Toward  morning  I  fell  into  a  doze.  Occasionally  looking 
out,  I  found  the  weather  still  stormy  but  improving. 

"At  a  quarter-past  four  a.  m.  I  heard  the  dogs  barking  and 
turned  out  to  find  my  comrades  safely  returned.     They  had 
been  so  fortunate  as  to  reach  the  provisions  and  to  start  to 
return  before  the  storm  had  attained  a  sufficient  height  to 
preve-*-  them.     After  that  the  wind  was.  in  their  backs,  and 
the  sa^    -ious  dogs  faithfully  following  the  tracks  back,  enabled 
them  tc    ravel  with  greater  celerity  than  could  be  expected 
under  such  circumstances.     They  had  had  a  very  hard  time, 
however,  and  were  completely  tired  out.     We  erected  the 
tent  and  prepared  a  meal,  after  which  they  turned  in  to  sleep 
while  I  took  up  a  position  on  the  top  of  one  of  the  hummocks 
at  the  edge  of  the  floe.     The  morning  had  turned  out  a  beau- 
tiful one  after  the  storm,  which  ended  as  quickly  ss  it  had 
begun.     For  some  time  I  could  note  but  little  change,  but 
was  convinced  that  the  pack  was  moving  out  of  James  Ross 
Bay,  as  the  land  was  opening  up  to  view  around  Conical  Hill, 
and  Cape  Henry  was  presenting  a  different  phase.    After  a 
few  hours  I  was  startled  by  the  grinding,  crushing  noise  of 
the  ice  in  contact  with  the  shore  or  ice-foot  some  distance  to 
the  west,  inside  the  bay.     It  was  evident  that  the  pack  had 
swung  so  as  to  touch  the  land  and  1  instandy  awakened  my 
companions.     They,  poor  fellows,  had  not  been  long  asleep, 
and  I  am  sure  that  nothing  less  than  the  intelligence  that  there 
was  a  chance  for  escape  would  have  induced  them  to  over- 


m  to  over- 


AMONG   THE   Fr.05S. 

come  their  weariness      W  ^^' 

was  still  "rb::ke„!ir'i;:?p-^»ra^w*  s-'' 

before  the  opportun.^,/,        .^'^^  "^^de  preoarpW^        '^  ^^^' 
"Wequickf;^"^^^^^^^^  t°  land 

tent  standing-   SI        ^  "P  °"^y  what  was  n^^^' 

food,  'akin/onr;"sle^™r^C;  ^'°*!""  ^"'o  of  7^^^^ 
chronometer  and   sextant^    T^  T^'"S  apparatus  a„drif" 
diance  to  return  for  our  otherVf  "'°"«^'«  'here  nXht  t. 
ashore,  and  nerha.,o  .u       ^"^  Property  even  .v      "ft"'  oe  a 

point  about  a  mile  „lide;7"c*  "''L^''  ^PPeared  tTbe  frf  *^ 
place  the  terrific  noi^ie^f  1  ^P"  Henry.  As  w,.  „  ,  ^ 
it  was  deafening,  and  o/r  h  '  ?"?*"»  PackTneXLed'"''''  t''" 
in  each  other's  ears      n      """"^  "'^marks  had  tn T    u°  "'^f 

we  found  it  unde'goin?'":"'"^."'^-  '°  *e 'ed^:  "^V dr''" 
mense  pack  was  mo,^  ^       terrific  pressure      -Tk       ,  ^"^  ^^^ 

Ross  BPay,L7rrVornt';^^"'p-"i''bijtttft '■"'■ 

««ght  against  the  loftv  '  J'  "'^^  forced  with  tr.-'^J"*' 
erected  or  stren«h»n  j%  "^'^''oot.  which  sinW  1  "^^mendous 
%  feet  inTe"?S "^  '^'"y^*'-^-  The  ic?f''^'  '=="'=«s  had 
blocks  of  ce  cem '^  P^'-^""'"?  a  tJ^JlnZ  "<■"•  ^""^  °' 

">"ch  the  land  or  bn^  "?  "  '^'""•^'"  on  where  fhfl^'', ''"""' 
"lent.  To  "roZ:^"'.""  ^ome  led<ve  tha?  "P"  '"'^  "ot 
0"s.-  but  wo.  u  w  ™^  ''T  ^°™™°"on\ppearfr'  """?  '°<^^- 
,,Our  consulit:  ^  ctfedr^^  oPPortnlt;?'  "-«- 
»  c  le  ^rr^  V"'"  '^''-ek  apVeartd  "'^  ='"d  Pantomime 


linr 


351  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

below,  I  assisted  the  dogs  down  as  they  were  forced  ovt-r-, 
much  against  their  will — by  the  doctor  and  Jens.     Then  the 
doctor,  exhibiting  great  strength,  lowered  the  sledge,  with  its 
light  load,  to  the  same  level.     Jens  appeared  to  have  lost  his 
head.     The  dogs  stood  trembling  and  would  not  move.    I 
took  Redeye,  the  leading  dog  and  the  first  to  cross  bad  places, 
under  my  arm  and  tried  to  drag  the  others  along.     The 
doctor  was  pushing  the  full  weight  of  the  sledge  and  Jens  was 
urging  the  dogs.     The  latter  could  not  keep  their  traces  from 
being  caught  upon  the  ice  and  I  dropped  Redeye  to  clear  ihft 
lines.     The  intelligent  brute  had  now  gained  confidence  and 
began  picking  her  own  way.     I  next  seized  Howler,  a  dog 
near  at  hand,   and  in   this  way — the  doctor  propelling  the 
sledge  from  behind  and  Jens  and  I   clearing  the  lines  and 
dragging  the  dogs — we  succeeded  in  reaching  the  other  side 
to  a  ledge  that  gave  me  a  secure  footing,  with  the  do-    all 
around  me,  but  the  sledge  with  the  doctor  was  still  on  dan- 
gerous ground  and  no  time  was  to  be  lost.     I  iiad  an  open 
knife  in  my  teeth  with  which  to  cut  the  dogs  clear  should  they 
become  inextricably  entangled,  and  it  now  came  in  use  in 
clearing  the  lashing  of  the  sledge.     Jens  unloosed  the  doors, 
and,  pulling  them  past  me,  they  filed  one  by  one  up  the  slip- 
pery steps  which  the  rocks  and  projections  of  ice  in  the  wall 
afforded.     From  the  top  the  animals  looked  down  on  us  with 
scared  faces,  some  of  them   whining  pitcously.     With  great 
difficulty  I  followed  them,  but  when  part  of  the  way  up  I  dis- 
lodged a  large  piece  of  ice  which,  striking  me  in  the  stomach, 
cafried  me  sprawling  to  the  lower  level,  but  fortunately  not 
falling  on  me. 

"Another  attempt  was  more  successful  I  carried  the  seal- 
skin thong,  and,  reaching  the  top,  pulled  up,  one  by  one,  the 
different  articles  that  comprised  our  load  and  which  the  doctor 
and  Jens  made  fast  to  the  other  end.  They  next,  after  all  the 
load  was  safe,  fastened  the  line  to  the  sledge  and  joined  me  on 
the  top  of  the  ice-foot  when  the  sledge  was  pulled  up  after 
them.  It  was  ten  a.  m.  While  crossing  we  were  so  absorhed 
as  not  to  notice  the  motion  of  the  ice,  but  I  think  it  must  have 
stopped  swinging  for  a  moment,  held  by  the  pressure  of  the 
pack,  as  we  were  strangely  free  from  the  falling  blocks  which 
were  in  motion  when  we  started  across.  Be  that  as  it  may, 
our  passage  was  very  propitious,  for  as  soon  as  we  could  look 
about  from  our  new  and  safe  vantage  ground  we  found  the 


AMONG    THE    FLOES. 

pack  still  movino- out  iviVt,..  .  -  ^^^ 

ing  and  friction."  haZnt^T  "°"'"  ^">">  *«  terrible  .ri„^ 
sl>ort  distance  in  A7Cy''':VcT^?,"^y-'one^ZTd, 
we  could  see  the  open  wate^bSflP'  ^""/y''  ""'ward  pc^n? 
iide  wliicli  sweeps  around  fh-  ^  ""''  eddyin<r  witli  X 
rapidity.  We  knVthe  ^poe.ran'I^T'i"'  P°'"'  «'h  great 
which  we  had  encamped,  an^  sonn  "'?  P^^'ci'lar  floe  oh 

It  was  much  farther  o,,f  tlT,  °"  Sot  a  view  of  our  tZt  u. 

*e  great  pack  wis  "ca'rfc  Z'^'^'-  r'^^Znli^'J': 
standing  our  safety,  it  wasTo?plea°  '  f,f  '"''P'^'y-  N^ot^-th- 
and  juJi  ,t  all  our  provision,  f- '"  ^^^  °'"' °nly  shelter 
-h.n,  the  ^Hi«hes,PrecSr  fr:r  r  "vK  tfeS 
"It  was  a  great  disappointmen'      ur    t    , 

advancng  our  provisions  and  ou'Ht"tn!^'-''^''   ="«eeded  in 
us  at  east  the  satuiiction  of  ? ,,  •  •  °  ^  P"'"'  «'''ich  promised 
ever  before  reached.     Of  cou^i  ?k'«^  "  ^"S^'^'  'atitude  tha^ 
a  barren  victory,  for  we  knew  th«  th.T™".!''  ^^^^  ^een  bu" 
;ce  before  us  would  not  permit  as  ,ffl-""''''j^'^  character  of  the 
0  solve  the  question  of  pr™  nee  of^^'^H '  '^'T"''^  '<>  ^e  madi 
knew  that  our  experience  would  ont     u  '^^  "°"^'  ='"d  we 
onrpredecessors-that  the  frozen  nl'     ''''  '°  *^  "Pinion  of 
by  sledges,  and  of  course  not  at  ""-^  ''!^"°'  ''^  ''■^'^'^'•^"d 
over,  the  coldest  temperature  pa' ta;,H?"[''^'"^^^'»'°^k  was 
the  end  of  our  journey  was  not  nl  ''^  ''°PP«d  so  nea? 

fom,„ate  i:  e:!aXThlt;rdrd-'''^"-  He^  th'atrr 
to  do  w,th  an  atte„,pt  to  o-Jt  „or,h  "^^  '^^"^  ""''"'ng  more 
return  to  the  station.  sS  st-iter  '  "°'H"S  remains'"but  [o 
ooked  about  for  a  pas  a°  e  a  '  ,n7,h''^^'=  J°"'-"«'.  '"d  w° 
practicable—verv  roif<rh  k".  ^"^"""a  the  cape.  We  fn„„j  -I 
and  it  was  benj Z7t'^„":  °"'Jl^S-  wa?  now  very  I't 

Satisfied  with  the  ouHnnl-  , 

The  temperature  was  40'  at  Ae  ,■      ""  ^J'="'  P°int  at  n  p  „ 
^ad  Ix^en  comparativeW,va   '  ,rr?;  ^"'^  '"  ""^^  *e  weaAe; 
This  made  our  first  sf^ep  CTthl  k''""  °P""  ""ter  occurred 
P'-ant    Ne«  day.  ApS  T4tt.^Lr';°«/''ter  ^ 

i 


S  ^3 


Step 


f>^ 


i# 


1?'     ,*N5 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (AAT-3) 


// 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


Hi    D2.2 


£   US    112:0 

•^  Hill 


1.4 


1.8 


^.w 


mm 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

homeward.    The  ice  seemed  fast  in  Marco  Polo  Bay,  so  we 
started  across  for'  Harley's  Spit.     It  soon  began  to  snow 
thickly      We  feared  losing  our  way  m  the  blmdmg  dritt,  and 
campin'ff  on  the  ice  was  out  of  the  question.     The  wind  in  our 
faces  was  so  biting  that  we  could  hardly  advance  against  it. 
The  dogs  could  with  difficulty  be  prevented  from  turning 
around      Our  progress  was  slow,  and  I  cannot  recollect  hav- 
ing had  a  more  difficult  march  during  our  whole  trip.    After 
ten  hours  of  such  travelling  we  reached  our  old  camping- 
ground  at  Harley's  Spit.     On  the  evening  of  April  26th  we 
were  again  at  our  snow-house  on  Lincoln  Bay,  our  old  depot. 
We  did  not  find  the  ice  in  the  straits  disturbed  after  leaving 
Black  Cape     We  found  the  snow-house  driftea  full,  whicn 
gave  us  some  trouble  to  make  it  habitable.     We  spent  the 
?7th  until  evening  in  wandering  about  Lincdn  Bay  and  look- 
ing for  a  passage  in  the  interior  which  Dr   Pavy  thought 
would  connect  with  the  valley  of  Wrangell  Bay     At  half- 
oast  eight  Jens  had  harnessed  up,  and  we  started  along  the 
ice-foot  until  we  struck  the  dry  water-course,  and  then  turned 
up  its  bed  toward  the  interior.     We  went  through  a  narrorfr 
pass  which  opened  into  another  broad  valley  surrounded  by 
hio-h,  frowning  hills.     The  sun  shone  out  brightly  at  mid- 
ni|ht.  and  the  temperature  was  pleasant  fortravelling 

^'Travelling  along  next  morning,  we  fell  in  with  a  herd  of 
musk-oxen.      They  were  very  wild,  and,  apparently  taking 
our.  dogs  for  wolves,  they  galloped  off  at  great  speed.    A 
we  advanced,  we  found   the  water-course  and  openings  a 
trending  to  the  interior  and  no  oudet  toward  the  shore.    Uur 
backs  lere  toward  the  coast,  and  as  yet  we  could  see  no 
open  ng  toward  Wrangell  Bay  valley      After  travelling  about 
nfne  hours  we  halted,  left  Jens  with  the  dogs,  and  walked 
ahead  some  distance  to  reach  an  elevation  for  a  better  view 
Finding  no  encouragement  to  advance,  we  came  back  to  the 
sledge  tired  and  footsore,  and  turned  in  the  sleeping-bag. 
over  which  the  amorous  dogs  made  love  and  fought  all  night 
making    sleep   impossible, Although    the    temperature   was 
oleasant-only  6l4°  below  zero.     We  started  back  to  Lin- 
S  Ba;^  the  morning,  so  as  to  follow  the  coast  line  from 
the?e  home.     In  passing  the  place  where  the. musk-oxen  we^ 
seen  1  nodced  that  the  vegetation  was  quite  abundant  tor 
that' region.     There  was  considerable  tuft  grass   and  from 
what  coS  be  ..en  I  am  convinced  that  the  musk-oxen  had 


AMONG   THE    FLOES 

1  :r  e 

not  migrated,  but  wintered  here      TU^ 

moved,  as  if  in  grazino-  We^rV.'v  ^ J'^^^/^^^  much  snow  re- 
29th.  where  we  fed  th?  dog^  4  on!v  rh'  ^'"'°^",  ^"^  «"  ^^e 
days.  In  the  evening  of  tlfe  same  /.  ^  '^'°"^  '^"^^  i"  five 
way  home,  following  alono-lv  ^^'f-  '^^  ^^^^  again  on  the 
the  ice  disturbed  at\ny  pface  afte?  ^'""-  nY"  ^^  "^^  find 
we  anticipated,  the  disruption  wt  at^h"^  ^^^^  ^^P^'  ^s 
of  Robeson  Channel,  and  bordlln  t  n?[thern  entrance 

ice  in  the  straits  re^afned  infa  "  '^"  ^^^^"^  ^^^^     '^'^e 

held  between  the  two  shores  o':  M  ^"'^  "'^'"^  landlocked. 
B.  near  Cape  Beechey.  and  were  afcf  ''"  ''^'^  ^^  ^^P°^ 
the  movements  of  the  other  nr.fL     "^  ^^^''"  something  of 

well-beaten  track   between  deootR       TT"'"^  """  *« 
arrived  at  the  latter  diIcp      a  "''"'  ^°«  Conger,  we 

which  the  sun  was  Snfeighl":,^^^!'''^  'J'""'  °" 
waving  gayly  over  it,  we  consS.H  v        Stars  and  Stripes 
pearance,  and   contridn/ fevn„M     ".X.'=7  cheerful  in  ap- 
*he„  last  we  saw  it?     n^faet  X'^'^,  T'*  ■"'  ''"°'"«  '0°^ 
inviting  to  returning  travellers  a  thnn  k"^"°\*'*^>'^  '°oks 
ten,  >t  may  not  be  either  eleJa^t  or3  '  "'r"  ''"'"^"  ''^''ita- 
*e  quarters  almost  deserted"    Th.  %T"'f'T-    ^e  found 
0"t  m  the  field,  and  the  comm^nS?  ^"^^^^n'^nd  party  was  still 
three,  had  started  a  week  beforf 'T  °^l'^';  *''"'  «  Party  of 
officers,  only  LieutenanT^lr     u     '°''  '■^^  interior.     Of  the 

and  GardinJr  ofZZe^t^td'.Tf^'''  ^'^"■°"'  '--' 
A  breakfast  of  delicious  mu2' ^     .    1  °^  ""=  working  party 
bottle  of  wine,  made  us  feeU;  L     ''''  ""'^'^^^  dowf  vvith  a 
have  procured  the  same  vLnd' in°"^r^^^'"-    .^e  could  not 
our  appearance  was  too  much  =,1-""'"^"°",*^'  morning- 
Passed  for  tramps.     WitTnostf  Z'  "^-     We  should  hive 
peeled  by  the  frost,  eves  red  »nH         n    "''''■^^^  "^"fied  and 
blindness,  hair  unker^^  .^nd  beard?h '.?  "'"^  '""P'""'  '"»«'- 
neariy  white,  we  were*^  not  lovelv  fi    ^.™""  *"''  ''''=^'='"=d 
over  the  records  of  the  temperature  ?,  ,1°^  "P°"-     booking 
absence,  we  found  that  th^'^^?'"'?  ""  f^  ,1"'°"  during  our 
mmmum, -46.6,  and  mean       ,  for  March  was  ^8.0; 

»7ed  in  the  field  TTe^elr^'ir""'  '°  "°'''  ^'  ™^^  ob- 
-8.6;  maximum.  +mo  m7n?J,  '^'"P^'-^'"^  for  April  was 
'?'  'he  last  time  on  AprU'  ,d  a'"^"""'  -*'■'■     Mercury  froze 

"me  on  April  8th,  mZntfeo  "ons?"  t^°'^  '^"'  ^"^  '^'^  fi^^t 

■n^  1 60  consecutive  days  during  which 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


the  temperature  was  below  zero.  The;  weather  at  Fort  Con- 
ner was  now  beautiful,  and  the  dogs  lay  basking  in  the  sun, 
enjoying  their  well-deserved  rest.  The  travellers  were  also 
enjoying  the  change  of  life  which  returned  sledgers  only  can 
appreciate.  Never  did  our  beds  seem  softer,  our  fare  so  ex- 
cellent, or  a  bath  so  welcome."  ,       ,  .         ,  ,    . 

The   most  important   of  the   undertakings   by  exploring 
parties  from  Lady  Franklin  Bay  was  the  journey  of  Lieuten- 
ant  Lockwood  to  the  north,  along  the  coast  of  Greenland    In 
it  he  attained  at  Lockwood  Island  the  highest  point  of  the 
o-lobe  yet  reached  by  foot  of  man,  and  looked  off  on  the 
frozen  ocean  beyond  for  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles 
more      No  land  was  visible  to  the  north  or  northwest,  but  to 
•the  northeast  could  be  descried  a  cape  jutting  out  from  the 
coast  which  will  probably  prove  to  be  the  northernmost  point 
of  Greenland.      The  expedition,  after  incredible  hardships, 
returned  to  Fort  Conger  on  June  ist,  1883,  after  an  absence 
of  two  months.     The  North  Greenland  sledging  party,  as  it 
was  called,  were  only  turned  back  from  proceeding  farther 
by  the  drifting  ice  of  the  Polar  Ocean,  after  they  had  narrowly 
escaped  being  carried  out  to  sea.    An  account  of  their  adven- 
tures and  discoveries  is  given  by  Sergeant  Rice  in  his  inter- 
esting  diary.     The  writer  says  he  is  indebted  to  Sergeant 
Brainard,  who  accompanied  Lieutenant  Lockwood,  for  most 
of  his  information,  which  Sergeant  Brainard  s  admirably  kept 
sledcre  journal   amply  afforded.     "In   fact,     says   Sergeant 
Rice"  "the  record  of  many  intelligent  observations  and  inter- 
esting details  are  lost  sight  of  in  this  account,  in  which  I  con- 
fine myself  to  a  record  of  the  principal  features  of  their  expe- 
rience and  a  comprehensive  connection  of  the  same.    To  do 
this  I  have  taken  notes  from  the  sledge-journal,  and  have 
been  assisted  by  the  gossip  of  the  sledgers,  with  which  the 
quarters  were  of  course  rife  after  their  return       The  r 
tive   is  here  given  in   Sergeant  Ric-'s  own  language, 
which  none  could  be  more  appropriate :  ^     ^^      ,    _       ,     , 
-On  April  -sd  the  main  party,  bound  for  North  Greenland. 
left  the  station.     They  pulled  out  of  Shift  Rudder  Bay  on  te 
evening  of  the   5th,  intending  to  travel  by  night  and  sleep 
during  the  warmest  part  of  the  day.     The  outfit  consisted  of 
one  dog-sledge.  with^eam  and  driver  (Fred),  and  four  Hud- 
son   Bay  slelges   (toboggans).     To  the  former  Liei^enan 
Lockwood   and   Sergeant  Jewell  were   attached,  while  the 


The  narra- 
than 


LOCKWOODS  JOURNEY. 

357 

and  Connell.  Two  of  the  sled"erw;.r„  „  i^'  ft'^i"'  ^V""' 
each,  and  two  were  dJ^^n  by  twr,nereach  ^Th'""  ""'" 
followed  the  northern  Bend  of  SWfr  R,?M  I  t,  ^^^,  P^")' 
Beechey  was  reached,  after  which  thevstucl- ^'^  ""'1-'  ^T 
Greenland  shore.  At  the  end  of  hT fi  nmarch  th  "'  '^' 
into  camp  on  the  ice,  erectino-  their  tent^  Th-  ■  ?'  Tl' 
was  hardly  a  rest,  for  they  found  the  rsTeeDh^thr^'  '"''^ 
into  the  semblance  of  sheet-iron  casin<J,  Vf  T^l  "^^  "T"^^" 
introducing  their  bodfes  t^Saw  ^t^  he  "^^'^3  te"*"'"^ 
could  they  enve  op  themselvps      Tkl:  •  •  ^       ^  degrees 

few  miles  from  sWe  was  verv  T^no  P^'"'°?  °"  *^ '<^«  ^ 
The  temperature  was  -T,  dl'rees    '^S  ^f  ^""^  unsheltered. 

bility  to  most  of  the  travellers  Mo;n!niKP"'\'  ?"  '1"?°=^'- 
Henry,  afflicted  with  rheumatic  nJ„J^     ""S''' ''"hinges. 

turn  home,  and  ConneirS  a  frn.'  /  ~'"P«"«d  to  re- 
.he  dog-sledge  to  the  sLr"  to% itv  hi^°°Vr  """''  '" 
kept  on  across  the  straits,  Jew.ll  takir^^ke  It     T  P"')^ 

Kr:fhe&?::e^1-ti;=;rafi^  F°-  ^-"p" 

alternating  with  patchfs  ordeln^^         [^  ""/'"^  overturned, 

on  a  paleo^rysticC  whe,e  thP  onHl;-*"^^'^"""^  themselves 

much  more  favorable      Here  thev  a-  n°"'       'f '''ii"°  ^^^« 

wasblowingviolently;  temperature  ^,0  T^?--  ^''^  "''"^ 
circumstances  was  very  diSt  p.Tl^'       °?'""S  ""^er  the 

agijated  by  the  wind,l.TecS:=  Z-lTmoi  tf'^""^ 
that  was  condens  ng  on  its  sides  anH  rL"  j  ■  ,  "=  "">« 
!an.pand  the  spirit!  of  /he  cook.  The  iLt"eTof  the'  f"' 
ng-bags  were  not  exempt  from  the  inro  ,T„-  r  !  ^'^""P" 

lature  snowstorm  for  Ir  d,^         j    ""=°'"'enience  of  the  min- 

posure  and  SaVed  tse  f  Tn  ?h.  "P°"  ^^7^,  barefaced  ex- 
P.  M.  the  party  is  aglfn  u„de  wav  T  '  °^  *"  ^^^'^  ^'  9 
during  the  night  hid  so  inc^ealeTasto  forcTT'  '"'"'"^  °" 
at2A  M.  of  the  8th  before  cnm,J  ?        u      ,?*'""  ""°  camp 

travelling  hours      BiederbeSd  tf  ^',  '""--'"^  ""-"l^^^  "^ 
became  detached  from  tie  r^ainhn^' :?''''"'"«^*  '°''°g?='". 

■ow  .e  tracks  of  ^:^ ^^Jt^  ^^::r'^i;:^ 


358  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

ions.  The  storm  coming  on  with  blinding  drift  hid  them  from 
their  surroundings.  The  main  party  camping,  Brainard 
started  to  look  them  up. 

"They  were  soon  found  on  the  same  floe  with  the  encamp- 
ment. Brainard's  arrival  was  most  opportune.  They  were 
making  preparations  to  pass  the  day  as  best  they  could.  A 
hole  was  already  burrowed  in  a  snowbank  which,  with  a  rub- 
ber blanket  held  at  their  backs,  was  their  sole  protection 
against  the  storm.  The  waifs  were  soon  guided  to  their 
companions.  The  storm  increased  so  that  Lynn's  tent,  only 
ten  yards  away,  could  not  be  seen  from  the  other  tent.  The 
temperature  in  the  tent  was  — 9  while  the  meals  were  being 
cooked.  All  day  the  storm  raged,  at  times  the  wind  blowing 
at  the  rate  of  sixty  miles  an  hour.  On  the  9th  the  party  are 
still  stormstayed,  and  their  miser>'  must  be  imagined.  The 
drifting  snow  had  so  pressed  in  the  sides  of  the  tents  that  the 
travellers  were  curtailed  of  the  small  space  which  their  cover- 
incr  generally  afforded  them.  The  wind  appear' d  to  be  from 
the  southwest.  Later  it  veered,  and  at  8  p.  m.  had  sufficiently 
moderated  to  admit  of  a  start  being  made.  The  temperature 
had  risen  and  stood  at  zero.  This  was  the  first  night  of  the 
season  on  y^hich  the  travellers  saw  the  sun  above  the  hori- 
zon at  midnight.  They  reach  Cape  Sumner  on  the  loth,  and 
halt  at  the  boat  camp. 

"  This  is  the  camp  occupied  by  the  party  from  the  Polaris 
who  attempted  to  get  north  by  boat.  Their  abandoned  boats 
and  tent  still  remain  as  left  when  the  attempt  was  given  up. 
Our  party  found  the  location  a  very  uncomfortable  place.  At 
7  A.  M.  their  tents  were  erected,  but  were  soon  after  blown 
down  and  the  ridge  pole  of  one  broken.  Their  shelters  were 
again  raised,  and  the  sides  of  the  canvas  weighed  down  with 
provisions.  At  5  p.  m.  the  tent  occupied  by  Brainard  and 
his  companions  was  again  blown  down.  They  began  to 
make  an  excavation  in  the  snow,  but  it  was  six  hours  before 
it  was  suitable  for  occupancy..  In  the  confusion  attending  the 
ccllapse  of  the  tent  the  allowance  of  alcohol  fuel  for  cooking 
the  evening  meal  was  spilled,  so  the  cold  travellers  went  sup- 
perless  to  bed— or  to  bag.  At  a  quarter  to  10  p.  m.  Lieu- 
tenant Lockwood  arrived  with  the  dog  team.  He  had  sep- 
arated from  his  party  on  the  first  morning  of  the  storm,  and 
had  been  snowed  up  for  two  days. 

"April  nth.— The  party  occupied  three  tents,  Lieutenant 


lockwood's  journey. 

•Joy 

Lock  wood,  Jewell  and  Esquimau  Fred  in  on^  an^  fT, 
party  occupying  the  two  larger  ones      DunW  tht  .'      T'" 
^eant  Brainard  and  his  tent%.ates  were  unhSused  ahhn  ''." 
sincerely  sympathizing  with  their  neio-hhnr=   q        '  ^'^T"§^h 

and  his  companions  did  not  refrab  from  !'^'T^^^    ^y"" 
their  exoense      An  ^1^  reiram  Irom  some  badmage  at 

tlieir  expense.  An  old  proverb  was  aptly  illustrated  hnvv 
ever  when  this  morning  their  canvas  was  lifted  bodilv  f^nr:^ 
.ts  fastenmgs  and  carried  some  distance,  leavincr  the  L^r 
ishea  occupants  completelv  evnoc*:>ri  ;«  lu  -  r  .  ^ston- 
It  was  now  their  turn  to  2  inThe  Jn  r  ^^^^P'?§:-bags. 
T  T    •     .1  1  .        &   *"   ^"^  snow  for  several   linn  re 

Li/e  m  these  dug-outs  in  the  snow  was  almost  the  acme  S 
misery.    The  a  mosphere  soon  became  unwholesome  breath 

K^afs  -  hS-Th::L;-fc^^^ 
fu:rrtUalt';:"'^i^e:Sthe°;hif^^^ 

they  were  en/yingyXsa„*tempt:?utl/^  -^ 

the  cache  placed  ^h'r'e  fy  D^k^  bMa^ch  ""an^d  ""i"'  '"' 

*"fe^TthC%hrf'=^,^  hour^.'c"oS' :tr  ^" '" 

ar.d  tK:  ^li'fet  ,  %t;"selTol""^ 

some  of  tlie  moTsturl      One  Xh.  P  ?    -  u""  '°  ^^porate 

and  placed  in  a  posWon  to  co„  1  fl?  "  ''•°?"  ™^  "S'^'^'l 
for  u'se  when  retur  i^^  1nXTfter„oon°r-"°r'  *°  '',*=  '"''' 
wood  started  back  to  fh.  i,„  ^"*^"^noo"  Lieutenant  Lock- 
driver  to  procure  a  new  sled  "^"°"  '1'i'  '^°e  f^^-"  ="<! 
Sergeant  B^Snard  W  to  cinr.; "'"'"''■  ^^'1  P^"y  ""der 
sionl  there  ;  camp"°'pla^e'^stinrr'  ?"*'  '^'^  *«  P™"" 
.4th  the  tents  ha^eTeen  reoaired  and  ^°  '""P-  ^^  ^Pril 
also  again  thrown  down  byX  g„sts  of  winf  wl  ■T^'^'^'  ''"' 
have  been  inseparable  from  tiiis^Focairtv  T J  '^J'^P'*''  '° 
or  wind  would'^d.w  down  t^e  ttT<iJ!:;,-!'i^^^ 


36o 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


Stones  and  masses  of  snow  in  such  a  manner  as  to  raise  their 
apprehensions  of  even  greater  misfortunes  than  the  discom- 
fort the  cold  wind  caused  them.  Brainard  notes  an  especially 
remarkable  sight  he  witnessed  when  a  large  body  of  snow, 
starting  from  a  high  elevation  among  the  rugged  cliffs,  came 
pouring  down  like  a  cataract  of  foam.  It  was  a  perfect  snow 
cascade,  leaping  from  rock  to  rock  like  a  mountain  stream. 
Next  day  is  spent  at  the  boat  camp  making  preparations  for 
starting  north  from  this  point. 

"  Lieutenant  Lockwood  returns  from  Fort  Conger  and  brings 
some  small  articles  of  clothing  and  letters  from  their  com- 
rades. The  latter  were  very  welcome,  and  served  to  amuse 
and  interest  the  unhappy  travellers  more  than  one  who  has 
not  been  similarly  situated  can  understand.  On  the  i6th  the 
wind  is  strong.  The  Hudson  Bay  sledges  are  repaired; 
one  completely  worn  out  is  abandoned.  This  increased  the 
weight  on  the  others,  so  that  the  weight  on  one  sledge  was 
at  least  two  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  to  a  man.  At 
twenty-four  minutes  past  lo  p.  m.  the  party  have  pulled  out 
from  the  boat  camp  and  are  plodding  across  Newman  Bay, 
headed  for  the  '  Gap  Valley ' — not  '  Gap,'  which  is  south  of 
them.  April  17th  finds  them  in  the  'Gorge,'  which  they  en- 
tered from  the  Newman  Bay  side  and  by  which  they  intended 
to  travel  overland  so  as  to  cut  short  the  projection  of  land  at 
Cape  Brevoort.  Temperature  at  midnight  is  — 9,  light  snow 
falling  and  the  sun  above  the  horizon.  The  i8th  was  a  very 
trying  day,  and  every  one  was  completely  exhausted  after  the 
march,  which  was  attended  with  worse  travelling  than  they  had 
yet  encountered.  The  snow  was  lying  deep,  and  over  it 
there  was  formed  a  crust  just  strong  enough  not  to  bear. 
Through  this  the  feet  and  sledges  broke  at  every  step. 

"April  19th. — -The  travellers  are  still  tramping  overland  to- 
ward Repulse  Harbor.  The  Hudson  Bays  are  manned  for 
thirteen  consecutive  hours.  It  is  a  ignificant  fact  that  the 
dog  sledge  could  travel  over  the  same  ground  in  four  hours. 
On  the  20th  only  about  four  miles  were  made.  The  travel- 
ling in  the  valleys,  the  coast  not  yet  reached,  presented  a  new 
feature  on  the  21st.  The  deep  snow  was  succeeded  by 
patches  of  bare  ground  and  gravel  beds  over  vi^hich  the 
sledges  could  only  be  dragged  by  standing  pulls.  The  fol- 
lowing day  they  enter  P,epulse  Harbor  by  the  valley  through 
which  the  watercourse  empties,  and  grope  their  way  down  the 


WCKWOOD's   JOURNEV. 

dry  gorge  to  the  bay  with  IlffT»  i,       i  j  '' 

abouts  or  surroundings  *  ''"owledge  of  their  where- 

indiclt:^  th™ Xtre^oTce""''  ''''  -'"-  °f  '^e  travelling 
of  the  sea      The  ItZThrZ  ZlZ  '-'I  "'"''  "^  ^  "™ 
■nto  camp  does  not,  however  =,ll,!  ^     ^  '"'°  <=""'?•     To  o-o 
.0  the  Arctic  sledger.     Our   itted'™''"  l"'  °'  '°"^t!n 
for  two  hours  before  their  tente  were  =T^  busily  occupied 
msure  the.r  not  being  carried  awa^bv  ,f/''f  ""^  =«<^">-ed  to 
mals  of  the  cook-a  miniature  snow    n  T""'  ■  '^^^"  *« 
head,  down  his  bacic  and  over  h!=  r       '  ^''owering  on  his 
these  latter  burning  the  hands  wLJ^'"^  \"''  «<="5i's,  and 
unfl  the  sputtering  Tamp  raises Ihem  Jn^'v  '^^  ^'^  '°"^hed, 
I  cannot  do  bette?  than  transcribe  fr.    ''W''^''  "=">Perature 
an  entry  made  on  this  occasion     .  SW, '^.'?'""^'^'^  J°"™a 
the  tent  ,s  closed  up  he  finds  that  the  fni^  ,", '?°'^-    After 
under  a  huge  snow-drift,  which  coveidh^''''?i'°'>  ''^  °"'=ide 
and  completely  closed  the  entranr^      ,  -^  ?"^^  °f  *«  tent 
h.m  to  tunnel  his  way  through  ,r,'r^'""°.'f  "e<:«sary  for 
obstacles  intervened :  the  SolTs  t  T'"'^-     ^^'^  "^w 
and  the  shovels  all  covered  up      1,1^1    ^""^  ""<^'='-  "'^  =now 
with  h,s  hands,  occasionally  stoDninV"'  "^"'""y  digs  away 
Arctic  work  generally.' "^  '"PP'"?  '»  "«er  anathemas  on 

.he  "horto^t  trtS^:4V'■"t^  t-'eir  way  along 
them     Onthe25th  Fred  the2     i^-P"'=«    Harbor  beS 
to  take  his  accustomed  place  b°l^  ^'T'-  '"  '''^^  and  unaSe 
the  dogs  by  wielding  the^wMo^r.    "^  E''^  "^'=^^-     He  gufdes 
w  .c    he  has  been  placed    Th^nrrtv'  '°P  °/  "'^  '°ad  on 
The  travellers  encamped  to-day  of/  ^  "  "'^^'^  ^^P^'  Stan  on 
the  coast  of  Greenland  than  had  ,„'"w"°"''^'-'yP°i»t  on 
byAraencans.    They  were  eniotfn    b' ''^'°''«  been  attained 
effects  of  which  are  indicated  h{?^K^  ^"'^  ■"'*=^"i«'-.  the  indirect 

S    r^- '"  ''^^^-^k  •  profidencTir^  '""^'°"  '"  B-'"- 
thmk  the  crcumstance  would  have  k'^       ^"°""S^-     I  do  not 

oTa"',"^  ""-'  journey       ^^"'  ^''"  "°"^ed  at  any  pre- 

feumon't'''is  dfscov'ered'and  t  Pr'"°"^  '^^^  by  Lieutenant 
good  condition.     The  red  h/.""''  '"  '^°"'ain  forty  rations  fn 

■ft  ,i.'?sii:TJB"'^''csii.:tS 


j6a  ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

April  27th. — Skirting  along  the  coast  the  party  passed 
Hand  and  Frankfield  Bays.  Cape  Bryant,  their  next  objec- 
tive point,  stands  out  bold  and  inviting,  apparendy  but  a  short 
distance  ahead.  A  cynic  would  say,  however,  had  he  ever 
travelled  in  the  Arctic,  that  with  the  exception  of  a  woman 
nothing  is  so  deceiving  as  an  Arcdc  landscape.  Here  dis- 
tances cannot  be  very  correctly  estimated  by  the  eye.  Our 
travellers  stepped  out  hopefully,  but  hour  after  hour  they 
plodded  on  without  perceptibly  diminishing  the  distance. 
Quite  tired  out,  the  camp  is  at  last  reached.  The  tempera- 
ture is  — 15.  The  indefatigable  Fredericks,  affectionately 
called  "Shorty"  by  his  comrades,  freezes  his  fingers  while 
lashing  up  the  broken  ridge-pole  of  the  tent.  The  outlook 
of  the  party  was  now  becoming  very  encouraging,  about 
twenty-five  miles  having  been  made  in  the  last  two  days  and 
the  travelling  ahead  apparendy  very  good.  To  the  north- 
ward Cape  May  and  other  prominent  points  presented  a  fine 
view.  This  day  a  small  covey  of  ptarmigan  were  fallen  in 
with  and  Esquimau  Fred  killed  five.  The  28th  was  passed 
as  a  day  of  rest,  preparatory  to  the  final  dash  of  the  advance 
party  and  the  return  of  the  supporters.  The  clear  weather 
afforded  the  party  a  fine  view  of  Cape  Britannia  and  St.  An- 
draw's  Bay,  from  which  latter  place  the  English  party  were 
forced  to  return. 

April  29th  the  party  separated,  Lynn,  Jewell,  Ralston,  Eli- 
son,  Fredericks  and  Saler  starting  back  for  Boat  Camp,  and 
Lieutenant  Lockwpod,  Brainard  and  Esquimau  Fred  con- 
tinuing on  to  the  north.  With  the  supporting  party  we  have 
now  nothing  to  do.  They  had  performed  their  work  well 
and  faithfully  through  the  worst,  and  deserve  the  highest 

credit  for  it. 

We  will  now  follow  the  fortunes  of  Lieutenant  Lockwood 
and  his  companions.  After  the  good-byes  and  handshakings 
were  over — good-byes  that  in  this  case  had  the  appropriate 
accompaniment  of  tears  from  at  least  three  of  the  party  who 
were  gready  affected  with  snowblindness  —  the  dogs  were 
directed  across  St.  George's  Fiord.  They  had  rations  for 
dogs  ana  men  for  twenty-five  days,  which,  with  moderate 
good  fortune,  should  enable  them  to  trace  a  great  distance 
of  coast  line  and  place  th-m  at  a  far  higher  point  than  had 
ever  been  attained  on  the  Greenland  continent.  The  party 
camped  at  one  a.  m.,  dogs  very  tired.     Brainard  is  suffering 


LOCKWOOD's    JOURNEY. 


363 


from  snow-blIndnp«?<5  nnrl  «r.<,^.  ^  r  ,  . 
eyes  ,  ith  tea  leaves  Snow  aid  To  tt  "'  K^  "^^  P°""-'"e  h- 
made  and  ground  travelled  over  nvT^'yi'.^'rSr  '"f^-^re 
Circumstances      The  weithpr  ;e  ^  ^^y  ""<^^er  such 

the  temperature  is  -!2rde^roe  ^'^  ''^'"'^  ^"^  ^'  "^»^n«>ht 
was  the  first  occasion^nTlS '^7'"''^  ^^  "'"^-  ^his 
freezing  point  of  water  in  e  ttV^P"''"'"''"  ^^^  ^'  ^'^^ 
The  snow  becoming  worse  as  hevl.  ;  •  '\  ^^^  "'^"^^  out. 
Lockwood  decidesfo  head  d  /ecX  fofr"  '^^p^^^'  Lieutenant 
of  Cape  May,  as  at  first  intendlHi^^^  Britannia  instead 
skirted  the  fiord  at  intervalf  ^'"^'  ""^  '"^  hummocks 

f^rtsTifr:^^^^^^^^    c^a?k^r""^r  ^— ^'^ 

had  opened  up.     This  offered  nn  '     ""^  ^^n-^'derable  extent 
sounding,  of  which  the  t°ave,lls  "    o^^^  ^^^P  «-a 

Four  hund  .d  and  twentv^four  ft.     ^r^''^''^'^  themselves, 
lashing  and  some  roSn  al    8.0  f  ^""'  '4?  ^^  sealskin 
the  lead.     No  bottom      The  whfn      ^^^'r^^^  ^^^ered  with 
weight  failed  to  reach  ^oundin"^^  1^'   n'"  "^^^^^^  ^"^  ^^e 
parted  and  all  except  the  whin^and  ..  ^     '"?  "^  '^^  '''*^«  ^t 
lost.     On  May  4th  our  trave  Ls  are  nl^'  ^  ^^^'  °^  ''^P^  ''^^ 
their  Ultima  Thule  hereSe      tL   ?"^  ^?P^  Britannia. 
Lieutenant  Beaumont's  farthest'    MsLenl"  ^^'^^"^^  ^^''^^ 
n.a  IS  reached,  and  the  American   flU       J'  ^-  ^^P^  ^^''tan- 
over  land  never  before  ^oS  by  m^ann'^f'^'^y  '^'^''^ 
wood  now  made  his  first  observarfnnc  r     .^^.^^^enant  Lock- 
tude.  and  found,  as  nea    as  he  'o  1/°'     '''""^^  ^"^  ^°"?i- 
position  given  to  that'p^i^t  by  thetar^r^  ''  '''''  '^^ 
although  the  expedition  did  not  rearh  .h       1       ^  "^^^  "^^^^^^^ 
lers  ascended  the  cape  which  the!  f       a  P^^?'     ^^^  travel- 
feet  high,  and  affordhTgrf^ne  view      Rf>'^  ^'  "^^"^  ^'700 
bean  island,  and  was  not  the  ^rmfn.^'    ^"?'?^ ^PP^^^^^  ^o 
they  could  see  unknown  land   exT.nH-        ""^  ^reenland.  for 

Lieutenant  Lockwood.  h^spiredwi^h^  ^^1'°  '^^  northeast, 
cated  to  the  driver  Fred  ^J  ^       •     ^"  ^^P^orer's  ardor,  indi- 

to  the  north.  and^S;d  Ca'^ aK  ^"  ^^  "^^  ^^^ 
rency  with  which  Fred  was  familL  T  ^  '^  krons-cur- 
ting  his  dogs  that  far  ^^"^'har-if  he  succeeded  in  get- 

While  lashing  the  sTedte  Fr?d"  to?^^  S^  '^'  'fl^  '^^  distance 
-outside  was  movinf.    "T^^i^^-^  ^:^^^  ^ 


364  ARCTIC  EXPLORATIONS. 

seen.     They  travelled  inside  of  this  over  the  embayed  or 
land-locked  ice,  which  did  not  appear  to  have  been  broken 

for  many  years.  May  6th  the 
dogs  were  so  ravenous  that 
they  actually  chewed  up  the 
wooden  casing  of  the  ther- 
mometer. This  was  showing 
almost  as  much  contempt  for 
science  as  did  "  King,"  of  our 
team,  when  he  appeared  to 
mistake  one  of  those  ordi- 
nary  thermal  instruments  for 
a  hygrometer.  Temperature, 
+6. 

Our  travellers  were  now  en- 
joying the  satisfaction  of  fol- 
,  lowing  a  coast  line  never  be- 
fore seen.  New  points  were 
reached  from  time  to  time. 
The  coast  was  formed  of  a 
rapid  succession  of  projections 
and  capes,  with  inlets  and  bays 
of  more  or  less  depth  interven- 
ing.  A  prominent  point,  which 
they  called  Black  Cape,  was 
passed  this  day,  and  they  camped  on  the  morning  of  the  7th 
at  a  smaller  point  a  litde  farther  on,  which  was  dubbed  Rab- 
bit Point,  because  of  the  killing  of  a  hare  as  they  were  going 
into  camp.  Animal  life  did  not  appear  less  abundant  here 
than  farther  south.  Traces  of  musk  oxen,  not  fresh,  and 
two  ptarmigan  were  seen.  On  the  8th  the  linle  party  passed 
the  mouth  of  another  fiord  and  arrived  at  Distant  Cape. 

[These  names  are  descriptive,  being  some  suggestive  titles 
which  have  since,  in  the  projection  of  the  map,  been  supple- 
mented by  a  more  lasting  appellation  which  I  shall  add,  paren- 
thetically, to  the  former.] 

We  will  not  follow  the  explorers  closely  at  this  part  of  their 
journey,  but  state  that  from  the  8th  to  the  13th  of  May  they 
continued  to  advance  along  this  new  coast  line,  reaching  new 
points  at  every  march  and  sometimes  passing  several  in  one 
day.  Dome  Cape  (Cape  Nijkander),  then  Cape  Mohn,  were 
passed— the  last  mentioned  is  in  latitude  83  deg.  10  mm/ 


LIEUTENANT  JAS.  B.  LOCKWOOD. 


lockwood's  journey. 


365 


•J    0 

^:i;'  Aoffi;;:;'et^  %1'^7'Zt'\  t?'  --"^^  cape 

and  each  cape,  until  passed  ''n'''-'^^-''"'-'''"  "°"'"''" 
view.  The  travelling  was  verv  °^T  .1^-  ^"'  *^  n*"'  fr°m 
ing  at  every  march  and  rloS^nf  '  ■  "'="■  '°="'  ""^^  ^ecreas- 
day.  Fron;  Shoe  IsTandTMarriS:"'''  T,  ''"'."^  ■"="»«  ^^^h 
on  the  13th,  and  in  one  long  maTchcS'  ',''f"'^i  ••'V  ^'^^^d 
83  deg.  .9  min.,  longitude^  rider"'  •''''"'*  " '"  '"""''« 
Fiord,"  Hummock  Cape  (Cane  R  S'  n  ,"""Tj2*^sed  ••  Wild 
let,  "Pyramid  Island ••'^(BV^„'^rd'li^H?^'^'.^^^>'P^^'^*"  '"• 
farthest  at  twenty-five  minuTes  ?o1we  ve  P^':if  1"^'^'^  *-^ 
It  was  snow  ng  hard  at  the  f,m.  ""^"^  '^-  "•  o'  the  same  date. 

in?.  Lleutenfnt  LocLwoodTere  H^  "T,^  "''"''  "»^  blow- 
farther,  but,  after  stopprn°  lonl  ^n^^'^L''^''  '°  P^^^d  no 
observations  to  determine^!,  ?S  v  ^"^  '°  '*'*'=  ^  series  of 
journey.  The  party  hTdmlde^rxmar^r  T''  "^^  ""=  •■^'"™ 
nia.  It  was  thirteen  dayrsincTtL„h'^"[T^*^^P^  ""'=»"- 
and  as  they  were  provisioned  from  til  lalf'  9^P^  .^J^^"^ 
twenty-five  days' rations  half  nr  ml  ^  P°'"' "'"''  only 

At  ,0A  „.,  M^y  .4th,  the  :  o™"  aTerand'^h^'^^K^""^'""^'^ 
were  taken,  after  which  a  cairn  was  h!,n^  j  "  "''^'^"ations 
of  the  vegetation,  chiefly  lichTnrand  1  f  f,"™^  specimens 
tain  observations  for  equal  aSje.^ «  '"'''•     '^°  °"'- 

over  till  the  next  day.  ?he  isth  necessary  to  remain 

After  taklnpf  said  obsprvnf-.'r^nr.  r  • 

Sergeant  Braifard  ascended  trivrJ'"?^"'  •^°*^''°<^  ^'"d 
they  had  reached  to  obtain  a  view  to  ,1      ™"?"  °"  *^  <=»?« 
attained  an  elevation  ofTto  to  J^^""''^''"'?''''-     They 
could  see  to  the  northeast.  SnT  1?^  H'  '".,''<=«'",  and 
cape  (Kane).     The  interveni^Tfi'd  rr    ^'^'",  "V''?''  ''"°"'«'- 
to  connect  with  the  one  to  Tlfe  soutl  nf"?K  "^  "  f.'  ^PP"'"'^'' 
thus  making  of  the  land  on  which  °hev  ^Lh^""   Weyprecht), 
to  the  eastward  of  them  »  ml     ?  •    .L  '""^  ^n  island.    Back 
four  thousand  fe«  Si^rcep Sd  t  "°^"'  "^^^ate)  ab^ut 
northeast,  beyond  Cape  Kane'^rnnM  K  '"'     I'^'-'her  to  the 
of  land.    It  appeared  to  be  dltenr  ih  ^!  « '"  ^"°"'<^'-  P°int 
lias  since  been  named  Cape  RoWt  i  •      ,   "'1  '""'''•    '^^'^ 
between  it  and  Cape  Kane^Hunt  piori' Ti;  "f  "'  °P^"'"^- 
see  nothing  more  to  the  northward  of 'Mlr^P'"':^'"' ~"''l 

only  some  atmospheric  JZ^::^^ ■^-^^^  ^^^ 


366 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


x/:'- 


.      .,         V. 


to  the  latter  opinion — ^probably  a  low  cirrus  cloud  or  the 
evaporation  from  a  tidal  crack.  Should  it  be  land  it  appears 
to  have  taken  a  direction  more  directly  north  than  the  coast 
they  had  discovered.  Out  upon  the  Polar  Ocean  to  the  north 
their  view  was  more  extended,  including,  so  they  think,  a, 
range  of  sixty  miles.  The  ice  was  of  a  very  rough,  forbidding 
character,  offering  no  chance  for  travelling,  and  no  land  could 
be  seen.  Looking  eastward  into  the  interior  nothing  met  the 
eye  but  ci  confused  mass  of  snow-capped  mountain  peaks  and 
hills,  the  coast  badiy  broken  up  by  fiords.  > 

They  now  descended  to  the  tent  and  packed  up,  after  which 
the  dogs  were  turned  homewr^rd.  The  travellers  were  now 
indeed  glad  tc  think  that  eve.y  step  placed  them  nearer  home, 
albeit  that  home  was  only  a  rude  habitation  on  the  shores 
of  Grinneli  Land.  A  rough  reduction  of  his  observations 
showed  Lieutenant  Lockwood  that  he  and  b!s  companions 
had  reached  the  highest  point  on  our  globe  yet  attained.  The 
observations  liave  since  been  carefully  computed  by  Israel, 
our  astronomer,  and  place  the  "  farthest "  at  latitude  83  deg. 
24  min.  north,  longitude  40  deg.  46  inin.  west.  It  is  interest- 
ing to  know  that  at  this  northern  point  of  Greenland  traces 
of  animal  life  were  as  frequently  met  with  as  at  any  other 
part  of  the  coast.  Tracks  of  foxes,  hares,  lemmings  and 
ptarmigan  were  noticed.  The  question  of  whether  this  ccast 
still  furnishes  a  routu  much  nearer  the  Pole  or  ends  in  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  continent  of  Gieenknd  at  a  point 
not  far  from  that  reached  by  this  expedition,  still  remains  un- 
settled to  vex  the  enterprising  spirits  of  those  who  cannot 
rest  until  their  feet  have  been  placed  on  the  northern  axis  of 
r'iis  globe. 

The  return  journey  'vas  monotonous  and  uneventful  The 
travelling  was,  of  course,  tiresome.  The  temperature  had 
become  long  before  this  very  agreeable,  but  the  unpleasant 
result  was  that  the  snow  became  much  softened.  On  the 
2 1st  of  May  our  travellers  had  Cape  Britannia  again  to  the 
north  of  them.  They  bund  the  tidal  crack  closed  and  c^^- 
mented  by  ice  which  was  strong  enough  to  bear  a  man.  On 
the  2 2d,  travelling  across  St.  George's  fiord,  many  snow  bun- 
tings vvere  seen  and  numerous  fox  tracks  were  observed. 
There  was  a  severe  snow-storm  here,  so  thick  that  a  compass 


WcIS   111    i\^\Jixi^lz.i\Jii   clIs.    ti.i\^    i,ili':.\^ 


a  perihelion,  which  Erainard  states  exceeded  in  beauty  any 


>.v^ 


LOCKWOOD'S  JOURNEY. 

367 

of  those  phenomena  which  he  har^  k  r 

beautiful  prismatic  co Ws  and  frl  ^f  °'^  '^^"-  ^^  exhibited 
concentric  circles.  On  tL  morn2  of  th  ^°"^e'i,-rches  and 
was  reached,  and  the  sled^er'  foLd  ^^  -"^'^  S^P^  ^^y^nt 
order  and  were  able  to  reflenii  t^  •  ^^^''^^^^^  in  good 
which  was  so  depleted  that  notlVf'  ''''t  °^  P'-ovisbns, 
except  four  ounces  of  terL^f  In^  remained  on  the  sledge 

a  handful  of  cracker  dust     The  do^^r'  °^°?^°"  P^^^^^  ^"^ 
will  appear  by  the  fact  that  thev  £.^''5  ^^"^^^^  ^^^^^^^^  ^s 
quantity  of  shotgun  ammunttionYn?     "^n  ^""^'^  *°  ^  small 
ridges^probabfy  because  oTe^rea''l'"F"^^^^ 
their  teeth  through  the  metal  oiatX-^     ^     ""^"^""-"^"^^"^ 
Cape  Bryant  soundings  were   taken    if  "^""T  °^*^^"^-    ^f 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  outside  th.°"^^  ^  ''^^^  ''^^^ 
found  at  1 14  feet.     They  used  dt  W  f  ?''  ^"^/^^  *^°«°n^ 
trip.    At  this  time  snovv-bhndness  wT.      \-"  '^^  ^^^^^^^ 
pleasant  for  the  travellers.     TheTleftk^^        ''  ^^^^  ""- 
26th  and  killed  another  ptarmS/n^^^^  Bryant  on  May 
south  of  the  cape  they  founrth?cache  'f '  way.     Four  miles 
Lieutenant  Beaumonl's  oartv  when  .      .  """'^^  discarded  by 
cross  die  straits.     On  thr/nh  o.!r  f  ^'  f  "'P'  ^^^  "^^^^  to 
moccasins  for  sealskin  boots  the  '^'k"-'"  ?""^^^  their 
to  wet  their  feet.    The^-  are  on  ^l  '-J'"^  "^^""P  ^"°"gh 

boron  the  28th.  and  find  anotlt  S"^'/^^P"^^^  ^-- 
Lieutenant  Beaumont.  On  Mav  Lfhl  ^""^  ""^"^"^  ^^^  ^X 
with  the  men  who  were  awaS  ?h  •  '^^^^'^  ^'  ^^^'  Camp 
party  cross  the  straits  and  Ir  te^  th  '  T'"'"'  ^"^  ^^^  ^^^^^ 
1st.    Two  or  three  of  tL  To  .        ^^  ^'"""^  ^^^^'on  on  June 

from  snow-blindne?s,  and  duC^th?f%'"^^T^  '^'V  "^""h 
to  be  led.  '    ^  "^""""^  ''^^  ^ast  march  Ralston  had 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 


NEAR   THE    NORTH    POLE. 

Animal  Life  and  Vegetation  of  Grinnell  Land— Major  Greely's  journeys  into  the  Interior 
of  Grinnell  Land — Wonderful  Natural  Phenomena— A  Glacier  Bursts— Journalism  Near 
the  North  Pole — The  Arctic  Moon— Amusements  and  Pastimes  of  the  Explorers. 

Animal  life  was  abundant,  with  scant  vegetation  similar 
to  that  met  with  in  Grinnell  Land.  Traces  of  hares,  lem- 
mings, ptarmigan  and  snow  bunting,  and  the  tracks  of  a  bear, 
were  seen,  and  droppings  of  the  musk  ox  as  far  as  twenty 
miles  north  of  Cape  Britannia.  Looking  to  the  northeast- 
ward from  an  elevation  of  about  two  thousand  feet,  the  land 
was  seen  for  about  fifteen  miles,  the  farthest  point.  Cape 
Robert  Lincoln,  being  in  about  latitude  8s  deg.  35  min.,  and 
longitude  38  degrees  west.  Although  the  weather  was  un- 
usually clear,  no  other  land  could  be  seen,  the  horizon  beino- 
examined  carefully  to  the  northward  and  northwestward.  On 
the  15th  they  started  south,  picking  up  en  route  the  union 
jack  and  sextant  left  by  Lieutenant  Beaumont,  of  the  Nares 
expedition,  during  his  extraordinary  retreat  with  a  scurvy- 
stricken  party  in  1875,  and,  rejoining  the  three  men  who  had 
remained  at  Cape  Summer,  Newman  Bay,  the  combined 
party  returned  to  Fort  Conger,  where  they  arrived  on  June 
1st,  after  an  absence  of  fifty-nine  days,  all  in  good  condition, 
except  that  two  of  the  supporting  party  were  snow-blind  and 
had  to  be  led  into  camp. 

Ga.ne  was  abundant,  more  than  one  hundred  musk  oxen 
being  seen,  besides  hares  and  birds.  From  the  summit  of 
Mount  Arthur  Major  Greely,  who  was  alone  able  to  make 
the  ascent,  was  satisfied  from  the  trend  of  the  mountains  and 
the  appearance  of  the  country  that  Grinnell  Land  ended  but 
a  short  distance  to  the  westward,  and  that  its  coast  line  must 
run  nearly  southwest  from  the  extreme  point  reached  by 
Lieutenant  Aldrich,  Royal  Navy,  in  1876.  The  sledging  sea- 
son oyer,  travelling  by  land  was  almost  impraciicabie,  but 
early  in  August  Major  Greely  went  to  Cape  Defosse  in  the 
(368) 


NEAR  THE  NORTH  POLE. 


369 


Steam  launch  and  fonnri  7^^.,     j    ^, 

tenant  G°reely'^y4?fi™^«°f  *«  game  killed  by  Lieu- 

Bay  during  tLv'^lon^  staylnT^^"'  '1  ^^"^^  ^^^^ 

August,  1881— 16  miiQt  n.1  ?^"  North; 

September,  188  Is  "wolves'^rn   ^''?  '  P^^^^^'gan. 
February,  1882-7  haTes  """'^  °^^"'  '  ^^^1. 

March,  ,882>-i  lemming;  4  hares 
April,  1882— I  fox.  ^  • 

hi7e  i««',"~'  ^^"l'"'"§^s,  3  musk  oxen   c  seal,   r  1, 
June,  1882— I  wolf,  4  lemmin<y«    rC       5  seals,  i  hare. 

hares.  17  king  ducks,  6  lonSd'd..I.'""'^°^^"^  '  '^^^'  " 
gomaster  gulls,  i  Arctic  fof.'o  sknas  c''k'°  '^°'^"^'"^'  ^  b"^' 
migans,  7  turnstones.  ^^"^^'  5  brent  geese,  7  ptar- 

ducL^;1rd;;Vu3^i:rs:LTfun  ^^^^  3  long-tailed 

27  brent  geese,  6  turnstones,  i  ?and  n^.    "^  '^'"'^'  '^^  «^^"as, 

August,  1882—2  ermine.,  ,,  ^^""^  P^P^^'  '4  owls. 
5  king  ducks.  6  long-tailed  ducks  /!''''':;'  V^^^^'  ''  ^^^''es. 
I  burgomaster  gul],"3  Arctic  tern;  ^n  1"  '^"'^''  '^  ^^^^^ins 
32  ptarmigans.  54  turnstoies  i  s^ndlin  ^^''.^Z  ^'"^"^  ^^ese 
plover.  2  owls,  i  walrus.  '     sandhng,  16  knots,  2  ringed 

September,  1882—^  foxe.   r  ^      • 
hares,  i  raven,  3  ptariw  j  t '"Iir'  '  "'^'^  °^'  3  seals,  2 
November,  1 882-1  ffx  a'd  iZ    T^  ^"^  '  °^^- 
December.  1882-1  sS  '^  ''^• 

February.  1 883-1  hare.'     ' 
K88.'^^Th""'"^^"^3hares. 
May,  1883- '  musk  '"^  ^  P^^^-'^ans. 
stones''      '^     '"'"'^^"^"'^  ^--^1^.7  hares  and  II  turn 

June,  1883— I  wolf;  2  foxes  S  n,.    ^ 
^"cks,  27  long-tabled   ducks    IT/^  T"}'  3  ^eals,  14  king- 

d'^e,  3  burgomaster  geese  12  Arr;'."^"'^'  ''  ^^^ekins.  f 
iSparmigans,  28  turnstone.  9  I     ^"^  ^^''""'  ^^  ^rent  geese 
.  July.  1883-1  lemmin?Tws"R '^ '  °T^  ^"^  '  P^^'^a^ope' 
ducks.  2  brent  geese,  3  ?urnstones  ?J"^,^"^^/'  5  long-taifed 

Augu  t,  ,883         J^^     6  lonrt'aild  °^'?"^  '  P^^'^^V- 
6  dovekms,  i  brent  goose  i  h.rncf         '^"'^^^'  3  eider  ducks 

H  '      ^^™nes,  8  lemmings,   103 


as 


370 


ARCIIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


musk  oxen,  19  seals,  57  hares,  44  king  ducks,  53  long-tailed 
ducks,  30  eider  ducks,  60  dovekins,  i  diver,  6  burgomaster 
gulls,  I  Sabine  gull,  21  Arctic  terns,  178  sknas,  84  brent 
geese,  i  raven,  79  ptarmigans,  100  turnstones,  i  sandpiper, 
I  sandling,  27  knots,  2  ringed  plovers,  18  owls,  2  philaropes 
and  I  walrus. 

The  above  statement  of  the  game  found  by  the  Lady 
Franklin  Bay  expedition,  which  was  prepared  by  Sergeant 
Brainard,  is  of  interest  as  showing  what  species  of  birds  and 
animals  frequent  Grinnell  Land,  and  at  what  season  of  the 
year  the  migrator)'  birds  return  to  that  region.  No  game 
was  killed  during  the  months  of  October,  November  and 


MUSK  OX  HUNTING  IN  THE  ARCTIC  REGIONS. 


December,  1881  ;  January  and  October,  1882,  and  January, 
1883,  when  hunting  was  impossible  on  account  of  the  dark- 
ness and  cold.  The  solitary  musk  ox  killed  in  November, 
1882,  was  found  by  the  party  which  was  sent  during  that 
month  to  Carl  Ritter  Bay,  though  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
it  is  resident  throughout  the  year,  subsisting  during  the  winter 
season  on  saxifrage  and  the  scant  grass,  to  find  which  it  re- 
moves the  snow  with  its  hoofs.  The  number  of  these  animals 
seen  disproves  the  theory  advanced  by  Major  Feilden  in  his 
paper  on  mammalia  (see  "  Voyage  to  the  Polar  Sea,"  volume 
ii.,  page  201,  Nares)  "that  the  number  of  musk  oxen  in 
Grinnell  Land  is  extremely  limited,"  and  was  well  nigh  ex- 
hausted by  the  onslaught  made  by  the  Nares  expedition 
during  die  winter  of  1875-76. 


NEAR   THE   NORTH   POLE. 

Soon  after  the  refnm  ^f  c  "^^' 

Esquimau  Jens.  Lieutenanf  r  ^T^"^  ^•^^'  ^'-  Pavy  and  th. 
after  an  ex^IoritiorSen^^^^^^^  ^-^  ^^  For't  Co' ge 

Land  to  the  westward  of  the  station      T?'"''^''  °^  <=^^'"nell 
evening  of  May  7th.  ,882.     Lieutenanr  V'^'^ .^"'''^^  °"  the 
begone^amuch  longer  time  and  h^.       ^^^^^^  expected  to 
pnse.     The  folIowin|  ske  di  of  h;  J-    ^PP^^rance  was  a  sur 
tures  of  the  party  is^fro^Ll^^^^^^^  -"^  the  advet 

as  recorded  in  his  diary :  ^'^P^'^  P^"  ^^  Sergeant  Rice 

.Pf,  ^^"^'"ander  started  from  Forf  r 
with  the  purpose  of  travelhnc.  we^t '     ^"^"^^^  °"  April  26th 
until  if  possible,  the  western  cotstnfr^'^  over  the  country 
reached.     He  was  accompanied  bvsi^"""^  -^"^  ^^^°"^d  b^ 
and  Privates  ConnelJ.  Bender  and  WN-?f^"''  ^'^^^  and  Lona 
were  supporting,  and  retu^^^S^Xr  1''*  ^  ^^^^^ 
visited  the  Engh-sh  cache  at  Stonv  Pn^^  ^^l''     "^^^  Part? 
such  of  the  contents  as  they  reaul^e^H  .  !5'  u^"^  Wropriated 
Conybeare  Bay.     This  opeL^hTd    'ot']f  '^'"  Proceeded  up 
English  and  was  found  much  de^De,,K      ^u^^"  ^^Plored  by  the 

tenant  Archer  passed  the  mS  of  th"^^'"P^^^^^^    Lieu! 
out  ,i;s  entrance  very  correctly  hn?  ^^^^  ^"^  ^^^  mapped 

be  thirty  miles  dee^insteado^'tt  LTf'''  ^^""^"^^0 
three  valleys  were  found  le^J;^  •'  -  ^^^  ^^ad  of  the  bav 
ticable  for  travelling  On  A^^^jf/.^'^'  but  none  were  prac^ 
fiord,  which  they  entered  amffo,'^^^^^^^  ^Pened  out  a^nevv 
wide  and  fifteen  to  twenty  loL  runn'  ^^''"^  '^^"^^  "^'^es 

was  surrounded  and  enclosed  bvlnf^r"^  "orth-northwest      It 
"-nposing  and  picturesque      i„'^^^^^^^^ 

musk  oxen  and  wolves  w^re  seen  ff^'.^^^^''^  mentioned 
named  after  Captain  How^nf!  !?'  ^"^"^  ^^«  ^^rd.  afterward 
'cy  surface  of  wfich  the^'faTelled'To'"^^^^^  ^  -^^^X 
c  iaracter  was  discovered  Th!  •  """^  distance  before  itl 
-fficuit  to  observe  where  the^ord'^enH'".""'"?  ^^^^^her  i  was 
but  as  they  advanced  the  evidence,  f-^"?  '^^  "^^r  be^In 
Ir  r"  f"^  ^^  ^^^  «-a.  -  ted  °'Th  ^'''"^.  ^'•^^h  water; 

7-  to  be  open^"u:'.v^d"enc:rf"r^,  ^-ly ^0^;^,^"     ,' 
«e  year  round.  ^"^^'  °^  'ts  having  remained  so 

r,A    .-'''^''^"'"-   ^^as  now  of  the  fin-^.  ^        - 

•rv..!i  vvacer  irom  the  open  chahnZ?    r  ?^  description.     The 

the  ice  that  covered  the'Tha  owe"  pis  ab 'r-^"  """'^' ^^ 

parts  abutting  the  banks 


372 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


\ftiM 


and  over  which  the  party  was  travelling.  This  thin  sheet  of 
water  freezing  without  any  inequalities  gave  to  their  icy  high- 
ways  the  appearance  of  a  waxed  floor  or  a  plain  covered  with 
laminated  steel.  It  was  almost  too  smooth,  for  it  was  no 
easy  matter  to  keep  the  footing.  The  great  reflective  quali- 
ties of  the  polished  ice  also  caused  much  inconvenience  from 
snow-blindness,  with  which  one  member  of  the  party  (Whisder) 
was  especially  affected.  But  these  were  slight  drawbacks 
compared  with  the  great  advantages  they  were  enjoying. 
Probably  no  Arctic  travellers  were  ever  so  favored  as  these. 
The  sledges  glided  over  the  ice  without  requiring  the  least 
exerdon  to  dmw  them.  In  fact,  it  was  difficult  to  keep  in 
advance  of  them.  At  one  time  the  commander  judged  that 
four  and  a  half  miles  were  made  in  one  hour.  He. arrived 
at  this  conclusion  from  counting  his  steps,  which  were  meas- 
ured. After  meeting  with  the  open  water  of  the  stream  a 
few  steps  to  the  edge  of  the  ice  furnished  them  with  a  delicious 
draught  of  pure  ice  water — a  boon  which  no  mortal  except  an 
Arctic  traveller  or  perhaps  a  wanderer  in  the  deserts  of  Africa 
can  fully  appreciate.  ,       ,    , 

A  small  island  in  the  river  was  next  discovered  and  the 
source  of  the  river  soon  reached.  It  proved  to  be  a  large 
lake,  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  miles  long  and  about  seven 
broad.  It  was  open  at  the  point  from  which  it  fed  the 
river,  where  the  accelerated  movement  of  the  water  wore 
away  the  ice  by  attrition  or  prevented  it  from  forming  at  all. 
The  stream  alsc  starting  out  with  great  rapidity  was  open  for 
about  three  miles,  and,  as  already  stated,  had  the  appearance 
of  remaining  so  all  the  year  round.  The  depth  of  the  river  at 
its  head  was  three  and  a  half  feet,  width  fifty  yards  in  its  nar- 
rowest  part,  increasing  to  about  three  miles  at  its  estuary. 
Along  the  valley  thus  drained  the  party  found  enough  drift- 
wood, of  the  ground  willow,  to  serve  for  fuel.  Abundant 
traces  of  crame— musk  oxen,  hares  and  foxes— were  seen  in 
all  direcdons,  and  they  were  led  to  believe  that  these  animals 
had  not  migrated  during  the  winter.  The  traces  bore  the 
stamp  of  continuous  occupation  of  the  ground,  and,  as  nearly 
as  I  could  learn,  resembled  those  seen  by  Dr.  Pavy  and  the 
writer  near  Lincoln  Bay.  Small  fish,  resembling  minnows 
were  seen  at  the  head  of  the  stream.     Lieutenant  Greelyand 

u: _^..  r.r.,.,  rv'cl-tf-l  on  nvpr  the  lake,  following-  its  south  side 

for  a  short  distance.     Here  the  snow  was  found  to  lie  very 


NEAR   THE    NORTH    POLE. 

373 

its  west  side,  having  for  their  ofli,- ""  ''"''•  ''^"^''  ='"°^'  for 
v..ey  throt^h  whict  ehe  ^Z^Z^l^^S^:^^^ 

the  valley  and  tbutted  on  tte  l^e  n  "T""^^""'='=  ^''^^ 
ivhich  a  closer  proximity  afforded  fh^,;'f„  J  l^  examination 
the  lake  with  a  perpendicular  frontl^/f''  ">^S'f<^i«  facing 
two  hundred  feet  in  heic^h  back  of  Zh-u\°"-^  ''""'^'-'^d  'o 
clined  to  a  greater  elevation  in  •"''"'''  ""«  '"^^  rapidly  in- 

feet  at  a  cli?tan  ^o    on t  "nrS "^H '°  ^'J^^'^'  ^'^  hundred 
Farther  up  the  valley  Twound    ."  w'av  'ZV'°"^  "^  f^"=- 
in  the  dim  perspective  in  milkv  unHnh.^^'  "^TTj'""  f™"i  ^iew 
ing  front  of  this  magnmTe7;,"wJ";"fe'  ^°'^'-     The  frown- 
n  its  grandeur  and  dtzzv'nfinZ^'^^"''  7u   ^'"^-'"^Piring 
ing  and  glistening  on  the  c?vsfM  ,,?  .   ^"u    ^'"^ ''""  scintillat- 
color  that  the  dirlct  and  reS  vZt  'm'  •  "^,"«'^  f^^^"!^"  °f 
the  blocks  and  protuberance, Id  ?H^^u"  P'^'y'".?  among 
of  this  frozen  Nia<.ara  since  the  1=  ,      -  '°  ""^  ""regular  front 
fallen  away  and  droppTd  hke  a  SH'm '  f^""^""?  °^  '^<=  ^ad 
to  some  the  appearance  oflrl^rlTf  "'  "'  '^«''  S">"g 
that  of  pure,  transparent  crvLT  fAtf°"V"'^  '°  "'''erf 
spectacle.     The  glacier  whSflfi',  ,'='' J°  ''^•^   enchanting 
with  the  name  of^is  w  f^^  wasto  miie:''^?''^'?'^  ^"""^'^^ 
moraine  was  formed  at  the  mar^fn    r ^  *'!''?  ="  "^  "ace.     A 
after  the  chief  signal  officer^^g,""/  "^  '^l^^-«nce  called 
the  glacier's  prelent  face    and  nrl''  ^u"'^^"^  y^''^'  f™-"  ' 
^-0  that  position  it  ^^^f  an::etVhav':tf„i^^ 

■■^'rort:^:i^^:^"r'i'i^o....^  ^y  "■- 

sight  which  has  been  vouchsafed  Tk     r  °'^  ""=  "^^-    "  "-as  a 
so  fortunate  as  to  witness  a\1mn=       "'  "^^^     ^r.  Hayes  was 

of  the  Greenland  Cd   a'ndTa  YeffaT'%°^""'"^«  «  °"« 
the  same.    Our  party  have  rhantiS-  j  ^'"P  ""  '''ascription  of 

wWch  they  now  s*!*  'Inral  aTee  tht™"^^''^'''^  "^"^^  "'^' 
and  sublimity  can  be  conveved^  Th  ""  "°  "^'^  °'  "'  beauty 
safe  distance  and  had  ZTr  aitenT^^  ^ """"  ="<:amped  within 
lin?  noise  «,l,i.i,  .f.t_  ,    ,"^.'"'<=.""<"i  attracted  bv  fh»  crack 

".ass-so-hug;:a„5t'mrnse  M  Stt^so"'  'H  ^' ^^^ 

itseit.  but  so  small  compared 


374 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


to  the  great  body  of  the  ice  stream — was  detached.  The 
noise  as  the  ice  in  hundreds  of  tliousands  of  tons  came  crush- 
ing  down  was  immense.  The  tottering  blocks  and  columns 
of  crystal  were  played  upon  by  the  sunlight,  which  turned 
them  into  masses  of  flashing  silver  as  they  trembled  and  a 
cataract  of  diamonds  as  they  fell.  Over  the  scene  of  demoli- 
tion there  then  arose  a  cloud  of  the  icy  particles  which,  ascend- 
ing, veiled  the  spot.  The  sun,  playing  through  the  sparkling 
mist,  gave  to  it  the  most  beautiful  tints  of  color,  among  which 
a  pink,  rosy  hue  predominated. 

Our  commander,  finding  that  the  glacier  completely  occu- 
pied the  valley  and  offered  no  chance  for  ascending  to  its 
upper  surface — the  perpendicular  front  was  insurmountable—- 
and  also  that  no  other  opening  to  the  westward  presented 
itself  now,  determined  to  give  up  his  project  and  return.  He 
started  to  return  with  his  party  on  May  3d.  Retracing  their 
steps  over  the  river,  they  found  it  breaking  up ;  in  many 
places  the  ice  which  they  had  travelled  over  when  outward- 
bound  was  broken  away.  The  only  episode  of  interest  that 
occurred  on  the  return  journey  was  the  circumstance  of 
Bender  losing  his  companions  tor  five  hours  in  a  fog.  He 
had  separated  from  the  party  to  obtain  a  view  from  some  ele- 
vated position,  and,  a  dense  fog  settling  down,  he  wandered 
astray.  The  party  arrived  at  the  home  station  on  May  7th  in 
excellent  spirits.  Their  short  journey  appears  to  have  intro- 
duced them  into  an  Arctic  paradise  not  far  from  our  vicinity. 
It  will  almost  do  for  the  use  of  those  visionary  theorists  who 
have  accepted  Symmes'  eccentric,  or  rather  concentric,  con- 
ception of  the  polar  regions.  The  farthest  point  reached  by 
Lieutenant  Greely  was  but  sixty  miles  west  and  ten  north  of 
Discovery  Harbor ;  but  the  tortuous  route  makes  the  distance 
travelled — so  he  thinks — 300  miles. 

In  the  last  days  of  May  Israel  and  a  companion  were  at  the 
"  Bellows  "  doing  some  surveying,  and  killed  three  of  a  herd 
of  musk-oxen.  When  brought  in  the  carcasses  proved  very 
light  and  poor.  It  was  apparently  too  early  in  the  season  to 
allow  the  animals  a  chance  to  get  in  better.condition.  The 
scanty  vegetation  was  not  far  enough  advanced. 

The  mean  temperature  for  the  month  of  May  at  Fort  Con- 
ger was  -f  1 7.41 ;  maximum,  -1-33.4;  minimum,  +1.1.  Snow 
fell  during  143  hours.  The  temperature  rose  above  the 
freezing  pointlor  the  first  time  on  May  28th,  after  271  succes- 


NEAR    THE    NORTH   POLI 

375 
sive  days.     Tlie  new  ice  nn  tU^  u    i 

nearly  four  and  a  half  feet  "hick  „rf1       """  '"""^  *°  ''«  ««" 

At  the  time  Maior  GrJu  l"-"^  '='• 

teriorof  Grinnell  Lndth7rdifr\t^  journeys  into  the  in- 
gling  with  an  impassable  barrier  of  ce  in  lim  "^'  ''""S- 

Later  m  August  Lieutenanf  7  T  i        ^  "^^"^  ^ea. 
In  the  launchlon   the  first  to  °h^T^™^de  two  journeys 
bringing  back  large  quanriies  of  game'lnl  ^"^  ^'o--^' 
he  entered  Weyprech?  Fiord  but  £«     '    u,    °"  *^  second 
on  account  of  the  ice.     Much  disl^n  ■       '"'*  '°  advance  far 
non-arriyal  of  the  expecStltf  sWn  T,^"5;""'  '''="  "  ""= 
above  all  news  from  home  and  m,^'  '^"^  ""'•  stores,  and 
.0  the  cause  of  her  faZr^  to  come?' "urn:^''H-'°"J^«"'^^  ^^ 
was  felt,  and  feeling  a  pardonabrpridefnth  ^''^^''^gement 
of  the  past  year  they  prepared  Trfll;         ""*"■  achievements 
next.    The  winter  passed^wJ;         "^"P'  ^^en  more  in  the 
than  would  be  supp^os^d  Jo^^bfe^Th  ''"''"^  "?"  P^^^^"Z 
mg  matter.     Major  Greefy  and  Dr  pi  !f7'  P'^"'^  ^^f  --ead 
ectures,  and  holidays  were  celeb^^a^ed^^.^'^r'^  ''"^'i°"al 
feature  suggested  by  Major  Greelv  d  d         u^^°'^-     An°"ier 
tentment  and  good  feelC     Ealh  1^"'''  '°,r°'^'°'«  eon- 
birthday  to  select  the  dinf;r,  of  whi'^hV  n/J'T"'^  °"  ^'^ 
lege  which  was  greatly  aDDrer;:,L)i      5        partook— a  privi- 

Sergeant  Rice's  diary tboTndf  in  .  •J'"^"'  ^''"^«<'- 
of.the  members  of  the'^GreeTy  par^.^''''"?^^   "^  "•«  «tempt 
spirits  during  the  lone  Deriod,  n^  ?^  ?  ^"''^^"  each  other's 
Tojud.e  fro^m  his  nftefand  LleXnf s"  ^'  ''°«  ^°"^- 
himself  no  small   contributor  flthp  -  ^^'^?^"'  ^'"^  ^as 
^fy  ^^  a  paper,  which  they  pr^nL^?^"^!^  amusement, 
called  rid  Arctic  Moon  anH  o„     P"".'ed   on  the  po  vtrraoh 

found  in  the.  diary.     S^^^eantR^cVS^n  '"'T^^dW Tre' 
romance  for  the  benefit  of  h;»  f  '-"^nslated  a  French 

terest  being  evidenced  by  th^decr^a"-"''  .'^^■•^'"creasin|r 
ters  and  the  great  condensation  ofX'"li'"^*  °^  "«=  "^^^P- 
were  they  ,o  reach  the  denouement  nn^uf  P*o"'  "°  ^"^'""s 
lectures  appear  to  have  formed  nart^^i^'^y-    Speeches  and 

^p^^Z^  "-  ^o^il^-s-HS^s  f^"r 
fcrrt^arS^f  ^//..^^^  *-  ^as  been 


■  given  \o  a  counle  X^    ^"'"^  °^  ^  baby 

■  n«c.-:u       .^°."P'e  whose  motto  for  ,,»o./u 

■  Tur:''"^  "^'P  '^aby  a  beautiful,  inn"  ir'J'.  " 


noc«-:u-  _   .  .  .  r.     ""*-»ac  rnotto   fnr  -iroo..^  t —   i  .  "^'=" 

•p^^uuc  saia  baby  a  beaiii-i'f,,!  •     ~"  /-"'o  uus  oeen  'hone' 
Ae  preparation  oll^^'^'i):^^^^'^  ^'^^■^y^i  darlin|l 

oaf     ,r  the  photographer's  manipula- 


3/6 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


tion.  The  baby  is  gorged  by  the  mother  as  the  Bedouin 
would  a  camel  before  starting  on  a  desert  journey,  so  that  it 
would  be  quiet  and  content.  Results  in  babe's  indigestion. 
Then  the  attending  troop  of  relatives.  The  photographer 
must  await  the  arrival  of  some  one  who  is  said  to  charm  the 
baby.  Baby  gets  tired,  but  must  be  photographed  smiling. 
He  must  vouchsafe  a  smile  of  benevolence,  while  in  heart  he 
desires  to  out-Herod  Herod. 

"  The  next  subject  is  the  beauty — or  the  faded  beauty — 
who  is,  as  are  also  her  friends,  dissatisfied  with  the  photograph 
of  her  in  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf.  Or  the  young  lady  who 
resembles  Mary  Anderson  or  Adelaide  Neilson.  Or  the  ig- 
norant lady,  who  will  not  tolerate  a  shadow  under  her  chin. 
Or  the  general  with  the  battle-scar,  which  his  patriotic  wife 
worships. 

"  Suggestions  from  cartes  de  vlsite.  The  social  equality  of 
the  arrangement  of  photographs  in  a  shop  window — Henry 
Ward  Beecher  cheek  by  jowl  with  Pat  Rooney. 

"  It  is  easy  to  recognize  a  photographer  (unless  he  makes 
all  his  pictures  by  chance)  by  the  manner  in  which  the  subject 
is  posed  and  the  arrangement  of  the  light.  A  photographer 
has  negatives  in  number  equal  to  the  population  of  a  country 
town.  Quote  the  criticism  on  Walter  North's  garden  scene. 
The  sense  of  beauty  and  best  momentary  pose  of  the  body  is 
a  gift  which  cannot  be  picked  up  as  a  mechanical  art  can  be, 
Instance  among  difficult  subjects,  the  fat  woman — '  like  heav- 
enly pastures,  Targe  and  fair.'  The  trials  of  the  jail-photog- 
rapher, the  'Bashful  Sitter.'  Custom  House  officers  and 
dry  plate.  Speaking  of  troubles  of  phoio^raphing  nature, 
writer  might  mention  experience  with  a  seal  m  the  Arctic." 

The  following  is  one  of  Sergeant  Rice's  efforts  in  the  poet- 
ical line : 


OH,   WHAT'S  THE  TEMPERATURE?' 

On  the  shores  of  an  Arctic  sea, 
On  the  banks  of  Grinnell  Land, 

Where  mortal  man  ne'er  ought  to  be, 
There  dwells  a  little  band. 


This  enterprising  colony 
Came  without  being  sent, 

Commanded  by  A.  W.  G., 
Who  was  on  science  bent. 


;  Bedouin 
so  that  it 
idigestion. 
>tographer 
charm  the 
d  smiling. 
1  heart  he 

beauty — 
hotograph 

lady  who 
Or  the  ig- 
■  her  chin, 
triotic  wife 

equality  of 
w — Henry 


NEAR    THE    NORTH    POLE. 

But  they  have  other  luxuries 
Trr,.        ^^'^^P'  ^"lount  to  much 
Immense  amphibious  "  morXdites  " 
velocipedes  and  such.      *^  '°"*^' 

And  out  into  the  frosty  air 
Two  dozen  iron  beds 

"  wjiich  to  place  the  sleds. 

Their  Arctic  home  is  fortified 
Against  the  Polar  bea";     ^ 

A^r  °"  ''^''y  side' 

And  thermometers  everywhere 

At  every  hour  of  all  the  day 

'•Oh,ehatTrte:;;at'?e?J:' 
^tteX^rCr"''' 

""»i;.frefi;-Ap- 
^'r?;rh--7Kr' 

vvhat  temperature?"  he  said 

"■^"f  «"'  but  in  the  room 
To  loolt  u,,o„  the  fire, 

Aghosiyvccefvomouuhegloom- 
fc  'he  temperature  any  hi|her"~ 

T?dS.°"'l"'«'"  "«»  kept, 
BeSre?v"^i^,!i^_">=door'^- 

"  Tb  tuAT'  """'  "  "'^n  who  sleot— 
is  the  temperature  any  lower  ?•• 


S77 


378 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

At  morning  when  the  breakfast  meals 

Were  on  the  table  spread 
A  muffled  tread  through  the  doorway  stealsr— 

«•  How  cold  is  it  ?  "  he  said. 

A  question's  heard  through  all  the  months 
From  the  General,  lank  and  lean — 

A  hundred  times  if  he's  asked  it  once — 
«'  What  is  the  monthly  mean  ?  " 

The  months  roll  by,  a  year  is  gone, 
A  voice  comes  through  the  door 

From  a  tall,  slim  man,  with  a  red  cap  on-* 
"  Will  the  mean  be  minus  four?" 

The  weary  sledgers,  tired  and  sore. 

Come  by  which  island  way. 
But  hardly  have  they  passed  the  door— 

"  How  cold  did  you  have  if,  pray?" 


Should  any  of  this  poem  tell, 
Should  it  fall  in  other  hands. 

The  poet  sure  will  then  catch  h — 11 
From  the  gentleman  who  commands. 

Latitude  81"  44'  north,  December,  1882. 


"THE  TIDOMETER." 


G.  W.  R. 


One  more  extract,  to  close  this  somewhat  pathetic  inspection  of  the  dead 
explorer's  diary.  It  is  headed :  "  Doggerel  notice  stuck  up  to  have  myself 
awakened  as  usual  to  take  tidal  readings,"  and  is  as  follows: 

In  the  stall  among  thermometers, 
Barometers,  hydrometers. 
Along  with  the  geographer 
(Who  is  also  the  chronographer) 
There  sleeps  the  old  photographer, 
Who  wants  some  one  to  jog  hin     lor 
When  10 :  40  by  chronometer 
He  must  go  and  read  tidometer 


I 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

mPARiNO    FOR   RETREAT. 
Cio»5ing  Grinnell  Land-The  r«op     . 
virions  and  the  Dogs  behin.l     a k     .P'*"^"*  Trip,_The  Retrear     r       « 
Ice  Floe-Gaining  Land     rp       '""'"*^  ""^  ^'""'•LaunchlAl  T  "^  "'"^  ^• 
Cape  Sabi„e_Def.H  s:lg^f  C  Fa/'^'";--'^-''-  "oL^rc^  1"'^^^" ''"^ 
Scurvy  the  Cause.  *        ""'"^  Face-I„  Winter  QuarterJlTh^  J  "^*'"*  """^ 

Je>vell,  with  two  do.   1  n,  ^  ^"''"'Panied  by  BraL^''*^  '"J 
established  a  clepo°^f';:';!,  J^^^" >  Jens  a/d  fei^Sf 
to  Fort  Conner  on  tl.^  ,«  f    ,    ^*P«  Summer     r!^      • 
>hen,  witl,  th?  add?tio,^'o    EHif'''^^  ^«'«d  umH  ihet,^  a„"f 
o,.yas  far  as  Cape  Br^tannfa":' e^l*""''  J«>^-".  waVV™ 
north  coast  of  Greenland      At  rh       T  ^°°^  "le  field  for  tf^ 
retched  the  Black  Horn  Clifr^Vtr:"^'"  ''""  "^^^  '^^X  had 

s:sev?raT;:;:ret'^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^  ^^^^ -^to-itT^- 

«lien  a  southerlyll  "^^^  ["^  ^''^^Pted  to  round  th.rl^^ 
»way  from  the  la^nfice  ^  ""^  "P""^  "'de  drifted  tt  fl''^"" 
o"ce  in  effecting  h^s  *::;ape' buTX'  V'^'^'^°°dtcc'eeded°:: 

Wge  of  ihpil  ¥  "drifted  northward  wh  ^°^'  """'  " 
reached  thp  it  /'^"^S^*'  ^"'i  «"'th  mucV  rfiffi  f "  "'^J'  "^de  a 
io-ty  whi  ht."°l!i"'«.  d-Pp'nted'^ar  S:-l.?-?er 


^ 


'■»•      ■      r 


m 


380  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

across  to  Lincoln  Bay  and  from  five  to  six  miLs  in  width. 
During  this  trip  important  tidal  observations  were  made  by 
Jevell  at  Black  Horn  Cliffs,  Repulse  Harbor  and  Cape  Sum- 
mer. 

Lieutenant  Lock  wood's  next  journey  was  to  the  westward 
in  continuation  of  Major  Greely's  exploration  in  that  direc- 
tion during  the  previous  year.      He  was  once  more  accom- 
panied by  Brainard  and  Esquimau  Frederick.     They  travelled 
to  the  head  of  Ella  Bay,  Arthur  Fiord,  and  to  the  twin  gla- 
ciers, which  cut  off  fardier  advance  in  that  direction.     A  large 
mountain  seen  here,  some  five  thousand  feet  in  height,  was 
called  Mount  Difficulty.     Retracing   their   steps,  they  next 
followed  the  shores  of  Beatrix  Bay,  abandoning  their  large 
sled  and  taking  a  smaller  one  brought  for  light  travelling,  and 
pushed  on  until  they  reached  the  west  coast  of  Grinnell  Land 
and  looked  out  on  the  Polar  Ocean.     On  the  march  they 
discovered  an  immense  inland  glacier  which,  from  its  resem- 
blance to  the  great  wall  of  China,  was  called  the  Chinese 
Wall  Glacier,  afterward  changed  to  Agassiz  Glacier.    This 
forms  the  ice  cap  of  Southern  Grinnell  Land,  being  separated 
from  the  northern  ice  cap  by  a  belt  of  land  about  sixty  miles 
in  width.     By  a  strange  coincidence  the  farthest  point  west 
was  reached  on  the  same  date  as  the  highest  northern  latitude 
the  previous  year— namely.  May  13th.     Owing  to  the  prev- 
jlence  of  a  severe  snow  storm,  they  rested  three  days  at 
the  mouth  of  Greely  Fiord,  in  order  to  obtain  observations 
for  position,  which  was  ascertained  to  be  latitude  80°  48'  39' 
north,  longitude  78°  26'  west.     On  the  evening  of  the  i6th, 
the  weather  being  perfecdy  clear,  the  party  asconded  to  the 
top  of  a  cliff  some  twenty-two  hundred  feet  in  height,  to  view 
the  adjacent  coast.     The  cliff  was  of  fossil  formation.     At  one 
place  the  petrified  roots  of  a  tree  were  found  intact.     On  the 
north  side  the  land  terminated  in  a  high  headland,  fifty  or 
sixty  miles  distant,  which  was  called  Cape  Brainard.    To  the 
south,  somewhat  more  distant,  was  Cape  Lockwood.     Beyond 
the  latter  another  point  was  discerned  with  a  telescope,  sep- 
arated from  Cape  Lockwood  by  open  water.     This  was  sup- 
posed to  be  new  land,  and  was  called  Arthur  Land.    On  the 
same  day  they  started  back  toward  Fort  Conger,  bu.  the  re- 
cent fall  of  snow,  which  was  quite  soft  J.nd  more  than  knee- 
deep,  made  travelling  very  aifficult,  ana  tncir  progress  was 
slow.     To  add  to  their  trouble  their  provisions  were  running 


le.  westward 


progress  was 
/ere  running 


PREPARING    FOR   RETREAT. 


*^^   KiiTREAT. 

short,  and  they  were  mm.,  it  j 
The  last  of  th^  dog  proWsTons  hf.  k''^'^'^'  °"  ^alf-ratlons 
the.r  second  camp  Ih^y^k  Lj  ,ne  of?." -""S^"^^^^'  ^^^^  at 
food  for  the  rest.  AfteJ^  a  m^st  Try'fn^i  .^^'^.^Th  ^°  ^"^^^-^ 
l^^|-gg^^^  -^    *>  journey  they  reached 


jj,   .  ^'^'"'^'^  ^^^^"^  SOUTHWARD. 


avin^  Fort  Conger 


382 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


on  April  23d  and  June  24th  respectively.  The  first  of  these 
journeys  occupied  twelve  and  the  second  nineteen  days,  and 
many  important  discoveries  were  made.  Conybear  Bay  was 
found  to  be  a  large  fiord.  Weyprecht  Fiord  and  a  number 
of  lakes  were  seen,  the  largest  of  which;  about  seventy  miles 
long  by  fifty  wide,  was  called  Lake  Hazen.  This  was  fed  by 
rivers  and  streams  from  the  ice  cap  of  Northern  Gnnnell 
Land,  and  discharged  through  Ruggles  River  mto  Weyprecht 
Fiord,  and,  notwiti  standing  the  early  season  in  April,  the  river 
was  open  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Hazen.  Winter-quarters  of 
Esquimaux  were  found  and  some  relics  showing  that  they  had 
possessed  dogs,  sledges  and  iron.  Two  ranges  of  mountains 
running  nearly  parallel  with  the  United  States  range  were 
called  respectively  Conger  and  Garfield  range,  and  a  lofty 
peak,  the  highest  in  Grinnell  Land,  Mount  Arthur.  Of  gla- 
ciers  there  were  many,  the  largest  of  which  was  called  Hen- 
rietta Nesmith  Glacier.  Great  hardships  were  endured  on 
the  second  of  these  journeys,  when  the  Major  and  Linn, 
leaving  the  supporting  party,  travelled  with  packs,  which 
weighed  on  starting  about  eighty  pounds,  fording  and  swim- 
ming  many  streams  and  being  otherwise  subjected  to  much 
exposure,  without,  however,  any  eventual  ill  resulting  there- 

In  June  Lieutenant  Lockwood  and  Bralnard  made  another 
journey  to  the  interior  of  Grinnell  Land,  taking  a  north- 
westerly  direction  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  United 
States  range  and  adding  a  number  of  glaciers  and  several 
rivers  to  those  already  known.  They  were  absent  six  days 
(June  13th  to  19th)  and  took  provisions  for  that  time  in 
packs  on  their  backs.  This  practically  closed  the  operations 
for  the  year.  The  season  of  1883  was  a  very  backward  one, 
at  least  two  weeks  behind  that  of  1882,  which  was  hi  turn  a 
close  season  as  compared  with  1881,  when  the  ice  was  re- 
markably open.  ,     .  ,  1   , 

It  was  early  feared  that  a  relief  vessel  might  not  reach  the 
station,  and  preparations  were  made  to  abandon  the  post  as 
soon  as  the  state  of  the  ice  would  permit.  In  anticipation  of 
this,  on  April  5th,  Rice,  with  ten  men  and  a  dog  sledge,  went 
to  Thank  God  Harbor  for  the  English  Ice-boat  known  to 
have  been  left  there  by  Beaumont  and  returned  with  it  m 
>«^i:«-;/-»«  r^n  thf»  T  ci-h      It  was  a  double  boat,  made 


specially  for  ice  work  and  very  light,  weighing  only  about 


PREPARING   FOR   RETREAT.  g 

seven  hundred  and   fifrv  r^«     j 

There  was  no  break  of  ^nfpo^^teT^L?-  ^'^^  ?>  ^^'^t. 
4th,  when  a  southwest  ^ale  SP^  jif  o  ^         •     '<^^  ""ti^  August 
breaking  up  the  ice  if  the  bay  so  t^f '""^^  ^^^^^^^  dlys 
mined  on.  "^  ^^^  ^o  that  a  start  was  deter- 

The  boats  taken  were  th*>    ♦•         i 
whaleboat  Narwhal,  both  builUnXfe'!,^''''  ^^^^'X'  the 
boat  Valorous,  left  at  Cape  HawL^T'^  u"^^^'  "•«  JoHy 
bought  up  in  the  Proteus'^in  i88,  a„d\?-   ^J-gl'^h '='"d 
mont.    Two  tons  of  coal  anH  ,k^  1    •  ,""=  "ce-boat  Beau- 
were  left  i„  a  secure  fco  t^rea^ sL""?;*^' ^"PP" "- 
made  necessary.    A  number  of  barrel/ n^KiHu^  "■*'"■■"  be 
meat  and  bread  were  broken  ,nf7  '''"''''«'■'  ^PO'led 

twenty-three  dogs  which  were  left  t      "^  ^?  ^""'^  f^''  Ae 
was  part  of  some  fifteen  tons  wlvh  P°Tl^'°"-    The  coal 
hauled  from  the  vein  in  Water  Co"^     R         -"  ""'"«<'  ^nd 
the  expedition,  copies  of  tir„K  ^^  ^^^^    The  records  of 
selected  negatives S  Selght"  Sm'  T'^  '?"'  ^^^^ 
pendulum,  were  taken.    At  two  ^v?  ?'"^"^  '"duding  the 
August  9th,  ,S83,  the  party  o7tw^?'^fi°"  the  afte„  J„  ^f 
the  place  which  had  beL   ^  ttm  fo/'tJo   ''^'^^  '""'"'^^^"  to 
home  but  a  home  fraught  with  so  mir.      ,     ^''"^  "'"  ""'y  a 
tl.at  they  still  speak  of  it  al  the  pa  Si"  T'f '  f  «°"ectiont 
steam-launch,  which  Major  Greelv  I'J  °^  *«  Arctic.     The 
towed  the  other  three  boats,  th7ne7n,7''^'"°''  ^'^'='^"t, 
divfded  among  them.     Three  tons  of?i^.  ^"^  ''°''«^  ^''"g 
provisions  were  stowed  at  Cane  R.:.^       5'  ?"''  ^  quantity  of 
the  first  objective  point.     Pas^ne  t^thf  "^  "?'  *^^  ">«^efore 
sland,  the  ordinary  channel  f"?  vestlf  k'- '""^'^  °f  S^"ot 
they  soon  cleared  the  pack  and  entered      1'"5  '"'"  '^'°^^d,      • 
Fiord,  where   they  came  near  losh^l   1 "  ,'^^''  '°  Archer's 
Arriving  at  Cape  Baird  on  the  mom^?   'r\'^""<^''  i"  a  nip. 
on  the  provisions  and  left  at  mMH      ^  f}^^  '^h-  they  took 
Passing  around  Cape  Le  ber  ^      ''  *'*  ^^'V  ^^y^'  supplies 
from  the  northward,  and  were  L'"'°n"?^^''  ?  -"oving  p^cfc 
Crocrofftandtieuptotherndice    ^h"''^  1°  ™"  '"t"  Cape 
eight  pounds  of  corned  beef  left  hv  M  ■*  ^^^^  '°°^  "P  fortv- 
ous  year,  and,  the  tide  havin  J  driftL  ,1-'°''-  ^'^''^y  "'«  prevl 
ran  on  to  Cape  Bock  and  Ca?l  R  p  *  "?  ""^  shore"  they 

"vely  open  water.  '""'''  ^'tt^r  Bay,  finding  compara- 

otions,a„d^i;o';e7a;her'ataDe'c^ir"'  '?    '^^''  '°o 

"-ape  Culhnson   by  Nares  in 


284  ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

1875,  240  rations,  were  taken  on  board.  The  small  stores  in 
the  Nares  cache,  such  as  tea,  tobacco  and  sugar,  were  bad,  as 
well  as  a  barrel  of  bread.  About  midway  between  Capes 
Leopold,  Bon  Bouche,  and  Lawrence  they  were  frozen  in  for 
five  days,  when  they  forced  their  way  out,  and  after  various 
detentions  from  the  boats  getting  ashore,  and  several  severe 
nips,  which  the  launch  stood  well,  the  other  boats  being 
hauled  up,  they  finally  reached  Cape  Hawkes  on  August  26th. 
They  landed  and  left  a  record  on  the  summit  of  Washington 
Irving  Island,  and  took  on  the  small  quantity  of  potatoes, 
pickles  and  bread  found  in  the  English  cache,  except  about 
three  or  four  hundred  pounds  of  the  latter,  which  was  too 
mouldy  for  use.  At  4  p.  m.  the  same  day  they  started  for 
Cape  Sabine,  having  clear  water  until  10  p.  m.,  when  the  wind 
off  shore  drove  the  pack  out  and  compelled  them  to  make 
fast  during  the  night.  Young  ice  several  inches  thick  formed 
off  the  mouth  of  All  man  Bay,  the  water  being  fresh  there  on 
account  of  the  flow  from  John  Evans  glacier,  so  that  they 
were  unable  to  extricate  the  launch,  but  drifted  slowly  to  the 
southward  with  the  pack.  The  tide  occasionally  would  open 
a  lane  and  they  worked  through  it  a  short  distance,  only  to  be 
brought  up  again.  For  the  season  of  the  year  the  tempera- 
ture was  unprecedentedly  low,  being  generally  below  zero,  and 
the  party  suffered  much  with  cold.  In  order  that  they  might 
not  be  missed  by  the  expected  relief  vessel  a  tripod  was 
erected  on  the  ice  and  a  flag  hoisted  at  an  elevation  of  thirty 
feet  to  attract  attention.  A  northeast  gale  broke  the  floe,  so 
that  the  position  of  the  party  was  frequently  changed,  and 
they  were  finally  driven  to  within  about  six  miles  of  Cape 

Albert.  .  .      ,    1  c 

As  soon  as  the  state  of  the  ice  permitted  the  stores  from 
the  different  caches  were  collected  at  Camp  Clay.  These 
may  be  summed  up  as  follows,  viz. :  Beebe  cache  and  English 
cache  240  rations  each.  In  the  latter  considerable  tea,  sugar, 
chocolate,  bread  and  dog  biscuit  unfit  for  use.  The  rum  and 
alcohol  were  missing.  Garlington  cache,  500  pounds  of 
bread,  ninety  of  pemmican,  and  a  few  cans  each  of  roast  mut- 
ton, peas,  string  beans,  green  corn,  and  two  boxes  of  lemons. 
These  last  were  in  excellent  condition  and  proved  a  rare  treat 
in  more  respects  than  one.  Major  Greely  speaks  of  them  in 
tKe  h\crhf^',t  terms,  and  savs  that  he  would  never  again  go  to 
tiie  Arctic  without  lemons,  and  the  scraps  of  paper  in  which 


PREPARING    FOR    retreat. 

they  were  wraoopH   r..-  •  l    ,  ^5 

bombardment  of  AlxandSIhe"':  "'^'  "^  *«  day     The 
election  of  reform  .^overno^  '       "'■""Pt'on  of  ^tna  Lrf  li 
heard  of  through  S^JZZl  and"?  °^ '^e  StaS'^^^e^U 
pnsed  after  the  Mai'r...  '     ""  ^^  were   fppnM^.,Ii  " 

fng  him  what  we  suipose'd'L^nlH'?^^  "- Tht^^  '^^^  ^»-- 
"ews,  to  hear  him  say^°  Yes  ,  "hl^'  '?  '"''^^e^inf    tem  'f 

launch  and  Valorous  «,1,;  i   ™'"^''  '°  abandon    t?,»     . 

sleds  being  madeToVSe  in^/e  ^7*'"?'^  *>"«    wo  ^"Sl 

these  and  the  twelv-fe-man  En fc^^  °^''•^ 

covered  from  Thank  God  HarlS  ?'*''''  *'"<=''  had  beer/r. 
mont,  and  had  been  brought  aL^'f^  '''  ^^^  '^ft  by  K" 
eency  the  party  set  out  afross  thf  •  T^"'  '"'^  an  eme" 
ofland  above  Cape  Sabine  son,.  ^  '^"' "'^  "rarest  pofn 
was  a  weary  journey;  the  ic;  was  .^'''T"  f''"'  distant"^  I 
two  journey,  were  required  wih^l^''  ^"^  humniockv  and 
visions,  and  two  with  thri,         "'*  ^^a"  sleds  for  fh J' 

Even  then  they  accoi^ii^HSl^-ne  to  .ranspo^t'°th ''Lr; 
Officers  and  men  worlcPrT  on  .^  ^^out  one  mli^  T-i 

.3th,  finding  that  The  lar.e ^ed'  "'"  '^''^'S'-     «"  Septe^ly- 
boat  was  abandoned  and  .Tnly  hf  b;"/  weakening,  ti^wha^^ 
driven  back  into  Kane  Sea  L      Bfaumont  remained    T™' 
ingas  much  that  they  would^  southwesterly  gales  and  f^^ 
Cape  Sabine  as  that  Jh^y 'would  nT"  '?  ">' -"'hward  paJt 

pled  up  in  some  places  to  a^he'^'K"^  f""^  """'^m°ZJZ" 
'^  ^^^^  ^"^  Jens  returned 


386 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


I 


on  the  9th  of  October  with  the  discouraging  news  of  the  Pro- 
teus disaster,  and  the  scanty  supply  of  provisions  at  Sabine. 
Ma'or  Greely  upon  hearing  their  report  announced  that  the 
party  must  abandon  Esquimau  Point,  as  he  had  named  it, 
and  transfer  the  camp  to  a  place  nearer  the  base  of  supplies. 

A  start  was  made  on  the  next  day,  when  one  load  of  pro- 
visions was  advanced  as  far  as  Rosse  Bay,  and  on  the  nth 
the  remainder.  They  then  travelled  along  a  strait  discovered 
by  Rice,  and  named  after  him,  which  connects  Rosse  Bay  with 
Buchanan  Straits,  placing  Cape  Sabine  on  an  island  instead 
of  the  mainland,  as  was  formerly  supposed.  Rice  and  Jens 
having  gone  to  Cape  Isabella  to  ascertain  whether  any  sup- 
plies had  been  left  there  last  year,  found  only  the  144  pounds 
of  meat  left  there  by  the  English  in  1875. 

The  people  had  been  on  reduced  rations  since  September 
25th,  when  the  allowance  of  meat  was  made  twelve  ounces, 
and  at  Esquimau  Point  one-half  that  quantity.  On  the 
evening  of  October  15th  they  reached  the  Proteus  wreck 
cache,  with  all  their  provisions,  except  one  load,  which  had 
been  cached  at  Cocked  Hat  Island,  and  set  to  work  on  winter 
quarters.  A  hut  was  built  of  stones,  roofed  over  with  the 
whaleboat  from  the  Beebe  cache,  the  oars  serving  as  rafters 
and  covered  with  canvas,  the  sides  being  banked  up  with 
snow.  Of  course,  there  were  no  means  of  heating  it,  as 
barely  fuel  enough  was  obtained  to  warm  the  food.  It  was 
never  cooked.  On  the  ground  canvas  was  spread,  and  over 
this  buffalo  overcoats,  on  the  top  of  which  the  sleeping-bags 
were  placed. 

On  the  2d  of  November  a  party  was  sent  to  Cape  Isa- 
bella to  secure  the  meat  which  had  been  found  there.  It  was 
composed  of  Rice,  Linn,  Elison,  and  Fredericks,  with  the 
small  sled  and  several  days'  provisions.  On  the  9th,  about 
midnight.  Rice  returned  and  reported  the  party  at  the  head 
of  Rosse  Bay,  suffering  severely  with  cold  and  Elison  dying 
with  frost-bites.  Relief  was  at  once  sent,  and  about  noon  of 
the  1 2th  Brainard  reached  them  in  a  severe  gale  with  food 
and  medicine,  and  found  Elison  badly  frozen  and  delirious. 
Fredericks  and  Linn  were  in  the  sleeping-bag  with  him  trying 
to  keep  him  warm,  and  the  three  were  literally  frozen  in  the 
bag,  and  had  to  be  cut  out.  They  would  undoubtedly  have 
perished  but  for  Brainard's  timely  ai  rival,  as  the  temperature 
was  minus  30°  Fahrenheit,  and  they  were  without  a  tent 


PREPARING    FOR    RETREAT. 

With  the  assistance  nf  a  ^^^ 

which  had  also  come  .^  the  rSue  Ih'.  ^''"'"'"^"'  Lockwood 
Clay,  Ehson  having  both  hand  aj^d  l-LT^  ^°"""  '°  Camp 
he  never  used  them  again.  Thev  tf  K°''"  ""^  ^°  "«t 
abandon  the  meat  at  filird  Inlet  with  1,  '^".•'°"'P'^"«d  to 
lutely  necessary  to  save  life  '     '"^  ^^erythmg  not  abso- 

Durinjj  the  latter  part  of  n 
rives  was  stationed  at  the  junTon"'  o^R^' ''"''  j''^  '*°  "»- 
Straits  for  the  purpose  of  huntin"  Lh      ^  ^"''  Buchanan 
cold  and  hunger.     They  had  on?a  ?enf  f  T''  ?'^^'ly  with 
on  reduced  rations,     /hey  returned  ^K  ".  'm'  '"  ^"^  ^'^'-e 
badly  frost-bitten,  having  kHled  o„|v  ,1,      "'  November  8th, 
vember   'f?  the  comm?nd  was  pL'h"'"^  n^'^    From  No- 
rations,  which  had  been  aca.rltS,f    .•°"   '^"''*«'-  educed 
March  ,st,  with  a  reserve  of  ten  dav^'Mr^'^"^  ">  '^^'  ""tt 
to  Littleton  Island  when  tl°e  sound  So  W  7"°"'  '"°'-  the  trip 
reduced  ration  was  composed  aTwf""'''  iT'''  <»'«'-.     This 
four  and  one-third  ounces    hr^iT',  Meat  and  blubber 
one-half;   canned  vegetables  and  rl"''  ''"^  ''■'"'«.  six  a^d 
butter  and  lard,  three^quar  ers     .1         '  °,"^  ^"'^   two-fifths 
tenths;  cloud-berries,  ^p"ckes  Vak,-i"  '"^  beef  extract,  n  „e-' 
making  a  total  of  ,4  ^gS-iS  onn?  '  ^""^  'T'^^'  °"<^  ounce  ■ 
t.me  the  whale-boat  N^rwharwhid, T./k''  ''T     ^bout  tWs 
drifted  down  near  Caoe  Sah;,^l       i'^''  ^^^"  'eft  on  the  flop 
between  Brevoort  Islan'^and  S^  Zl  ."^r^'^Sed  in  the  ice 
and  used  during  the  winter  for  fueT^;"'-   i^''^  ^^^  ^<=™red 
vember  hunting  became  impossX  .      "^  *^  '"'''''"'=  ofNo- 
nes3  and  cold,  besides  bein^  useles.      ^T""'  °^  "-e  dark- 
0  be  had,  so  they  waited  patfentlv  forVf  '\'"-^  ™^  "°  game 
by  ice,  but  waited  in  vain.*^  ^  '°'  'he  closing  of  the  sound 

lliroiio-iiout  the  f^nt;^^ 

f-,  LitSeton  IslLd"'  LTr^:""^"  "^'^^  ^P-^t^''  them 
of  provisions  which,  thoiH,  no   L'  r'  "^/.''ditional  each" 
«nt,  with  economy,  to  pulf  f  j  ^''■-  *°"'''  ''ave  been  suffi 
near  at  hand  were  natives  i?  ''"'":''  P"'y  through    and 
for  a.^stance,  as  did' iTn  °  anl'TFayt:'  '^'"'"  '>"^  -""' 
lade  to  preserve  cheerfulness  in  fl!»T?'  ■_^'''='">'  effort  was 
to  Its  very  existmre      Conl '      ,•       '"'^  ''='"*  so  necessa^v 
»"^  of  subjects,  iiowever  frl  oto'ui''  ^T^^'P'  "P  « '  a" 


li-lll 


li'Ml 


388 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


almanac  was  a  perfect  mine  of  wealth.  The  survivors  speak 
in  the  warmest  terms  of  the  major's  powers  of  conversation, 
and  the  gallant  efforts  which  he  made  to  keep  up  the  spirits 
of  his  little  band.  Notwithstanding  their  destitute  condition 
Thanksgiving  and  Christmas  days  were  observed  as  usual. 
For  more  than  a  month  they  saved  from  their  scanty  rations 
in  order  that  they  might  have,  at  least  by  contrast,  a  good 
dinner  on  those  days.  It  consisted  principally  of  rice  pudding, 
with  a  glass  of  rum  punch  to  wash  it  down. 

As  early  as  March  13th  Long  was  sent  with  Frederick  and 


WATCHING  FOR  SEALS. 


Jens  to  Alexandra  Harbor  to  look  for  game,  the  English  ex- 
pedition of  1875  having  reported  abundant  traces  in  that 
quarter.  They  returned  exhausted,  however,  after  an  ab- 
sence of  three  Or  four  days  and  empty-handed.  Long,  how- 
ever, had  made  the  important  discovery  of  new  land  in  Hazen 
Sound,  having  seen  from  the  western  side  of  Mount  Carri 
three  capes  beyond  the  farthest  reported  by  the  Nares  expe- 
dition. The  life  at  Camp  Clay  during  the  winter  and  spring 
is  simply  indescribable.  Rice  discovered  salt  shrimps,  with 
which  they  eked  out  their  suppers^  but  they  contained  very 
little  nutrinient,  and  the  lauor  oi  catciimg  tiiem  may  be  im- 


PKEPARING    FOR    RETREAT. 

agined  when  it  is  known  that  if  ..     •    .  ^^^ 

S7eal  S^"^  ^^^-"  ^o^^'relocf  r  "  '/^  ^  ^^"- 
Douea  seai-skin  were  a  so  eatPn      -r      '^^^'^s,  saxifrag-e   anW 

mg  about  four  pounds  each,  were  JlT'-K^'"''  ^oxes.^wei  J^,'^ 
prowled  around  the  ram,!        5      •  '^'^  ^^'^^^  shotP-un^  nc  .f 

fourteen  p.ar.igarsSy  Sov^tie:  a'  ""„  ^^•"'•"  «"  4^ 
a  bear,  wl„ch  netted  them  °„Z  *,^'"?"  =^al,  and,  in  A„ 
.ng;vas  wasted,  and  this  lasf  uK'l  °.  S°°''  •"^«-  nS 
die  few  who  survived.  Ser-teanf  R^'^'"r  "^^<^d  the  hVes  of 
issue  of  provisions,  which  Sarefifl'l"'''' •''?''  ^'«"-ge  of  ti°e 
vised  scale,  cartridges  servW  f.  M  '^'^•ghed  in  an  imor^ 
tnbuted.  In  March  it  wasTol^  "j  T'^''"'' ^nd  '^^''^"hWdS' 
the  ration,  there  hpinrr  „  Tl-      ,      "ecessary  to  ara,-„  .  j 

^  The  first  death  >vas  that  ^r  ^  ^^'^'"'  shrimps,  and  lichen? 
the  machinist  of  the  stea?«  ?    ^^[g^^^nt  Cros^  wlio  hid  K  '* 
iapse  of  time  unt  I  Esmw"^      ?r'^'  ^"^  ^hen  tliere  waf.  ?'^" 
together  with  the  defh' ofTe  0^'^^^^  ^^^  ^n      Ti  i^  t? 
hy  drowning,  proved  a  serf's    of  ^^\"""^^'.  Jens  Edwi'd 

te-?d\:f^"-^i?,ti.n^^^^ 

re«ance  of  the  part^  ara"tnte^''"S^"^^^'-  "^  '  "S 

Frederics  on  Sie  floe""  t1  '''''^"^"■°"  '"^  was  b^uTd  'k^ 

therQMr,,;.,  ea  atter  a  heroiV  of#-  ^'ce,   tlie 

neir  starving  comrades  about  JrJ.  attempt  to  secure  for  • 


s  to  the  energy  and 


390 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


despatch  with  which  the  expedition  had  been  fitted  out  we 
were  On  the  ground  at  the  earhest  possible  date,  and  had  the 
exact  position  of  the  party  been  known  when  we  sailed  from 
New  York,  not  another  life  could  have  been  saved.  May  4th, 
the  winter  hut,  which  was  only  six  feet  above  high  water 
mark,  was  abandoned,  and  the  party  moved  up  the  hill  on 
account  of  the  dampness  from  melting  snow,  and  lived  in  a 
wall-tent,  and  here  they  were  found  on  the  day  of  the  rescue, 
which  they  litde  thought  was  so  near  at  hand. 

While  lying  in  their  tent,  too  exhausted  to  go  out  in  the 
southwest  gale  which  was  raging,  something  very  like  the 
sound  of  a  steam-whistle  was  heard,  and  Long  and  Brainard 
were  sent  to  the  rocks,  where  a  signal  of  distress  was  flying, 
to  see  if  there  was  anything  in  si^ht.  Intervening  hills  hid 
the  ships  from  their  view,  and  they  returned  disappointed 
with  their  melancholy  report.  Brainard  says  that  this  was 
the  bitterest  moment  of  his  life,  and  that  he  then  gave  up  all 
as  lost.  Long,  not  yet  fully  satisfied,  went  out  again,  and 
climbing  to  the  hill-top,  saw  the  Bear's  steam-launch  approach- 
ing, with  the  ships  in  the  distance.  Too  overjoyed  to  control 
himself,  almost  too  weak  to  stand,  he  tumbled  rather  than  ran 
down  the  hill  to  meet  his  rescuers,  and  was  the  first  of  the 
party  to  arrive  on  board  the  ship. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

THE    RESCUE. 
The  Voyage  of  the  Relief  Ships  Thetis  Bear        i  a, 
with  .he  Ice-Looking  out'Tor  .hTbre";  t.y'^Jir/"''^/-"''""  B^^-^att.in, 
Si«ht-Rehev.ng  ,he  Sufferers-Ten  Graves     "'^-^'"'^'"e  the  Survivors-A  Terrible 
Death  or  E,iso„-I„ter.e„t  of  Frede^Xch"  t^er      ^°-<^-Mceti„g  the  mI^H 

The  United  States  ffovernment-  n^.  i,     • 
news  concerning  the  Gredy  ^Xny^n^J'^'S  received  any 

^^^s:!i:/S^^X^^^  to  leave 

o   April  23d.     The  of/cers  and  eTew^o^^^^^^  "^^^'■"°°" 

foliows :  Lieutenant  W   H    Fm^r  *^  '^^  ^^^r  were  as 

F.  H.  Crosby,  execudve ;  L^^teSntTl?""^';;  L'^^^^"-" 
gator;   Lieutenant   N.  R  Vjshpr         •■^^^"  x^"  ^^^well,  navi- 
passed  assistant  surgeon  •  H    F    A     '^" '    ^-   K-  Reynolds 
ohn  Lowe.     Seamerjacob '  Mnlon"  1^'  Chief-En'gineer 
ft"f ";  t""^^  P-  B"rke.  James  CCn.     ^T  J^'°"'  J^h" 
bell  Joel  C.  Evans.  Hugh  BrTck   F.^^-  "^"j  ^S""^'  J'  ^anip. 
Carlson.  Arthur  Lloyd    Franr^Tn'^'"^"'^  ^^^J^hn.  Carl  F 
and  Heinrich  Krasb^^g;  boa  ^a^nT'"'  ^^^^  J°hn;on.     r,* 
carpenter.  Joseph  B    Fre^mfn       ^-   "late,  John  Quevedo- 
Smith.  Chailes  'h.  McUo^^^Uid' H%"^"^"^^°-^^^^^^ 
Roberts;  ^f  dsmen.  Otto  Shurz  c'sti^;  W  "k"^"'  ^"^  J^^" 
Sovo;  machinists.  J.   M    Beam  on^u^  ^^^^^' ^"^  George 
smah.  Thomas  J.  Warton  ;  firemen   lame"''^  ^^°"^^  ••  ^^^^k! 
C"J:!;'^'  'ce-pilot.  Captain  Ash        '  ^  ^^^^"  ^"^  ^^^^ie 

onj/nut^^Tsl^-stS^^^^ 

John's.  Newfoundlandf^onic^ocS^^^c^.^^"  &  Co..  of  St. 

Arctic  sealer,  and  was  considered^n.     K""^'  "^^^  ^^  ^n 

(391) 


39* 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


of  hold  i8l  feet;  gross  tonnape,  689  tons,*  net  tonrage,  468 
tons.  She  was  built  at  Dundiif,  Scotland,  in  1874,  and  had 
compound  engines  with  cylinders  of  25  and  50  inches  diame- 
ter respectively,  and  30  inches  stroke.  She  was  built  of 
hard  wood  and  sheathed  from  the  keel  to  above  the  water- 
line  with  greenheart,  a  wood  obtained  in  Demarara,  South 
America.  It  is  considered  the  hardest  wood  in  the  world. 
The  forwaid  part  of  the  vessel  for  about  fifteen  feet  was  built 
up  of  solid  timbers.  The  Bear  was  thoroughly  overhauled 
and  refitted  at  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard.  The  cost  of  the  re- 
pairs amounted  to  nearly  $20,000. 

The  Thetis,  the  flag-ship  of  the  Greely  Relief  Expedition, 

sailed  from  New  York  on  May 
1st.  Her  officers  and  crew 
were :  Commander  W.  S.  Schley, 
the  commander  of  the  expedi- 
tion ;  Lieutenant  Urell  Sebrce, 
Lieutenant  Emory  H.  Taunt, 
Lieutenant  Samuel  C.  Lemley, 
Ensign  Charles  H.  Harlow, 
Chief-Engineer  George  W.  Mel- 
ville, Passed  Assistant  Surgeon 
E.  H.  Green ;  ice-piiot,  J.  W. 
Norveau ;  cook,  Max  Tyron ; 
steward,  Charlie  Yong  Sing; 
.quartermaster,  George  Cross; 
'?  first-class  fireman,  Thomas 
Clark ;  second-class  firemen, 
Harvey  D.  Wall  and  Frederick 
W.  Griffin;  seamen,  William 
Attkin,  George  Harvey,  William  Johnsen,  C.  Oxchmitt,  W. 
Booth.  Edward  W.  Walker,  Joseph  B.  White,  C.  Wilson,  C 
Puelsen,  F.  Bujjessen,  J.  W.  Powers,  Bardey  Cook,  Michael 
Hickey,  Joseph  Mitre,  Thomas  Maloney,  George  G.  Yewell, 
J.  Munsen,  F.  F.  Taylor,  and  J.  McDonald. 

The  United  States  government  bought  the  Dundee  whaler 
Thetis  on  the  5th  of  February.  She  was  two  years  old,  was 
of  600  tons  burden,  and  was  the  strongest  and  staunchest  of 
the  Dundee  whaling  fleet.  On  the  8th  of  February  Lieuten- 
ant-Commander F.  E.  Chadwick,  naval  attache  of  the  Ameri- 
can Legation  at  London,  and  Mr.  Leigh  Smith,  the  well-known 
Arctic  explorer,  inspected  the  Thetis  at  Dundee.     Secretary 


LIEUTENANT  W.  H.  EMORY. 


'^E   RESCUE. 


Chandler,  on   the>  f«ii      •  ^93 

mander  Caspar^  LtZTc^  t^  ''«-:'<'<'   L-Uenant-Co. 

tajied  Lieutenant  ■UzaVrrR"''  ""=  ^^-OP  an  i.Ttfon^:?" 
take  c  laroe  of  fh-  J"  'Kearny,  also  of  H,.  i     "Hon,  de- 

London   iioa°d  of   t"^*^'-     °"   'he  .4th  of  r  l!"^"^'"'  '° 

Stati  on^;??6th  of'pe'h  '^'^^'''^  '"^"ed  oCrZTl?  ^'^ 

M  r  R^.  %V       ^'  "ansen,  Charl^lc  b  "  '  ^°^^  seamen 

Lupkermtz      fir^^en    ?"tT   Watson    H'eLanr"''"''"'^' 
Roberts,  W  lliam  h!  '    ■[•    Wachter,  John  %?ir     ^*"'    "• 

Thomas  BraWM^'V  ''"atswain's  mi°e"  r„!""rr."'    'T'    S. 

and  Charles  AndeSon    •'  "^P"""^  °f  "laintop  AI^  .''^   J" 
-^,  Wa,d Ja?^-:^-er.  '^^^ 

m  sloop  of  war      T     "^o'"  '^56.  and  wis  or^^'     m  ""^^^  ^^ 
^"  tt#-S  ^-;«^^,td"-  'tS^o'^ha^^d. 

ritrpS?,s~d  ?!!!. -^  pS ;;"  rii'r,,^^ 


5  .fpedijion  in%8,ra„d  ^i^!"","^  Pa.  ....  ..,„,..„ 

-•  ^^e  wis  '^^ar.r^irTero^tr^^ig 


394 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


m 


Lowell  on  March  25th.  The  Alert  is  now  regarded  as  one 
of  the  strongest  vessels  afloat.  She  registers  1,045  tons,  and 
is  1 79  feet  long  over  all,  and  1 60  feet  at  the  water-line.  Her 
breadth  of  beam  is  32^^  feet,  and  when  fully  equipped  she 

draws  15  feet. 

The  Thetis  arrived  at  Disko  on  May  2  2d,  accompanied  by 

the  collier  Loch  Garry,  after  a  pleasant  passage  of  ten  days 

and  two  hours  from  St.  John's.     On  the  first  day  out  several 

lartye  bergs  were  passed,  but  once  clear  of  the  coast  no  more 

ice%vas  seen  until  we  n eared  the  shores  of  Greenland.    On 

the  morning  of  May  i8th  the  ship  was  completely  surrounded 

for  several  hours  by  loose,  scattered  field-ice,  on  some  pieces 

of  which  seals  were  seen.     The  west  coast  of  Greenland  was 

sighted  on  May  20th,  in  latitude  64°  30'  north,  longitude  53° 

20'  west,  and  the  part  of  Davis  Straits  through  which  we  were 

then  passing  was  found  to  be  remarkably  free  from  ice,  only 

an  occasional  berg  being  seen.     Off  Disko  she  met  large  pans 

of  floatino-  ice,  varying  in  thickness  from  three  to  five  feet  and 

extending  about  three  miles  to  seaward.     Not  without  some 

difficulty  she  worked  her  way  through  these  and  made  fast 

with  ice  anchors  to  the  fixed  ice  in  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  of 

Lievely.     Here  she  learned  thai  the  past  winter  had  been  one 

of  the  most  severe  ever  experienced.     The  Bear  had  arrived 

on  May  15th,  ten  days  and  fifteen  hours  from  St.  John's.   On 

the  passage  down  she  had  taken  a  more  westerly  course  than 

that  pursued  by  the  Thetis  and  encountered  continuous  fields 

of  ice  and  large  bergs  on  the  coast  of  Labrador  and  met  winter 

ice  off  the  Whale  Fish  Islands,  which  lie  about  twelve  miles 

south-southwest  from  the  entrance  to  Lievely  Bay.    Taking 

a  westerly  course  she  forced  her  way  through  to  the  mouth 

of  the  harbor,  where  she  made  fast  to  the  ice.     Two  whalers, 

the  Triune  and  Cornwallis,  had  arrived,  and  shordy  afterward 

the  former  attempted  the  passage  to  Upernavik,  but  failed  on 

account  of  the  ice.     She  returned  and  both  then  saded,  as 

their  captains  said,  for  the  Southwest  fisheries.     On  the  17th 

the  Bear  left  for  Upernavik  and  succeeded  in  getting  as  far 

as  Hare  Island,  some  seventy  miles  north  of  Disko,  where  she 

was  stopped  by  an  impassable  barrier  of  winter  ice,  and  on 

the  1 8th  put  back  to  Disko.     In  the  meantime  the  Dundee 

v/halers  Polynia  and  Nova  Zembla  had^rrived,  and  on  tjie 

2 1  St,  the  day  before  the  arrival  of  the    ihetis,  they  leit  lor 

the  north,  followed  closely  on  the  same  day  by  the  Bear.  She 


THE    RESCUE. 


took  with  her  as  do?  drivpi-  H,      u  ^^^ 

Nordenskjold  to  Cape  York  th^^"'""-  "''°  ^""mpanied 
Damelson,  who  was  on  boa^d  the  P^n'r'''''^  T^^'  David 
Garlington,  and  made  the  vLs^L  ""^  *"''  Lieutenant 
Lieutenant  Colweli's  boarwSfL  ''™''  '^^'^"'^  Bay  fn 
the  Thetis.  During  the's^a!  1"  olsko""  ^^P^'"y  °n  boa^d 
made  for  encounterinsr  the  ice     M  °  P'"<=Parations  were 

ship.;  Sixty  days'  prSvTsbn3  induS.r^"  <^""?d  «  "abando^ 
bread  and  extract  Sf  beef,  «;"'*«!  ^o"":?'"?"'  '^^>  ^"gar" 
for  an  emergency.  P""^^''  O"  deck  to  be  ready 

Arms,  ammunition    anA    „ 

Each  man  was  given  a  knapsacT"'''""^"'"  "^^«   di.,tributed. 

contammg  a  change  of  clofhing  "' 

foo  -gear  and  tobacco,  to  be  keM 

attheheadofhisbu^kandnS 

to  be  disturbed  except  in  the 

event  of  abandoning  ship    Tq" 

pedoes,  both  of  gun-cotton  a^d 

w  tC  f''  T"  <=^P-rimented 
w  th  and  found  to  operate  well 
^though  the  .ce  here  was  too 
soft  to  give  them  a  fair  test 
Throughout    the    cruise    there 
were  no  dnlls.  except  these  a„| 
at  fire  quarters,  the  idea  bein^ 
to  have  no  unnecessary  work^ 
Tlie  Thetis  sailed  from  Disko 
on  May   241],,   convoying    the  -^^mm^m^^. 

Loch  Garry.     At  five  i  \.    l  .--'^0:^-^^^:^ 

ing  advanced  about  fonJ'fi"  •,  ''"""^'"""'  ».  s.  schlev. 
pack-ice  was  met,  a^d  p  ^fe!!:  ""'^^  '°  '"<=  southward  heavv 
m  It,  Commande;  ScS;^'t»  "«  \"^^  'he  Loch  Garr? 
lead,  and  then,  the  ice  beine  s^n  Z  '^%  ""«  '"°™ing  for  a 
ws  signalled  to  return  tn  n-  '°^^  P^<^ked,  the  Loch  Gnrr,^ 
wind,  while  the  TSs^odtTtak'  "'^^ --' an  eaS  Z 

t  TV'^"r?  ^"'l  boring  a;  oCTsiV''^  "'"=^«  '"'  '^°"'d 
?;tii  she  arrived  off  Hare  U\f:„1i   °"asion  required.     On  tho 

2  been  again  joined  by  the  Lorh''r*'=  ""«  n,orning^  hfv 
S:^:nti[^-^.}^°'^.'He1o^^^^^^^^^^^ 
*e  way,  except- et'rchSd  sometimes  a„-;„rertSg 
'  -  ^■^^P-''  for  ice  work:^a,:^^\t"|, -;- -se! 


396 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


i'l! 


On  May  29th,  at  half-past  seven  a.  m.,  the  Thetis  and  Loch 
Garry  arrived  at  Upernavik,  followed  later  by  the  Wolf  and 
Arctic.  Here  the  ships  found  the  Bear,  together  with  the 
Scotch  whalers  Triune,  Polynia  and  Nova  Zembla.  The 
Bear  had  arrived  the  previous  evening-,  having  first  run  up 
to  Berry  Island,  twenty-five  miles  north,  to  examine  the  state 
of  the  ice.  Lieutenant  Emory  reported  that  it  was  impassa- 
ble, that  the  whalers  Cornwallis,  Aurora  and  Narwhal,  all  of 
Dundee,  were  there  waiting  for  the  ice  to  open.  In  the  after- 
noon all  the  whalers,  with  the  Thetis  and  Bear,  left  Uper- 
navik, the  Loch  Garry  remaining  behind  to  await  the  convoy 
of  the  Alert  and  a  more  favorable  season  for  crossing  Melville 
Bay.  Governor  Elborg,  of  Upernavik,  accompanied  the  ships 
as  far  as  Knigatock,  a  small  setdement  twelve  miles  north, 
where  they  tied  up  to  the  ice,  the  Arctic  close  by  the  Triune, 
Polynia,  Wolf  and  Nova  Zembla ;  on  the  other  side  of  the 
island  the  Cornwallis,  Aurora  and  Narwhal  in  sight  from  the 
hill  top.  The  whalers  were  much  surprised  to  see  the  squadron 
so  early  in  the  field.  The  vessels  of  no  other  expedition, 
either  of  relief  or  exploration,  had  ever  arrived  there  at  so 
early  a  date,  or  even  left  England  or  the  United  States  before 
June  ist,  the  day  on  which  this  expedition  left  Knigatock  and 
made  a  start  across  Melville  Bay, 

From  this  time  until  the  day  of  our  arrival  in  the  open 
water  around  Cape  York  the  ships  were  continually  batding 
with  the  ice  or  waiting  for  a  chance  to  push  on  where  it  was 
found  impenetrable.  The  entire  fleet  of  eight  whalers  and 
the  two  expeditionary  vessels  were  together  at  the  Duck 
Islands  from  June  6th  to  nth.  The  Theds  and  Bear  had 
touched  at  Tessnisak,  the  northernmost  of  the  Danish  setde- 
ments,  on  the  way  up.  While  waiting  for  the  ice  to  open  the 
men  had  fine  shooting.  Eider  duck,  dovekies  and  loons  were 
abundant.  From  this  point  the  vessels  separated,  the  Thetis 
and  Bear,  with  the  whalers  Arctic  and  Wolf,  being  generally 
in  company,  the  remainder  running  in  groups  of  three  or  four 
together,  with  the  Esquimaux  and  Jan  Mayen,  which  after- 
ward came  up.  Each  day,  though  eventful  in  itself,  was  but 
a  repetition  of  the  preceding.  The  ice  varied  in  thickness 
from  three  to  five  feet,  even  more  when  rafted,  and  it  was 
only  by  watching  the  leads  carefully  and  taking  advantage  of 
every  favorable  opening,  that  the  ships  made  any  progress  at 
all.      Commander  Schley  almost  lived  in   the  crows'  nest. 


!* 


THE  RESCUE. 


397 


Sometimes  when  waitino-  ri«  , ,  ^' 

berg,  but  more  frequenl  o  Th™'?,"''^  "^  "P  *«  the  lee  of 
was  not  absolutely  impasslh       """'  ='"''•  '^  'he  obstmrl 
torpedoes  to  forced  pSe' of  m""''   '°   r.m„ZT"Z 
made    comparatively  fine    ?,  "  ''"^  '4111  and  15,7,,?" 

Arpugh  much  open  Lter    ™"1    '°   "'«=   "«tvvard   ',  i'    7 
and  17th  they  were  Tf  /  ''"''  '°°se  pack-ice      On  f,      i"? 

and  in  sight  of  Caoe  V.\'"f"'^^""  ^'1  day  w  ,hin  J,      '■?"' 
and.  witi,  a  fresh^^o^tLw^td' tl  ''^<-^-" '""pe  etS'l^L^ 


jq8  arctic  explorations. 

Being  now  in  a  region  where  we  might  hope  to  find  traces 
of  the  Greely  party,  our  colors  were  hoisted  to  attract  atten- 
tion. The  Bear  was  signalled  to  push  ahead  and  send  a 
party  on  shore  to  communicate  with  the  natives,  and  she  was 
the  first  ship  to  reach  the  land  ice  off  Cape  York.  Prepara- 
tions had  been  made  to  send  in  a  joint  sledging  party  from 
the  two  ships  with  ten  days'  supplies  should  it  not  be  possible 
to  reach  near  the  cape,  but  this  was  not  necessary,  and  Lieu- 
tenant Colwell,  of  the  Bear,  with  three  men,  a  sledge  and  small 
boat  went  in,  the  Thetis  coming  up.  In  the  meantime  the 
Bear  was  despatched  to  the  northward,  and  Lieutenant  Colwell 
with  his  party  having  met  a  native  on  the  way  out  returned 
and  took  passage  on  board  the  Thetis  until  the  two  ships  met 
at  Littleton  Island.  Nodiing  had  been  heard  here  of  the 
Greely  party.  From  this  point  a  search  was  made  at  all 
places  where  records  or  people  were  at  all  likely  to  be  found. 
The  Bear  went  to  the  Carey  Islands,  the  Thetis  to  Conical 
Rock,  Westernholme  and  Saunders  Island,  Cape  Parry  and 
finally  to  Litdeton  Island,  where  she  arrived  on  June  21st. 
At  the  last  place  the  Beebe  cache  was  found  in  good  condi- 
tion, but  no  tidings  of  the  Greely  party.  Until  now  no  one 
on  board  supposed  that  they  would  have  to  go  beyond  this 
place,  but  failing  here  the  impression  became  general  that 
they  were  bound  to  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  with  a  probability  of 
a  winter  in  the  Arctic,  no  one  supposing  for  a  moment  that 
the  party  had  come  south  and  been  unable  to  cross  the  sound. 
Letters  were  got  ready  to  send  home  by  the  Alert  when  she 
should  go  in  the  fall,  and  sledging  pardes  were  discussed  to 
start  north  when  the  ships  could  go  no  farther.  On  Sunday, 
the  22d  day  of  June,  760  rations  were  landed  and  cached,  and 
it  was  decided  to  land  3,000  more  at  Payer  Harbor.  The 
Bear  arrived  at  noon,  and  at  four  p.  m.  both  ships  ran  across 
through  open  water  to  Cape  Sabine,  arriving  at  Payer  Harbor 
at  ten  minutes  to  seven,  where  they  made  fast  to  the  ice. 
Parties  were  at  once  sent  to  scour  the  adjacent  hills  for 
records. 

Lieutenant  Colwell  thus  describes  the  finding  of  the  sur- 
vivors : 

"On  this,  the  22d  day  of  June,  1884,  we  found  all  that  re- 
mained of  the  Lady  Franklin  Bay  expedition  in  command  of 
T  J^llt/-nan^  A  W  Gipplv.  The  obiect  of  our  trio  into  these 
waters  was  accomplished.     The  problem  for  which  so  many 


THE   RESCUE. 

theories  have  been  advan.  ^  l  '  399 

about  the  Bear  condnueH    w  \^'  ^^^"  ^^^ved      TK 
was  increasing  an^Kal^^"^^.  '^^  -orninl'^h'e"''^;^ 
signs  of  her.    A  JittJe  c^fT         ,  grow  ng-  thict^,^^'j    ^  S^^^e 
in  a  dory  from   the  fh    '  '"""^^^  ^^^  nfen  who  '  ^""^  '''"  "^ 

Mount  cLry  Jslat  shroff  ".^   °"^'   '  ^h^'^s'th:  ^^"'"^ 
mounted  to  the  crow  n  "  ^^^  v  ew  from  ^u    ^^    ^^ar.' 

the  island.  Two  ^  ,h  ^"^  ^"^'ousTy  waTrh  ^^  u^'^'  ^^  ^ 
black  nest  at  her  ?n  ^^^  "''""^^^  Passed  .'J^''?  ^^^  ^°P  of 
then  her  ma  nt's^,:,^''^^^  ^^^wly  cLTI^^^"  ^^e  fctie 

and  pennant  S  assur.^H^'^";."^^^  ^-^TZ^'^^'  ^^^-.• 
Bear.     Ske  sollTdl^li^'^'^-yona  do^^^^^^^ 
by  2.30  we  were  off  for  r       SfP^ain  Emorv  r^^     .5^  ^^^ 
carried  us  across  hi  ah.  ^T  ^^^'^^'     AuLu^  '^^'^'  ^"^ 
seen  on  the  top  of  Rr^  '  ^°"''  ^'^^rs.     The  r.    ^""^  ''^^"^ 
one  on  Starknecht  fJ  T''  ^^^^"d.  and  the  I       "  '°"^^  ^^ 
and  Ensign  HarW      "^  ^^^  ^^scVied      lI  ?^''°"  °^  ^he 
soon  as  th%  sl"ns  °T77^  ^^"^  at  once  to  ,t  ^'^"^"^  Taunt 

"In  each  o  Then'lV'!?  '^  ^'^^  ^'^^^n  Payer  S' "I ^^^^^'  ^^ 
October    tSq.         ,   ^^cords  of  Grf^f^u.     ^^  Harbor. 

between  Cape  SabTn"!  "^'/'^en  as  beinf  a  ,  '!■"*=•  The 
Schley  we,/o;  ^.r^'R  ^°^'^'=''  HaellSr';?'''^--y 
camp.  The  Thetis  remlewf''  ?'  ""^^  ^ncl  tartn  f'^'^'T 
and  soon  joined  t,  -  R<.        ^  '°  P'^k  up  hpr^ffi       °  'o""  the 

one  dreamed  of  the  h^    -J,     ""^  °n  our  wa„  ,  .    ^  pos- 

The  wind  had  iSeu    '  '^^^^''y  'hat  ;:^  ^:°""^'.  b"t  no 
over  the  hilk  in  fi    •         '"  we  -nicrl,  a   t,       °  ^^  revealed 
beforeit  and  h  el"J7,'  "^'f'^' drivin/th^""'""--.    '^  '°re     , 
Tl>e  Bear  had  stetfdtat'P  '°  ^"  ""'onV:  ^b', -/f-ts 
If  seen  runninj;  about  !.^."P  '°  the  ice  and  n       /'*=ffree. 
'lie  ice  siunallinc  v^?  '  a°"  ^''ore.     Somp\!"    P^°P'^  <:ouId 
and  Harlow  with^ol''  "^^-s.     'Send  doc    °?-T^'  '^'"  «" 
"came  to  the  last'^t '°^'"f'''  '"a'^hine     s^v/n    ,■''  ^"•«<^hers 
*t  careful    ntt«t  T  u'''^  '  "^''^  '•  m  -l^^f;--'    When 

S,^-d  the  Ti -f  '"^:-  Of  .-.e  Greeiy  fa;;;;t  ,S 


intli  stronn-  .„,..    ^-  .  l^oats  were 
"■^shore-n^r^^P^^yofof 


se;m.^  ^  P?«y  <""  officer,  a„d     °""''  "'='""ed 


400 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


ii 
m 


with  water  dashing  over  the  rail  at  every  lunge  and  rolling 
gunwales  under  in  the  short  but  heavy  seas,  we  finally  reached 
the  ice  foot  and  hurried  to  the  scene  Oi  misery.  A  few  steps 
from  the  landing  we  met  a  black  face,  with  horrid,  staring 
eyes,  wrapped  in  a  clean  blanket  that  contrasted  strangely 
with  the  filthy  clothes  that  covered  the  body  of  one  of  the 
survivors.  It  was  Fredericks,  who  was  strong  enougli  to  walk 
to  the  boats — a  miserable  sight,  but  cheerful  compared  with 
the  one  that  met  our  ga  >  "w  steps  farther  on.  A  slight 
incline  to  the  left  and  tl.  jy  reHef  parties  came  in  view. 
Passing  a  small  fire  on  whiun  pots  of  milk  were  warming  we 
came  to  the  tent,  under  which  lay  foui-  of  the  poor  fellows. 
Two  lay  outside,  one  with  his  face  swollen  so  that  he  could 
barely  show  by  his  eyes  the  wild  excitement  that  filled  his 
being.  The  other  was  muttering  in  a  voice  that  could  scarcely 
be  heard  in  the  howling  of  the  gale  his  hungry  appeal  for 
food.  Pushing  aside  the  flaps  of  the  tent  we  saw  a  sight  the 
like  of  which  we  trust  never  to  see  again.  Crowded  together 
in  the  litde  of  the  tent  that  was  left  standing  lay  Greely  and 
three  of  his  men  in  their  sleeping-bags,  their  faces  black  with 
dirt.  Their  hollow  cheeks  and  their  gleaming  eyes  made  a 
ficture  that  we  will  never  forget,  and  told  a  story  that  lias 
but  few  rivals  in  the  histories  of  miserable  sufferings.  The 
short  glance  revealed  four  men  with  the  hand  of  death  laid 
upon  'them;  one,  indeed,  was  gasping  his  last  feeble  breath 
while  food  and  stimulants  were  forced  between  his  teeth. 
The  fate  of  the  other  three  was  a  question  of  a  very  few 
hours.  The  gale  was  killing  them  in  their  weak  and  exhausted 
condition.  To  move  against  such  a  wind  was  an  impossibility. 
An  able-bodied,  healthy  man  bent  to  it  at  times.  So  there 
they  lay,  waiting  for  death,  unable  to  cook  the  pitiful  ration 
of  tanned  oil  sealskin  and  lichens  that  they  called  their 
meal." 

The  scene  at  the  camp  beggars  description.  It  is  sufficient 
to  say  that  they  were  starving,  and  but  for  the  timely  relief 
afforded  some  of  them  would  have  died  during  the  night. 
Connell  had  been  given  up  as  lost.  The  gale  was  killing 
them,  and  Major  Greely  says  that  he  gave  himself  only  about 
sixty  more  hours  to  live.  Fredericks,  Long  and  Brainard 
were  the  strongest  of  the  party,  and  they  were  only  able  with 
great  difficulty  to  walk  down  to  the  boat.  It  is  a  remarkable 
coincidence  that  Mr.  J.  W.  Norman,  the  ice  pilot  of  the  Thetis, 


THE    RESCUE. 

who  ivas  mate  of  the  Pr«^       •  ^^^ 

say  good-bye  to  GreeUrTi^!P  '^^''  and  the  last  n. 

first  to  greet  him  here\.  ^^^^  ^^^"^^'n  Bay  wJ  ^7'°".*° 
well  in  the  Bea?s  IZt'  ."""^f  accompanied  jj.nf  ^'^°  '^« 
at  the  camp  he  ium  T'^""^'^'  ^nd  beinc^  th.  fi  ^"^"^  ^°^- 
his  pockets  full  oIk^^^  ?^'^'^  at  once  !jnn„  ^'V  ^''''^^ 
news  that  here  werrK^''  '^"  ^''^'^  ^om  LonH  ^"^',"^'  ^'^^ 
was  one  ofZTi:^'::^^:  it'  -^  ^no^i^ng  &^°Jy 
and  ca  Jed  out  "V^.  ^  f'^^  '"^^  to  within  ,.?•        .^''^^^X 

ships  here  ro7;;ou-.°"  ^^  ^"  -'^H,  Gr^S^;  ^ r-e^t't^o^ 

IJie  major,   recognizing  th.       • 
Norman?    Cut  the  fent  "^t.       ''°'^^'  rephed-"Is  fh.^ 

n  p.  M.,  and  the  weafli^r     t^l    ,?*  ^"^  camp  desmV^  fU    .• 
for,  our  next  saH  ^^^    ,   '     ^  ^^  ^'vino-  havinnr  k  ^      '"^  ^"»e. 

onthesuSfofarJ  ^'I'^^  ^^^  dead      The  .'"  ^'^"'^^^ 
their  scanty  coverln^^^^^""^  ^he  camp^in    f  f  ^'  ^^^^ 

-earthed  an7wrpfed1/Sr^!;     ^^^  ^0?;^ L^^^^^^^^^^^ 
with  Its  number  on  fhlv-     ^^^"^^ts.  marked  to  .1     ^^"^'>' 
to  the  boats     msV.^^'^S'^^  ^^^^t  was  mad  °     T^'^'P^^d 
between  the  boats  flf^^'"- ^"'^^^^d  and  the  ho^^^^^ 
Jt  seems  almost  "i      '  "^."^^  ^'^^^"Ity  was  to%tf  L'^.^'^'^^d 
and  could  dhZr^e  7'-'^^  '^'^'  '^ey  goVsaf^f^  f'^"  ^^'P- 

.!«*  fromihe  1'  ^f:^^  expedition  Umh/^"^±"'l  }?"'• 


402 


ARCTIC   EXPLOKATIONS. 


made  sad  by  so  many  former,  and  triply  so  by  the  recent, 
disasters.  They  have  closed  the  gates  of  Smith's  Sound  for 
a  time,  but  expeditions  to  come — and  they  are  sure  to  come 

will  learn  more  from  the  conduct  of  the  party  in  command 

of  Lieutenant  Greely  than  they  could  ever  know  from  the 
combined  experiences  of  the  earliest  to  the  latest  explorers 
in  those  regions. 

The  ships  then  ran  across  to  Littleton  Island.  The  sound 
was  still  open,  but  two  or  three  miles  to  the  northward  was 
seen  drifting  toward  us  an  ominous  line  of  ice  which  would 
probably  have  prevented  our  advance  in  that  direction,  at 
least  for  some  time.  We  left  Litdeton  Island  on  June  24th, 
homeward  bound,  and  stood  down  the  coast,  taking  up  en 
route  the  records  left  for  Commander  Coffin,  of  the  Alert,  as 
we  went  north,  and  substituting  for  them  others  which  told 
of  the  result  of  the  expedition,  and  directed  him  to  proceed 
to  Disko.  Just  south  of  Cape  Parry  we  met  seven  of  the 
Dundee  whalers  working  their  way  to  the  westward,  and  in- 
formed them  of  die  result  of  our  mission.  This  was  the  last 
that  we  saw  of  the  whalers,  and  the  occasion  seems  a  fit  one 
to  say  that  during  our  intercourse  with  them  we  found  the 
captains  at  all  times  courteous  and  obliging,  and  we  greatly 
enjoyed  their  jolly  good  company.  We  bade  them  God- 
speed, as  they  did  us,  and  may  they  have  a  fine  catch.  Re- 
entering Melville  Bay  on  June  27th  we  found  that  the  recent 
northerly  winds  had  driven  the  pack  to  the  southward,  leav- 
ino-  an  open  lane  of  water,  like  a  canal,  through  which,  with 
oniy  an  occasional  block,  we  readily  passed. 

On  the  30th,  off  the  Devil's  Thumb,  we  met  the  Alert  and 
Loch  Garry  struggling  manfully  through  a  blind  lead,  having 
weakened  the  floe  by  torpedoes.  The  combined  squadron 
then  proceeded  to  the  southward,  and  on  the  2d  of  July  the 
Thetis  and  Bear  stopped  at  Upernavik  to  take  on  the  coal 
left  there  by  the  Loch  Garry,  the  other  two  ships  goinor  on 
to  Disko.  On  the  5th  the  squadron  was  once  more  united  at 
Disko,  making  preparations  for  the  homeward  voyage. 

The  amputation  of  Elison's  feet  having  become  imperative 
on  account  of  the  sloughing  of  the  old  wounds,  the  operation 
was  performed  by  the  surgeons  of  the  three  ships.  He  had 
been  out  of  his  mind  several  days  previously,  yet  stood  the 
operation,  but,  as  was  feared,  had  not  sufficient  strength  to 
euuure,  ana  aiea  mree  uuys  cwtci:.    \jii  uiu  /ux  ui^  ^.m-i... 


UM 


■niE    RESCUE. 


jf  Frederick  Chr*«!f;a«o  4°^ 

Godhavn  a  det^'Tf^^^^  !"'--"  in  .he  gn.veyaM  at 
ships,  the  Danish  officku  ?  j  \"''  "'«"  from  each  ^r  .1 
attending  the  obs<Zief  A  hA'  *""™  "=«i^e  ptulat  i' 
small  church  by  the  na^L  •  ^""^  ^"^'><:e  was  helT:  P" 
Inspector  of  No„h  r  f  ""'=  Mr.  Anderetn  A  A"  •''* 
EnSish     On  S:th  w?^:!"^'?-^  alhort'  addr«s"'i„' 

-nin,  or  the  ^.rlSre^qtt^ -,l,t^|j^ 


I 


I 


'1' 


.jM 


ll.'i,:'!'^ 

mm 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

\flE    RESCUE — CONTINUED. 

Official  Reports  of  the  Rescue  of  the  Survivors  of  the  Greely  Party— Terrible  Suflerings- 
The  Rescued  Men  frantic  with  joy— Narratives  of  Lieutenant  Ureely  and  Private  Con- 
nell— Devotion  and  Heroism  of  the  Men— How  Greely  was  Rescued,  as  narrated  by  i 
Naval  Officer. 

On  the  17th  day  of  July  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Hon. 
William  E.  Chandler,  received  the  following  telegram : 

"St.  John's,  N.  F.,  9  a.  m.,  ^iil^  lyfA,  1884. 
*'Ifon.  W.  E.  Chandler,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington: 

"The  Thetis,  Bear  and  Loch  Garry  arrived  here  to-day 
from  West  Greenland.  All  ?re  well.  We  separated  from  the 
Alert  150  miles  north  during  a  gale.  At  9  p.  m.,  June  2^d, 
five  miles  off  Cape  Sabine,  in  Smith's  Sound,  the  Thetis  and 
Bear  rescued  alive  Lieutenant  A.  W.  Greely,  Sergeant  Brain- 
ard,  Sergeant  Fredericks,  Sergeant  Long,  Hospital  Steward 
Biederbeck,  Private  Connell,  ?nd  Sergeant  Elison,  the  only 
survivors  of  the  Lady  Franklin  Bay  expedition.  Sergeant 
Elison  had  lost  both  hands  and  feet  by  frostbite,  and  died 
July  6th  at  Godhavn,  three  days  after  the  amputation,  which 
had  become  imperative. 

"  Seventeen  of  the  twenty-five  persons  composing  this  ex- 
pedition oerished  by  starvation  at  the  point  where  found. 
One  was  drowned  while  sealing  to  procure  food.  Twelve 
bodies  of  the  dead  were  rescued,  and  are  now  on  board  the 
Thetis  and  Bear.  One,  Esquimau  Turnsvik,  was  buried  at 
Disko,  in  accordance  with  the  desire  of  the  Inspector  of  West- 
ern Greenland.  Five  bodies  buried  in  the  ice  fort  near  the 
camp  were  swept  away  to  sea  by  winds  and  currents  before 
my  arrival,  and  could  not  be  recovered.  The  names  of  the 
dead  which  were  recovered,  with  the  date  of  death,  are  as 
f/>ll/>«,e.  Q*.rrr#:.on«-  C rcs^<:.  Taniiarv  ist.  i88/t:  Wedcrick.  EsQui- 
mau,  April  5th ;  Sergeant  Linn,  April  6th ;  Lieutenant  Lock- 
(404) 


THE   RESCUE. 


J'.me  i«tli.  Names  of  dead  7v  ''•  T  •'^"' '  ^"^"e  Schne  di^' 
of  denth,  where  bodies  were  not'  '"  "'"  •""  (°"'  wKe 
geaiu  Rice,  April  nth   islT   r     '■«'^°/«'-«d,  as  follows    slT 

vate  Bender,  June  's  h':"*A  "^°''P°'-al  Salem,  June  ,d'-  P  ■" 
I..n»  <;.!,      o   •"  loth     Actino-  A^ici'sf^^i   'June  3a;  l^ri- 

(une  6th;    Sergeant  Gardner    line  f„i    '  ';''-S:eant  Pavy, 
break,ng  riirough  the  newly-fo/n  "d  l.  "  ,  ■P'°«"-'i  while 
'  would  ''^"""^l''  ^P"'  4th  ■'"  "'"'^  =«^l"'?.  Jens 

^P>^'r:'Sl>:.:;S^l^-l^^  ^*-  —  board 
portation  in  a  seaway      T^?r/°''  ==''<='•  "nd  better  trans 

Greely   abandoned    Fort    a,n„e?''A'"''    '°  "'«   '-"'Peradve 
reached    Baird    Inlet   sLtYil"    ■  ^i'S^""   9th,    mt    and 
entire  party  well.     He  abT X'd  afl'r '  /°"°"'"S'  -''i'   the 
for  l>,rty  days  on  an  icfloe  i  "sn.i  JrQ''°"5  ""^^  "="=  ^-dnft 
nent  camp  was  established  October  ,    ^.""o"^'    ^'^  P^rma- 
where  he  was  found.     Durino^  nTnf      "'l  '^,^3-  ^'^  the  point 
live  upon  a  scant  allowance  o?  food  h'°"'¥  '"'^  P^^X  ''ad  to 
ger,  that  cached  at  Payer  Ha,borancrr"'"  ^^°"'  P""  Con? 
oeorge  Nares  in  1S75,  but  fonnH         ,    ?*P^  Isabella  by  Sir 
t.me;  that  cached  b/'Beeb  °  't  Cap" Saf "^"^^  "^^  '"P-  of 
.mal  amount  saved  from  th^i-eTjf'%'"  '8S:!,and  a 
a.TJ  landed  by  Lieutenanf=  ?■    r   "^  °'  '"«  Proteus  in  iRS, 
beach  where  Greely  w"ywasfo"^!f"  ""'^  CoKvell  on'he 
provsions  were  consumed  the  irl'      '^""P"^'     When  "hesl 
boiled  sealskin-strips  from  t&lCl"'  /"f-*^^  '"  "^«  "Pon 
shnmps   procured   in  sjood  weather  ^  """""S^'  ''"^''^ns  and 
enoM,  to  make  exertion.     As     S^'fi"-    *^y  ^^<^^e  strong. 
to  fill  a  gallon  measure  the  labo?^  "''""'P'  '"^''^  ^quirea 
depend  upon  them  to  iusta  n  IT         ^^?  ^°°  exhausting  to 
'«en  Cape  Sabine  and  Sl"tf  W '"f  ^••.  ^''^  ^hanneTbe? 
ount  of  the  violent  gales  a  f  wL.    "''  "^'^  "=>'  '^'°'<^.  on  ac- 
the  latter  point  could  not  be  r!l','°  ."'^'  =40  rations  at 
O'ds  and  all  instruments  brot^htb''-.  -^'l  "^  ^reely's  re" 
"ne°G'''V"'^  are  on  boT^f  ^'  '"'"  fr°"'  Fort  CongeV 

rescue,  butTe^SrcalTnTh^e  "?""■'  ™P™^-^<J  «ince  their 
several  dav=  ^f,.^     "       '"  .'"«  extreme  when  f«„„j  .. j  ?" 

iim,.ij  L  "■'',■"      ■     '""'■cy-erifht  hours' j.i      • '".""'J  lor 

"OM  have  been  fatal  to  all  noJZing     ^^ '"  '^^''^'"S  them 


4o6 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


"Smith's  Sound  was  not  open  when  I  left  Cape  Sabine, 
The  winter  about  Melville  Bay  was  the  most  severe  for 
twenty  years. 

"This  qreat  result  is  entirely  due  to  the  unwearied  energy 
of  yourself  and  the  Secretary  of  War  in  fitting  out  this  expe- 
dition for  the  work  it  has  had  the  honor  to  accomplish. 

"  W.  S.  Schley,  Commander." 

On  the  same  day  Lieutenant  Greely  sent  the  followincr 
despatch  to  the  Chief  Signal  Officer,  General  Hazen : 

"St.  John's,  N.  F.,  77//JV  17//J. 
"For  the  first  time  in  three  centuries  England  yields  to 
America   the   honor  of  having    penetrated    farthest   north. 
Lieutenant   Lockwood    and    Sergeant  Brainard,   May   13th, 
reached   Lockwood   Island,  latitude  83.24,  longitude  44.05. 
They  saw  from  2,000  feet  elevation  no  land  north  or  north- 
west, but  to  northeast  Greenland,  Cape  Robert  Lincoln,  lati- 
tude 83.35,  longitude  38.     Lieutenant  Lockwood  was  turned 
back  in   1883  by  open  water  on  north  Greenland  shore,  the 
party  barely  escaping  drifting  into  the  Polar  Ocean.     Dr. 
Pavy  in   1882,  following  the  Markham  route,  was  adrift  one 
day  in  the  Polar  Ocean  north  of  Cape  Joseph  Henry  and 
escaped  to  land,  abandoning  nearly  everything.     In  1882  I 
made  a  spring,  and  later  on  a  summer  trip  into  the  interior 
of  Grinnell  Land,  discovering  Lake  Hazen,  some  60  by  10 
miles  in  extent,  which,  fed  by  the  ice-cap  of  north  Grinnell 
Land,  drains  Ruggles  River  and  Weyprecht  Fiord  into  Cony- 
beare  Bay  and  Archer  Fiord.     From  the  summit  of  Mount 
Arthur,  5,000  feet,  the  contour  of  land  west  of  the  Con(,fer 
Mountains  convinced  me  that  Grinnell  Land  tended  directly 
south  from  Lieutenant  Aldrich's  farthest  in   1876.     In  1883 
Lieutenant  Lockwood  and  Sergeant'  Brainard  succeeded  in 
crossing  Grinnell  Land  and,  ninety  miles  from  Beatrix  Bay, 
the  head  of  Archer's  Fiord,  struck  the  head  of  a  fiord  from 
the  western  sea,  temporarily  named  by  Lockwood  the  Greely 
Fiord.     From  the  centre  of  the  fiord,  in  latitude  80  deg.  30 
min.,  longitude  78  deg.  30  min.,  Lieutenant  Lockwood  saw 
the  northern  shore  termination  some  twenty  miles  west,  the 
southern  shore  extending  some  fifty  miles,  with  Cape  Lock- 
wood  some  seventy  miles  distant,  apparently  a  separate  land 
from   Grinnell  Land.     I  have  named   the  new  land  Arthur 


THE   RESCUE. 

Land.     Lieutenant  Lockwood  folIowpH  „«•  ,  "^^^ 

on  an  ice-cap  avera<rin^  about  icT?'  ^  '"^  ^"^  returnine- 
It  follows  that  the  Grin^eULand  inteHor  -P^-^P^^^'^^Jar  facf 
belt  of  country  some  sixty  miles  vide  hJ'  '^"-^^PP^^  with  a 
and  southern  ice  caps  ^^  between  the  northern 

"In  March,  J 884,  Serp-eanf  r« 
fron.  the  northwest  side^fMoum^Ca'^e'''  ^'T''^'  ^''^^ed 
seeing  on  the  northern  coast  three  r/^^  ^^'^''  ^°""^. 

farthest  seen  by  Nares  in  ,876  TN^P'^"  T"'^^'-''  of  die 
twenty  miles  farther  west  than  shoJrf  j'^T"^  ^^'^"^«  some 
but  IS  possibly  shut  in  by  S  wh^ch  sfc '?  ^"^^'^'^  ^''^"-^ 
western  end.  The  two  years'  .rnN^  f ''?^^^'  ^'P  across  the 
explorations  and  the  re'trea  ^  Ca"pe  sTh'  ^'^^^-'-^-ns,  al! 
plished  without  Joss  of  life  disease  f  -'"^  '^^''^  ^ccom- 
severe  frost-bites.  No  scurvv  wf '  '°"'  ^""'^^"^  or  even 
and  but  one  death  from  iroc"u'rr:ria:t'.:^^^^^^^^^     ''  ^-^-^ 

"Gkeelv,  Commanding." 
Another  telecrram  senf  hi,  t  • 

Ha.en  on  ,he  sSne  day'/ea'/s  as  folfo™'  "^'^'^  '°  General 
"Bramard,  B  ederhnrlr  n     ^'*,  "'ipws. 

sole  survivo;s,  -riv^d  lte°rdaV'^^:^''"'''=i^'  L°"»"'  "y-'elf, 
t^ie  point  of  death  fro,,,  starvadon  ^'        ,'■"■?  ''^•^''  --"cued  a 
Bear  June  22d,    .t  Camn  n,         ''y,  ""^I'sf-sliips  Thetis  and 
All  a/e  „o,v  i„'  goo^Slth  ^';;t"Xt"',  "(""T  ^^^"' 
Conger  August  9th,  and  was  frozen  7n,  I,     "''^"^o""!  Fort 

Head  August  29th;  abandoned ?tearm,,,Pc'''  "'^  Victoria 
eleven  m.les  northeast  of  Cocked  H^;i"'^''.^^P'«"'l'er  i  ah 

point  of  landing,  we  were  ,hre/."l't"'^-  When  on  the 
storm,  mto  Kane's  Sea.  FinaMv  IT •  ,"J^"  southwest  by 
Ba,rcl  Inlet.  Learning  by  couLr'^  ■^'^P'"'"''^'-  »9th  in 
disaster,  and  that  no  p?ov°sion?h  "h  ?  ^"l'"^  °^  "'«  Proteus 
Isabella  to  Sabine,  I  moved  "nd  """u?  ^f'  ^°'  "'  fro.n  Cape 
at  Camp  Clay,  halfway  be.'wel  "4't^''^h^d  'vinter-q^arte^^s 
Inventory  showed  that  by  S  .^f '"%^"''  locked  Ha? 
ounces  meat,  seven  of  bread  and  dn  v"'  •''"''  *"d  one-third 
of  m,scellaneou.s,  the  party  wol  1     '.""^'"^  four  ounces 

!"' ''  -"-^  ^"'''''  ^-'-^  °o'^itt:„t,aX't  &^ 

win.^r:'"rdri^?„"?L'!'Jo""^  .--"ained  ooen  ,..  ..._. 

^%  hunting  f^-e^rrPeZ^Bef^rte^^^^^^^^ 

;      oeiore  the  sun  returned 


4o8 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


only  500  pounds  of  meat  could  be  obtained.     Durino-  this 
year  minute  shrimps,  seaweed,  sassafras,  rock   lichens,  and 
seal-skin  were  resorted  to  for  food,  with  results  as  shown  by 
the  number  of  survivors.     The, last  regular  food  was  issued 
May  14th.     Only  150, pounds  of  meat  having  been  left  by 
Garlington,  compelled  me  to  send  in  November  four  men  to 
obtain  144  pounds  of  English  meat  at  Isabella.     Durino-  the 
trip  Elison  froze  solid  both  hands  and  feet,  and  lost  themtsur- 
viving,  however,  through  our  terrible  winter  and  spring,  until 
July  8th.     The  survivors  owe  their  lives  to  the  indomitable 
energy  of  Captain  Schley  and  Lieutenant  Emory,  who,  pre- 
ceded by  three  and  accompanied  by  five  whalers,  forced'their 
vessels  from  Upernavik,  through  Melville   Bay,  into  North 
Water  at  Cape  York  with  the  foremost  whaler.    They  oained 
a  yard  wherever  possible  and  always  held  it.     Smith's  Sound 
was  crossed  and  the  party  rescued  during  one  of  the  most 
violent  gales  I  have  ever  known,  the  boats  being  handled 
only  at  the  imminent  risk  of  swamping.     Four  of  us  were 
then  unable  to  walk,  and  could  not  have  survived  exceeding 
twenty-iour  hours.     Every  care  and  attention  was  given  us. 
We  have  saved  and  bring  back  copies  of  meteorological,  tidal, 
astronomical,  magnetic,  pendulum,  and  other  observations; 
also  pendulum,  Yale  and  standard  thermometers,  forty-eiaht 
photographic  negatives,  a  collection  of  blanks  and  pholo- 
graphic  proofs,  Esquimau  relics  and  other  things  necessarily 
abandoned.     The  Thetis  will  remain  here  for  five  days  prob- 
ably." 

Commander  Schley,  in  a  conversation  with  the  writer,  thus 
described  the  finding  and  rescuing  of  the  Greely  party: ' 

"On  the  22d  of  June,  while  lying  in  the  drift  ice  off  Cape 
Sabine,  in  Smith's  Sound,  latitude  78''  45'  north,  longitude  ']f 
30'  west,  and  which  forms  part  of  Ellesmere  Land,  we  sighted 
signals  of  distress  at  a  distance  of  about  seven  miles.  It  was 
about  9  o'clock  p.  m.,  and  the  sun  shining  brightly,  but  bitterly 
cold. 

"After  considerable  trouble  we  steamed  down  towards  the 
pack-ice  upon  which  they  were,  and  a  horrible  sight  met  our 
eyes.  Lieutenant  Greely,  Brainard,  Fredericks,  Long,  Beid- 
erback,  and  Connell  were  crying  like  children  and  hugging 
each  other  frantically.  They  seemed  frantic  with  joy.  I  pul 
off  in  a  cutter,  and  after  great  difficulty  reached  them.  They 
flew  at  me,  and  I  at  first  imagined  they  were  crazy.    They 


During^  this 

lichens,  and 

as  shown  by 

'd  was  issued 

been  left  by 

■  four  men  to 

During  the 

ost  them,  sur- 

l  spring,  until 

;  indomitable 

>ry,  who,  pre- 

5,  forced  their 

^  into  North 

They  oained 
mith's  Sound 

of  the  most 
eing  handled 
'  of  us  were 
id  exceeding 
^as  given  us. 
)logical,  tidal, 
)bservations ; 
•s,  forty-eight 

and  photo- 
s  necessarily 
e  days  prob- 

:  writer,  thus 
party : 
ice  off  Cape 
Dngitude  77" 
^,  we  sighted 
liles.  It  was 
',  but  bitterly 

towards  the 
ght  met  our 
Long,  Beid- 
nd  hugging 

joy.  I  put 
hem.  They 
razy.     They 


(409) 


4IO 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS 


seized  each  of  the  men  in  the  boat,  hugged  them,  kissed  their 
hands,  and  did  everything  one  could  imagine  to  show  their 
joy  and  gratitude.  All  but  poor  Elison.  His  feet  and  hands 
were  so  badly  frozen  that  he  could  not  move.  He  lay  still 
on  the  ground  and  moaned.  The  others  of  the  party,  also, 
were  more  or  less  frost-bitten,  but  they  seemed  to  forget  their 
sufferings. 

"  The  party  on  the  ice  looked  as  if  they  could  not  live  five 
hours,  they  looked  so  feeble,  notwithstanding  the  almost 
superhuman  strength  they  had  shown  when  we  reached  them. 
Slowly,  one  by  one,  seventeen  of  the  party  had  yielded  up 
their  lives  to  the  demon  starvation.  One  of  them,  the  strong- 
est, had  gone  seal-hunting.  He  never  returned.  He  was 
drowned  while  trying  to  get  to  a  seal  before  it  reached  the 
edge  of  a  floe  upon  which  they  were.  He  missed  his  footing, 
fell  into  a  seam  in  the  ice  and  was  seen  no  more. 

"We  encountered  a  gale  day  before  yesterday  which  was 
so  furious  that  the  Alert  separated  from  us  in  it.  Greely,  in 
his  report  to  me,  said  that  on  August  9th,  1883,  he  abandoned 
Fort  Conger.  They  travelled  northerly,  and,  after  consider- 
able privation  and  suffering  from  the  cold,  reached  Baird 
Inlet  on  September  29th.  There  was  no  one  in  the  party 
who  was  not  in  full  possession  of  health,  and,  excepting  their 
isolated  position,  everything  was  well." 

During  the  trip  from  the  Arctic  region  to  St.  John's  Lieu- 
tenant Greely  gave  a  detailed  description  at  the  mess-table 
of  the  Thetis  of  the  hardships  his  party  encountered  during 
the  long  winter  in  camp  on  Cape  Sabine.  The  following  is 
the  substance  of  his  story : 

"  When  the  site  for  the  camp  had  been  selected  we  set  at 
once  to  building  a  house  to  shelter  us  from  the  severities  of 
the  winter.  Stones  were  gathered  together  and  piled  in  walls 
to  enclose  a  space  of  about  25  by  17  feet.  Over  the  top  of 
this  was  placed  the  whaleboat  found  at  Starknecht  Island,  left 
by  the  Neptune  in  1882.  This  formed  a  ridge-pole,  and  the 
rest  of  the  roof  was  made  by  stretching  tent  and  boat-sails 
down  to  the  sides  of  the  house  and  pinning  them  down  with 
rocks.  Snow  was  he?.ped  up  to  the  eaves,  which  were  about 
five  feet  high,  to  keep  out  the  wind.  In  this  miserable  hut 
we  laid  down  from  the  ist  of  November  until  the  latter  part 
of  May.  From  the  inside  the  walls  were  bareiy  nign  enouga 
to  allow  the  men  to  sit  up  in  their  sleeping-bags.     All  during 


THE    RESCUE. 


411 


our  retreat  from  Fort  Conner  fuel  h.A  u  " 

artice      Everything  was  sfved  of  cou-"'"  V".^  P^^^'o«s 
watch  kept  on  its  issue.     W  wL  n  '    '  ^"*^  '^'^  strictest 
than  CO  :king  purposes,  so  thafall  durin'  dTe  f^^^i^  ^?^  "^°^« 
cold  days  of  winter  we  had  no  source  S«         ?'  '^^'^'  ^''^^'^ 
clothes  and  sleeping-bacrs      As  a  m.?^       T""^''  ^^<^ept  our 
was  done  only  twic?a  dly,  and  theT^'/Z'^T'^y  ^°°king 
smoke  more  than  counterbalanced    he  1  ^'^^^'"'^  ^'"^"^  '^^ 
came  from  the  blaze.     At  times  it  w..  i  i?  '^^'"''^^  ^^^'^h 
quarters  would  have  to  be  vacated  L         'li?'^^''"^.  and  the 
cut  in  the  smallest  pieces?  the  amoun^T^  ^'^^'     ^^'^  ^"^1  was 
weighed  before  serving  iut  and  e  "  ^"^''^  ^'^  ^^^^^""y 

drive  the  heat  agains?  the  hi.'!     ""^  precaution  taken  to 
Much  of  the  heat  ^asexptdfe  ^^e   vesseT 

to  water  for  our  tea  and^coft      Bv  u".fn"^  '^^"  ''^  ""^  «"°^ 
by  ourselves,  with  a  funnel-cao  over  .if  ^  '^°^^  P^^^nted 
at  the  small  end.  little  escanpnT  1  ''^.^'^'  ^'^^  the  kettle 
all  times  during  iur  sfay  n  t^fe  Arct  cT'"''^  P^'^^^^^'     At 
brackish  water,  containing  such  a  ne  .7  .^'''"'.'^^  ^^^^^  "sed 
experience  of  all  other  IxpeditbL  '  "'?F,  °^  '^^^  '^'^'  the 
indicate  that  violent  scurvy  shoilH  h.       "^"^    '^''^  ^^^"led  to 
had  none  excepting  a  case  in  Ian  1^^  u^',"^'^^'  ^'^^^^-eas  we 
not  doubtful  fo'rm.^  T^e  %ht-^rs  oTtaTn '?^^^^  "^i'd'f 

Esquimau  lamp,  with  a  single  ^ck  d  '^^^^^^  !^^°"^  ^,  "^'^^rable 
would  furnish  light  for  about  efc^ht  hnf  "?.  '^^^'°'''  ^''"'^h 
man  cou  d  read'at  a  time  by  i'tnd  t?  H  ^^^^  ^^^^  «"« 
close  to  It.  Turns  would  be  laken"ff  l  5^"^  '?  ^'"°"^^^  ^'own 
literature  was  read  and  reread  ^^"^'"^  ^^°"^-     ^^^  our 

-et^JJm;!^^^^^!^^^^  not  to 

be  obtained  from  its  ravs  anrf  i,  ,7  T  ^°  warmth  could 
.' Jhone  on  our  hut.  o^^g' to  fhe  hT^h  t^"^  '"  "f^''  before 
only  news  that  the  party  ^eceiv^H  „  Au  '^  ^'■°""«'  "s.  The 
all  .bis  time  was  obfaineVfrom  semo fnV"'''^^  ^ ^'''  '""""g 
box  of  lemons  landed  by  the^rS  h/fP^P?  "'''^"  '"^'n  a 
by  tbe  ,ce.  We  dried  these  car^f^M  ^'f  '''^  ^^^  "«hed 
'bey  could  be  read  over  and  over  1^  *."^'^^P' ">««',  so  that 

party..  The  lemons  were  f™le„  and  ^'".  ^^  ?'''  °"^  "^  "'« 
™tion,  and  were  of  inesfim^ki  i  "  "  Sood  state  of  pres- 
weakanddebihta,edcS:!l^'''\.^^'"«J°  "><=  men  in  ^hlfr 
a  quarter  of  a  lemon  toeach'nens^^^  n""''j>' '  "^''^^d  out 
tos  were  issued  daily:   jdl   S  ;,„^*''''"^  ^"^  '^'^^'^  ra- 

/     au   other  stores  were  issued  on 


412 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


1      i 

I 


Thursdays.     On   Sundays  the  ration  was  increased  a  little 
At  Conger  I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  letting  each  man  choose 
his  bill  of  fare  when  his  birthday  came,  and  I  tried  to  keep  it 
up  during  our  reduced  days  at  Camp  Clay.     Any  little  diver- 
gence that  would  break  the  monotony  was  of  great  value 
Days  to  come  would  be  anticipated,  while  reference  to  those 
past  would  occupy  us  when  there  were  none  ahead  to  look 
for.     A  favorite  amusement  was  to  make  out  a  bill  of  fare  of 
what  we  would  like  when  relief  came.     The  tastes  of  the  men 
were  astonishingly  varied,  and  when  we  look  at  them  now 
seem  almost  ludicrous.     I  tried  to  call  off  their  attention  from 
a  contemplation  of  the  frightful  situation  in  which  we  were 
placed.     A  series  of  lectures  was  begun,  and  other  intellectual 
amusements,  all  of  which  had  a  highly  beneficial  effect  on  the 
flagging  spirits  of  the  party.     Two  hours  a  day  could  be  filled 
in  by  lecturing  on  various  subjects  of  personal  interest  in- 
eluding  the  United  States,  their  products,  etc.     Each  State 
would  furnish  the  data,  and  when   the  lecture  was  over  a 
general  discussion  would  be  entered  into  by  all  hands  each 
one  expressing  his  views.     Mr.  Rice,  the  photographer,  would 
devote  another  hour  each  day,  either  in   telling  stories  of 
which  he  had  a  large  supply,  or  else  would  draw  from  his 
Stock  of  general  information,  of  which  he  had  a  great  deal 
Dr.  Pavy  would  give  very  instructive  and  carefully  thoucrht- 
up  lectures  on  history,  despite  the  wretched  condition  of^'his 
audience.   Six  days  of  the  week  were  occupied  in  this  manner 
On  Saturday  the  subject  would  be  moving  incidents  by  flood 
and  field,  in  which  each  person  would  speak  in  turn.     In  this 
manner  the  personal  experiences  of  those  who  went  on  the 
various  sledging  and  exploring  parties  became  familiar  to  all 
and  enables  us  now  to  speak  most  intelligently  of  all  the  work 
we  have  accomplished.     The  seventh  day  we  rested  quietly, 
each  one  with  his  own  thoughts. 

"The  most  trying  position  of  any  individual  member  of  the 
party  wai  that  occupied  by  Sergeant  Brainard.  Placed  in  a 
similar  position,  not  one  man  in  a  thousand  would  have  been 
as  faithful  to  the  tempting  responsibilities  that  were  allotted 
him  as  he  was  while  issuing  rations  to  the  party.  He  found 
himself,  day  after  day,  exposed  to  the  temptation  of  partaiving 
of  more  than  his  share  of  the  rapidly  decreasing  supplies, 
but  he  acted  with  heroic  fidelity,  and  never  in  one  instance 
Abused  the  confidence  reposed  in  him  by  his  comrades.    In- 


r-'v 


THE   RESCUE. 

deed,  he  must  have  used  I^     r    j  *^^ 

as  the  supplies  under  his  care  Srl!?^"  '^^  ^"°«^d  amount 

ZZnXT.^''  cent  mor;^,ran  The°"  '^^  ^PP^oad"^  ' 
the  party  had  dared  to  anticiL/l      5^^  most  sancruine  of 

given  tlie  following  na^S/nfT''"''  fr"""  '"'^  sickness  h, 
experienced  by  tlie  Crl^       ,°^  ">«  suffering,  anH  n!  j  '.  ■  * 
polar  regions  /        ^^"'^  -'""ists  during  §Lt"  stSfX' 
"After  the  quarters  hprl  k 

of  L  closino-fn  of  t.°-  """  <^^P«  Beecl  ey  bufo„   '^^''*'' 

leave  their  boVeVnte-^T"^™  ^^o-  th  "yCt 
Conger.     They  were  fnr  fir,  ""^  Proceed  overianri  ivTp- 

and  had  man/  narrow  e/ro«T'^^"''^«  '>onr  tlhe  <^°^' 
heavy  .ce  drifting  south  in  RPb^o';^?^'''''"?  ""^^ed  byX' 
01  the  same  year  T  ;«„*        ^^"oeson  Channel      In  M^     ^  , 

".en,  underS  to  ~  R  V^''"°°<^'  ^^''^  a  par^o7ef  f^ 
Winter-quarters  of  .g'T  buf  on"°"  ^''"""^l  '-"^^  Pokfw 

*eir  drea^  homr^nt  l''the  ^1^7^'"'"  settled  downt 
peared  below  the  horizon  on  fV,  k   "'^  "'*  ^"n.  which  disan 
again  until  March  ist     x^  °'^t°''er  i6th,  and  did  no,  .  .  P" 

He  whole  party  were  reported  ;r         .  /"  ^^'^  spring  of  iss, 

arrveron  ^^  ^^^"^  ^^^^^  again  to  For^r   ^^'''  ^'"^"^  ^^^re 
«nvea  on  the  loth      T>,;„  _J^    "  "^^  ^o^^t  Cono-er.  wh«^^  *l__- 

c"fe  was  58°  Fah'r    K^T"  ^"'■^>'"  ^'"avelJed  while  th^'^r"  '"''>' 
'         ''"•  '^^°"  ^-<^'  -d  were  stm-lo'^Tfor' 


414 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


three  days  in  Newman's  Bay.     Another  part}',  under  charge 
of  Sergeant  Brainard,  started  on  March  1 2th  to  place  a  boat 
and  small  depot  of  provisions  near  Cape  Summer  on  the 
south  side  of  Newman's  Bay.     This  party  had  a  very  cold 
temperature  during  the  night  of  the  12th,  the  index-pen  goin^ 
into  the  bulb  of  the  thermometer,  the  thermometer  graduating 
to  61°  below  zero.     They  returned   to  the  station  on  the 
evening  of  the  20th,  none  the  worse  after  their  cold  expe- 
rience.     On   March  19th  Dr.  Pavy  and  Sergeant  Rice,  with 
Esquimaux  and  a  dog-sledge,  started  north  to  try  and  find 
out  if  any  land  could  be  discovered  north  of  Cape  Joseph 
Henry.     They  met  with  open  water,  and,  drifting  on  the  ice- 
floe  for  two  days  north  of  Cape  Hecla,  losing  all  their  camp- 
equipage  on  the  floe  and  barely  escaping  with  their  lives,  they 
returned  to  Fort  Conger,  arriving  there  on  May  ist.  '  Tiie 
next  party,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Lockwood,  to 
explore  the  north  coast  of  Greenland,  started  on  April  3d,  a 
supporting  party^going  as  far  as  Cape  Bryant,  when  Lieuten- 
ant Lockwood,  with  Sergeant  Brainard  and  one  Esquimau  and 
dog-sledge,  proceeded  north,  reaching  Jackwood  Island  on 
May  nth,  latitude  83°  24'. 

"They  named  Cape  Robert  Lincoln,  in  85°  north,  planting' 
the  stars  and  stripes  nearer  the  north  pole  than  any  other 
flag  afloat.    The  third  party,  under  Lieutenant  Greely,  started 
westward  on   May  25th,  and  made  important  discoveries  in 
that  direction,  discovering  a  fiord  leading  into  the  Conybeare 
Bay.     Leading  from  the  nori;liwest  into  this  fiord  a  beautiful 
river  discharges,  its  mouth  about  two  miles  wide.     Its  length 
is  about  twenty  miles,  and  it  was  open  at  its  head  when  the 
party  arrived  there  on  tiie  last  day  of  April.     The  outlet  of 
this  IS  now  a  beautiful  lake,  surrounded  on  the  north  and 
west  side  by  a  range  of  mountains,  where  a  number  of  glaciers 
were  cropping  through  and  discharging  into  the  lake?    Sev- 
eral musk  oxen,  wolves,  hares  and  ptarmigans  were  seen  in 
the  vicinity  of  this  lake,  and  the  party  clamis  that  without  a 
doubt  the  musk  ox  winters  in  or  about  the  vicinity  of  the 
lake,  and  does  not  migrate,  as  some  Arctic  authorities  claim. 
Lieutenatit  Greely's  party  returned  to  the  station  on  May 
loth.     Tiiis  finished  the  important  sledging  parties  for  the 
spring.  Lieutenant  Lockwood  returning  on  June  ist,  about 
which    time   the   ice   commenced   to  break  up.     Lieutenant 

Greelv.    howpvpr     maH**    anrkfl-ioi*     Irxiifnotf     «f;*-Vj    ~     ^«»^   or.J 


THE   RESCUE. 

a  week.  '  s'ving  a  fresii  mf:at  diet  th.L    f-^ 

"We  settled  down  to  n,  ^'^^  ^^^^ee  times 

regions,  and  carried  aut.u       T°"^   "^'nter  in   the    A     .• 

^sest  that  has  ever  bL„ -^.-l^.'^  ^ ''^'-■-  's  probal  X 

^'-    'i^  iace  is  much  longer^ZTh;  T'T"^  "'^  ""■»- 

"      and  higher  than  the  Hum- 


4i6 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


boldt,  however,  and  a  most  remarkable  feature  of  it  was  its 
faithful  resemblance  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  exhibiting  hill 
and  valley.  It  was  practically  an  ice  cap,  through  which  only 
the  highest  peaks  projected.  The  name  of  this  glacier  was 
subsequently  changed  to  Agassiz  Glacier.  They  being  already 
on  short  rations,  were  compelled  to  return  to  Fort  Concrer. 
This  fiord,  which  is  an  arm  of  the  Western  Ocean,  they  ex- 
plored for  a  distance  of  twenty  miles.  Ascending  an  eleva- 
tion of  about  a  thousand  feet,  where  they  could  see  the  head- 
lands terminating  this  fiord,  the  Western  Ocean  could  be  seen 
several  miles  beyond,  proving  conclusively  that  Grinnell  Land 
is  an  island.  The  party  returned  to  the  station  about  May 
27th.  Lieutenant  Lockwood  and  Sergeant  Brainard  made 
another  trip  toward  the  United  States  Mountains,  due  north 
from  the  station,  and  found  that  the  north  of  the  mountains 
was  entirely  ice,  capped  with  several  glaciers  discharging 
through  the  gaps  and  valleys  of  the  mountains. 

"  Nothing  further  was  done  this  summer  in  the  line  of  ex- 
ploration. No  ships  arriving  by  August  9th  the  party 
abandoned  the  station  and  retreated  southward  in  three 
boats,  in  tow  of  the  steam-launch.  By  taking  advantage  of 
westerly  winds  and  the  state  of  the  ice  leads  opening  aionff 
the  shore,  they  reached  Cape  Hawkes  by  August  26th,  picking 
up  a  cr.che  of  provisions  there.  Viewing  from  Washington 
Irving  Island  opeo  water  as  far  as  Cape  Sabine,  Lieutenant 
Greely  concluded  to  keep  on  with  the  launch  and  boats  to 
Cape  Sabine ;  but  before  reaching  there,  the  ice  closing  in 
and  the  temperature  that  night  going  belov/  zero,  the  boats 
were  hauled  on  the  floe,  where  further  developments  of  the 
ice  were  awaited.  We  drifted  with  the  whole  pack,  the  gen- 
eral drift  being  south  toward  Cape  Sabine.  On  September 
9th  the  launch  and  two  boats  were  abandoned,  the  party  with 
sledge,  iceboat  and  rations  making  over  the  ice  toward  Cape 
Sabine.  It  was  necessary  for  the  party  to  travel  five  miles  to 
make  one  mile  good.  When  within  about  six  miles  of  Cocked 
Hat  Island  a  southwesterly  gale  sprang  up  and  drove  them 
back  into  Kane's  Sea  again.  Three  or  four  days  after  we 
made  another  attempt  to  reach  the  shore  with  boat  and  sledge, 
this  time  getting  within  two  miles  of  the  shore,  but  a  northerly 
gale  drove  the  ice  southward  past  Cape  Sabine.     This  gale 

lasted  xbur  days.     The  floe  on  which  the  partv     ere  drifted 
^^..*u  ^-  o«:-j  T.,1^4.  ,..1 

sijuLiii  AS  uan^ji  unci.,    vvxicic 


(.iicy  K^'-    ^"    ^^^^    '^^' 


THE   RESCUE. 

September  29th  prenarahnn  ^'7 

such  time  as  the  X^^S-^^^^  ^ere  made  f«.     • 

was  sent  to  Caoe  Q,k-     *     '"  'he  meann^Lo  c      ^  Passage 
there.    Discovenwir  I-  f'  '^  a-V  recoS  o^'^"""'  '^'^^ 
Proteus  and  Nep"?„^''^- '""^  'K^'  ^ad  be:^,°ft  J^"°''twere 
party  should  move  to  Ca'e  c-\""="  decided  thltth^  \'^^ 
erecting,  a  snow  hut      oSf  ^^^xneand  v-inter  in  Jh  r"''°'« 
party  were  moved  in  h    m"'"^  ^"  rationsTnd   '.''^lyeinity, 
Sergeant  Rice  wUh  .h^5"^°^en,ber  ist     o"!'"""."^'  ">« 
a  small  sledpe  tTu-^^  ""en  went  to  r      '^"'vember  ist 
Sir  Allan  fc°<,^'-|"«  i5o  pounds  of  eann^^d  ^^'^"='  '^"h 
'876.  ^'  "^  "■=  P^"don>,  afterwa^""^^  ,"!«  '-^^  by 

"After  leaving  Can.  r    ,.  ,  >annette,  in 

Elison  got  his  f£rPf. 'sheila  on  the  r.f 

■  exhaustfd  the  Iban".''  ''*"*  ''^dl^froLn  and  k*">  <^°'-Po«l 
order  tha  he%h„!  M  2'"^"'  <""  "le  m«;  "  '  ''^'"S  entirely 
camp.  Serp«n  P-''  ^^  '"^"'ed  on  The  ,1  f  "eeessaty  i^ 
forr^elief  S  ,^','i!/^'"e  on  ahead  totenf  '°*^"-d  the 
and  Dr.  Pavv  V,    l-^'^  ^'^  °"ee  under  J  £  f      '^  P^«y  back 

February  1st  SemJ      "^2^' *"d  feet  dunW  tl, '^'"^^  E'-ghsh    ' 
Littleton^  land    f  !"!^r'  *'th  Esquimai"'f,.T'^'-    «" 
'0  move  on  March  „th:;''"'  "'«'•«  was  there  ;„"''  '°  '^="='' 
open  throughout  thf'    ■     °"  """""tof  Sv    c^'^  ""^  had 

f  er  an  absence  of\TZ  %''  ^^^  ~4e  fd^'Jo'  'f'"^ 
Sound  continued  opeT  thrf  l™"  *«  ^now  W   %''"•'".? 

Jme  iqth.    For  m,!  ^  January  <8th— anH  Vi'^    ■  ">*— Cross 

">e,andanarX7nP*'f'''''^"^bourslaterwo,M\'^''  *='^  O" 
Schneider-noHa'  °"  ^'T  '7*  "">'«  poss  hi  ^r" ''"''^''^d 
than  I  do."         '^^^'-     ^he  rest  of  n,y  st?^  J^  ^.'"'^^  ^^^ed 
'"  ■•egard  to  the  h.    •    .  ^ ''""^  y°"  know  better 

aSdL^-  r^lanylan^^^^  Mr.  Con- 

'-red;  wi^":„r„T„'°^-'  ''"'"^  °"  ''-nd  si:St  p-  ^'■"'«°" 

"fat  that  had  h^„  '  t^''?eant  Frederickr^  f  '  ^'f^  ^°'"n- 


I 


418  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS.  " 

at  the  huts.  A  severe  and  cold  storm  coming  on  that  even- 
ing he  died  of  exhaustion  and  exposure  on  the  floe.  His  last 
words  were:  'Tell  Lieutenant  Groely  that  I  tried  very  hard 
to  get  the  meat,  but  could  not  succeed.'  Fredericks  remained 
with  Rice  until  he  died,  and  then  returned  to  Shelter.  Com- 
ing back  the  next  day  to  bury  Rice  on  the  ice  floe,  Fred- 
ericks himself  hauled  the  sledge  and  sleeping-bags  back  to 

the  camp." 

The  following  interesting  summary  of  the  voyage  of  the 
Greely  relief  expedition  is  furnished  by  one  of  the  officers 
who  took  part  in  the  gallant  rescue  : 

"  The  transfer  of  the  remains  of  the  dead  of  the  Lady 
Franklin  Bay  expedition  to  Major-General  Hancock,  of  the 
Uniied  States  Army,  completes  the  last  act  of  the  tragedy,  so 
far  as  the  squadron  is  concerned,  and  the  Greely  relief  expe- 
dition  of  1884  becomes  a  thing  of  the  past. 

"The  ships  will  go  to  the  Navy  Yard  at  Brooklyn,  where 
they  will  be  put  out  of  commission,  the  Thetis  and  Bear  to  be 
sold  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  Congress 
which  authorized  their  purchase,  and  the  Alert  probably  to  be 
returned  to  England  with  the  thanks  of  the  American  people 
for  her  generous  loan. 

"  It  is  a  great  pity  that  the  first  two  of  these  vessels  cannol 
be  retained  in  the  naval  service,  as  they  would  be  very  useful 
in  deep-sea  surveys  such  as  have  been  carried  on  in  the  Pa- 
cific for  some  years  past  by  the  Tuscarora  and  Ranjrer,  which 
were  thus  diverted  from  their  legitimate  duties.  They  are 
staunch  and  excellent  sea-boats,  economical  under  .team  and 
easily  hancjlled  ^nder  sail  by  a  very  srnall  crew,  with  ample 
stowage  capacity  for  coal  and  provisions,  and  comfortable 
quarters  for  officers  and  men.  Why  sell  them,  then,  when 
they  can  be  utilized  by  the  government  in  many  ways?  They 
are  very  evenly  matched,  though  the  Bear  is  the  faster  of  the 
two  by  perhaps  half  a  knot,  but  either  of  them  is  capable  in 
fine  weather  and  smooth  water  of  eight  knots  per  hour  on  an 
expenditure  of  seven  tons  of  coal  per  day  under  steam  alone, 
with  an  increase  of  fron)  one  to  two  knots  per  hour  if  the 
wind  favors.  With  a  head  wind  and  sea  the  Bear,  on  account 
of  her  sharp  bow  and  lean  model,  loses  less  in  speed  than  the 
Thetis,  while  the  latter,  with  bluff  bow,  greater  breadth  of 
beam  and  ketrie  bottom,  is  superior  as  a  sea-boat,  and  better 

'  her  helm 


for  the  work,  as,  hiiVin|i  icss  lengtn, 


1  that  even* 
-.  His  last 
d  very  hard 
cs  remained 
Iter.  Com- 
floe,  Fred- 
ags  back  to 

yage  of  the 
the  officers 

)f  the  Lady 
rock,  of  the 
:  tragedy,  so 
relief  expe> 

(klyn,  where 
1  Bear  to  be 
of  Congress 
obably  to  be 
rican  people 

ssels  cannol 
:  very  useful 
n  in  the  Pa- 
anger,  which 
.  They  are 
r  ^team  and 
with  ample 
comfortable 
,  then,  when 
ways?  They 
faster  of  the 
s  capable  in 
r  hour  on  an 
steam  alone, 
r  hour  if  the 
r,  on  account 
leed  than  the 
r  breadth  of 
t,  and  better 
re    hpr  hplm 


THE   RESCUE. 

more  readily.     Roth  ?,«  4^9 

none  be„e/could  ,  ^  e  te'^V^''  ,'"'^="  "^ellent  shi„         , 
!hey  were  sent.     TIiom^I,  '"""''  for  the  Jrv^        'P*''  '""I 

us.ge  which  they  neSiVT'  "'"'""■'''y  inured  ■,v';,°"  *'"='' 
ice  and  through  ,'''^''^^y  ''ece  ved  wh;/„        •  ^  '"^  rouch 

wholly  unscTthfd.  ""^:;:,:'--^;''  -as,  ts';  o"fi:""«  '•"  '^' 

unknown  rocks  and  .1?  Vf ""''  '"'''^e,  at  diffL      •"■  '""'""■"' 


"Now  that  it  is  T"  "■  ™'  ""»  "^«^    "'™" 

a  bad  time  of  i Mm      .^  "'^  conclude  tiiat  we  A' , 

:-r^^htH----s;i^^ 

Working  Slit'''  ?"''  ^°0"   became  ^^  "^  ''°'-"-  ^W 

%l«.  frequemlvr       ""^  '"s°mnia  induced  h?*^^  ^sanation, 
'lead  ^,H"lt?J.:?.  "P  -}'  n.ght'"'v«.e^r."""°'!^  day-' 

--nha„,i-n,-r;hrc--%^^^^^^^ 

=>  tne  ship  as  she 


420 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


rose  on  the  floes,  glidlnfj  upon  her  forefoot  and  breaking 
through,  sending  the  fields  of  ice  to  the  right  and  left,  if  there 
was  room  for  them  to  separate,  or,  as  was  more  frequently 
the  case,  backing  off  for  another  blow.  Sometimes  torpedoes 
were  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  weakening  the  ice  and 
thus  enabling  the  ship  to  bore  through ;  but  we  were  much 
disappointed  in  the  effect  of  these.  However,  they  were  used 
once  at  a  very  critical  moment  to  good  purpose.  Just  north 
of  Cape  Dudley  Digges  the  Thetis  encountered  a  neck  of 
very  tnick  ice  some  sixty  f  t  across,  connecting  two  large 
floe  pieces  and  separating  us  from  a  very  fine  lead.  Ram- 
ming failed  to  force  a  passage,  and  left  us  with  our  bow 
jammed  high  and  dry  on  the  floe  so  that  the  engines  could 
not  back  her  off.  Six  torpedoes  were  accordingly  laid — four 
of  gunpowder  in  line  ahead,  one  of  gun-cotton  and  one  of 
gunpowder  on  the  starboard-bow,  holes  being  bored  for  them 
through  the  ice,  so  that  they  could  be  dropped  down  about 
four  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  water.  They  were  ex- 
ploded simultaneously,  and  so  eased  the  nip  that,  by  reversing 
the  engines,  we  immediately  glided  off,  and  the  floe  ahead 
was  so  cracked  that  we  had  now  no  difficulty  in  boring 
through.  This  was  on  the  19th  day  of  June,  only  three  days 
before  the  rescue,  when  a  delay  of  only  a  few  hours  might 
have  been  fatal  to  some  of  the  little  band  of  survivors  at 
Camp  Clay.  The  gunpowder  torpedoes  invariably  gave  more 
satisfactory  results  than  the  gun-cotton,  the  latter  being  too 
quick  in  their  action,  so  that  they  simply  blew  clean  holes  in 
the  ice  from  six  to  ten  feet  in  diameter/without-making  any 
lateral  fracture. 

"After  we  got  north  of  Disko  the  shooting  was  fine. 
Dovekin,  loons,  and  eider  ducks  were  abundant,  and,  after 
reaching  the  north  water  at  Cape  York,  we  had  the  little  auk, 
the  most  toothsome  of  all  Arctic  birds,  and  the  only  one  that 
is  not  more  or  less  fishy  in  flavor.  At  Littleton  Island,  on  the 
day  after  the  rescue,  when  the  procuring  of  game  was  an  ob- 
ject, in  order  that  we  might  have  fresh  meat  for  the  survivors, 
parties  from  the  two  ships  bagged  more  than  three  hundred 
eider  ducks  in  a  few  hours'  time.  With  larger  oame  we  were 
less  fortunate.  Only  two  polar  bears  were  seen,  one  of  them 
too  far  distant  to  go  after,  as  the  ships  were  under  way  at  the 
time,  while  the  other  was  shot  by  one  of  the  men  on  board 
the  whaler  Arctic.     We  ate  of  the  steak  of  this,  a  last  year's 


TWE    RESCUE. 

cub,  and  found  it  nnffp  „,,  ,  , ,  ^^' 

coarse  in  texture  o«!j     P^'atable,  thoucrh  thp  ,„     . 

(Growler)  pa'Zl  "f  e'efy  ^f".l,«1>.y'  ^"'^ofZ^^^t^y 
next  day.  It  is  a  peculiar  fi.  '7.'"''  *"<'  died  with  fi L  ?P 
upon  by  nearly  eve^  a      ■*■  '^'""^  has  been^l      '^  "'« 

white  b4r  is  pLolZ  t'Z'iu'"'''''''"'  'hat  tl'e  rero^.'f '' 
as  I  know  no  one  h=^!      ^'^  man  and  beast  ,h„[  °^  '''<= 

"/"  our  interco^r:  ^^^  ^c?'"^ "  "-  cfu'se  ''°"^''  ^°  <■- 
"-e  found  then,  to  a  man  jovtl  anS  '"'•  °/  ">e  Scotch  whaler, 
>vays  ready  to  give  us  the  b^„efi"'' f "'».'  good  company  !,? 

by  congTetrtH;  '^ut  rr. "",  ^--^-^  "f  ts^'r''. 

information  as  to  tLTf  "?' onal  vessel  for  ?hf'^  ^'''■^'' 
the  Duck  Islands  the  d  °'^  ""=  ^"-^e'r  Partv  ""^.^""very  or 
ally  in  company  with  ,^''«'f'.  Aurora  and  Wolf  t^'"'"^""? 
one  occasioS,?h^e  A  rca'c"'',^''' 'he  --P-dioTZr"- 
tliirtysix  hours  w^l  T  '  "-^P'^'"  Fairweather  =?;  "P°" 
where  the  prospecfrf'T';"?^  ''"^  "P  '»  a  Po?[T„«'ri."^ 
standing  in  toward  ,h.  i     ^/  ^^""""i  ftvorable  ^f      ''"^  "^* 

She  ha5  scareefv  tft      ^"?  "■''='1  '<>  worran  ,^  r  "?'  ^"^ 
»,:„■      /"^"^'yleft  us  when  th»  i     j  "  mshore  IcaH 

~  nmg  four  ships  stood  on,  ^aliL'i  °P^"«''  and  the  re 
Vork.    Several  days  pfterwa.Ti"^''"^  run  toward  r, 

"^f;:i^ncei^;^5-nd::s^^^^^^^ 

Wore  arrivino-  i,  r  Xf""ig  when  we  mari»  „  i  ™'P 
l«yed  in  ,!  ;'"|  1'  9^P«  Vork,  she  was  To  1„  "l  '=*'.'  ^'a«. 
dear  and  WW  w"*"^  ^""-^  "me  before  °^P'='^y  <-•'"- 
"bont  an  hour  ^"  P^"^^^^''  her  into  the  nort'h  """^  ^« 
,  "When  tied  up  to  th.  •  ^  ^^  ''^ 

&Str  ",--- 'h^lfe  ^TtL'^^"  T'^  -e 
»!>«  they  Uil  '^^  '".i!^''  '■"'■"■»'ed  us  i„L  1  '^"P^^ition  and 
'molleSe'i  "'°"'*''  "hich  term^'  ,?^  mysteries  of 
'efce  of  the  ,rfy' 'Shattering  sea's  J'  tTl-'^  ^'""^  'he 
%s desiring, shales  '^^"Sht.  The  cal^^''^  '^'s*  °"  'he 
n,iL„  !!'""?. '°  entertain  7,is  wi  f.  ?P'^"'  of  one  of  fl,„ 
-■- ;Wi-antmast  head.    -Thinn'a  well'  '""i'^"  «  'he 

■n  a  well-regulated,  civil- 


422 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


1 


i 


ized  port  would  indicate  a  desire  to  have  the  water  boat 
alongside  to  supply  the  ship  with  fresh  water.  But  here 
it  means  anything  but  water.  The  captains  of  the  other 
whalers  in  sight  repair  on  board,  and  with  Scotch  whiskey 
and  clay  pipes,  interspersed  with  yarns,  they  make  a  night 
of  it.  Mere  words  are  inadequate  to  describe  these  enter- 
tainments, and  perhaps  the  terse  style  which  an  English 
acquaintance  of  mine  adopted  in  relating  his  experiences  on 
board  a  Russian  frigate  will  give  the  best  idea  of  them.  He 
would  say,  as  if  intending  to  spin  you  a  long-  yarn,  '  Let  we 
tell  you  about  my  visit  to  the  Russian  flagship.  I  went  on 
board  and  they  gave  me  a  drink  which  they  called  "cadet 
punch,"  and  they  'oisted  me  over  the  side  with  a  thing  they 
called  a  w'ip.' 

"  Our  fare  on  board  the  ships  of  the  relief  squadron  was 
excellent.  We  were  provided  with  everything  possible  in 
the  way  of  food,  and  forward  and  aft  alike  lived  like  fightino- 
cocks.  1 

"  The  punch  was  made  of  rum  which  had  been  Jeft  in  a 
cache  en  Litdeton  Island  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Beebe,  Jr.,  who  com- 
manded the  Greely  relief  expedition  of  18S2,  and  was  most 
excellent,  and  the  more  welcome,  as  although  lavish  in  the 
supply  of  good  things  to  eat,  no  drinkables  were  allowed  us 
by  the  Board  which  supervised  the  fitting-  out  of  the  expedi- 
tion, except  such  as  was  in   the  hands  of  the  surgeon  for 
medicinal  purposes  only.     At  Disko,  Upernavik  and  Fessin- 
sak  the  Danish  officials  treated  us  with  marked  courtesy  and 
did  everything  in  their  power  to  forward  the  object  of  the 
expedition.     At  Godhavn,  Disko  Island,  the  capital  of  North 
Greenland,  a  village  of  about  one  hundred  inhabitants,  the 
men  were  given  a  run  on  shore  and  had  a  dance  with  the 
Esquimau  belles.     And  they  can  dance,  not  e\;en  our  own 
American    girls,  who  are  generally  conceded   to  excell  all 
others  in  the  Terpsichorean  art,  beating  them,  though  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  sealskin  knee-breeches  and  boots  worn 
by  the  latter  are  better  adapted  to  ease  and  grace  of  move- 
ment than   the  cumbersome  skirts  affected   by  their  more 
civilized  sisters. 

"  One  of  the  features  of  the  exoedition  was  sfettinof  the 
Loch  Garry  to  Upernavik  so  early  in  the  season  as  May  29th. 
She  was  the  first  iron  vessel  that  had  ever  visited  that  port, 
and  when  she  sailed  from  St.  John's  the  prediction  was  gen- 


le  water  boat 
:r.      But  here 

of  the  other 
:otch  whiskey 
make  a  night 

these  enter- 
i  an  English 
cperiences  on 
)f  them.  He 
yarn.  '  Let  me 
).  I  went  on 
called  "cadet 
they 


THE   RESCUE. 


a  thinof 

o 


squadron  was 

r  possible  in 

like  fio^htincT 

•een  .left  in  a 
fr.,  who  com- 
ind  was  most 
lavish  in  tlie 
e  allowed  us 
f  the  expedi- 
surgeon  for 
;  and  Fessin- 
courtesy  and 
object  of  the 
ital  of  North 
habitants,  the 
ince  with  the 
ven  our  own 
to  excell  all 
lough  it  must 
i  boots  worn 
ice  of  move- 
^  their  more 

3  getting  the 
as  May  29th. 
ed  that  port, 


Alert,  where  they  were  met  bv X  V?''?''  *^  'convoy  "fhf 
return  trip  J„„e^30th,bShvtLels  I'"'  f-"^  ^'^'  °n    ^'eir 

s^  o„°^sot  vt'^  i1>'=''"":ot  "'X'  r 


ion  was 


rrpn. 

6  ■■ 


ESQUIMAU  AND  KAIYaK 

^^■T^^^r:^i^r>^^^e  result  of  the  e. 
teamed  up  to^he  ice!lhree  or^ourr^  S'^"''-  «'  "'e  shfp; 
bow  until  the  prows  struck  the  ice    T  ^^"P"^  ""^er  the 
dropped  down.     An  ice  anchor  ,V    '  ^^"  "'^J'  'mmediatelv 

-f.     -V.  uiucn  lor  the  Greely  relief  exZ%^'  ^"  r^^  "^^  ^^re 

y  reiiei  expedition  of  1884    We 


424 


ARCnC  EXPLORATIONS. 


have  been  most  handsomely  received  and  commended  for 
what  It  was  made  possible  to  accomplish  by  the  splendid 
manner  in  which  the  ships  were  fitted  out  under  the  direction 
of  the  Honorable  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and,  with  a  secret 
satisfaction  in  having  been  instrumental  in  the  work  of  re 
heving  Greely's  starving  party,  we  have  no  favors  to  ask  no 
complaints  to  make ;  and  while  we  would  gladly,  under  simi 
lar  circumstances  and  the  same  leadership,  undertake  another 
trip  to  the  Arctic,  none  are  ambitious  to  attempt  an  original 
exploration  in  that  quarter,  and  all  are  willing  to  postpone  the 
organization  of  the  next   naval  Arctic  expedition  until  the 
time  proposed  by  Secretary  Chandler  in  his  reply  to  an  ad 
dress  delivered  by  the  latter  at  the  meeting  of  welcome  in 
Portsmouth  N.  H.,  in  which  he  advocated  further  advances 
toward  the  North  Pole. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

A  HORRIBLE  BiscovERv 
vannibalism  in  its  Worst  F 

Lieutenant  Greelv  on  tu    Z      "''''^^  "enry  Shot  f.       t, 

-Who  is  ,o  Blame  f„.  ZLl^^     ""'■''"'  •'">"«  .h.Sh!  ,'""''  "  ''""6  il 

m  ,.  ■  ^'"^«~A  TlariJl. 

When  the  vessels  of  th 

died  on  the  way  homeT^-     °"«  ''='d  been  dr^'""''!"  °'"  ">e 
by  starvation.  ^ThS;^^''  ^^V^^^en,  it  wis  t^^f^i  ""'  ^^^ 
"ore  terrible  one  vvL  1k^  'V''='"ff  stoit  bt,  '  ''*'' Perished 
the  unfortunate  mer^be'°  ^f  '?'''•     ^lien  d,eir VnT  "  """^h 
on  tlie  bleak  shore  of  1°L'^%~'°»y.  sta  v  v7„^f  X^  <>« 
necessity  to  become  2„?f ,  ,'  S°"nd.  were  iJ)  ?  "^^"' '«"' 
experience  during  fhf'^'"^'    The  comoTIf.  i!-^  by  horrible 
'»H  by  one  or  hf  oth.  'T'',"^  winter  |faf^'"«°T  of  their 
the  most  dreadfu?  »„  ?   °^  '^^  survivors  a„w^^'''r^''''s  been 
A^«ic  exploradon      r  '"'?"'^''^«  d'aptSs  of  .T""^"'  ""^  "^ 
^^re  forced  to  choose  bef^  ""^  ^s  suTvivfn'''!  ^""^'s  of 
serving  life,  ^„^  "het  h^^"  ^^"h  and    hf«  """P^fons 
'882,  to  August  ,SR?  ^?  <=''osM  the  wi      "^y  of  Pre- 
i"  the  steamers'  n!'';"'"  '?'^  "«"  SooL T!'-"^-    ^'-om  July, 
yo°d  UttleSn  Isll'S'""!;  Yf^c,  andXteus"'  *"'*=  '^''-" 
«ere  left  in  that  vSr.f  °^  ">=«  "'""ber  onUl'"  °^  *>«■ 
^l^nited  States  or  sun^'   '',*'  "-^mainder  be,W  "Z     °",'  ''Ooo 
*'ons  had  teken  ,h^  """'  '*><=  Proteus    Tf'"™^'' '°  f'e 
Creelyand  hlr^e"^ '^,7^  .P^visions  to  'smTtrs  So"V\P- 
<^™«ly  s  instruction^  i^^  Poetically  no  ben"/;,  ?  ""*  but 

sense  were  disre^^ded        '  r  P'="'"<'»S  0?°""  "'''"'■ 
Pelled  to  retreat  dnZ\  "^  fofesaw  that  Z''l:°!.  ^-nnion       , 

'-  -^"■-  p-^ordeTorstri^-^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 


^"g-  the 


"PPerpartof'thc 

C425; 


426 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS." 


line,  but  those  below  must  be  established  by  the  relief  parties. 
In  his  instructions  he  pointed  out  the  spots  on  the  west  sides 
where  food  should  be  placed,  and  then  directed  that  a  colony 
should  be  established  on  the  other  shore.  He  even  foresaw 
that  he  might  reach  Cape  Sabine  and  then  be  unable  to  get 
across ;  therefore,  he  directed  that  the  relief  colony  should 
not  only  strive  to  find  him  by  telescope  but  should  also  send 
sledge  parties  ta  the  west  side,  to  rescue  him.  His  instruc- 
tions were  not  heeded,  and  the  terrible  sufferings,  the  death, 
and  the  cannibalism  of  Greely  and  his  men  resulted  from  this 
neglect. 
•  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  Commander  Schley's  first 
despatch  to  Secretary  Chandler  announcing  the  finding  of  the 
Greely  party  he  said  : 

"  1  would  urgently  suggest  that  the  bodies  now  on  board 
be  placed  in  metallic  cases  here  for  safer  and  better  trans- 
portation in  a  seaway.     This  appears  to  me  imperative." 

As  *Mr.  Chandler  was  in  West  Point,  the  despatch  was 
answered  by  Rear-Admiral  Nichols,  Acting-Secretary  of  the 
Navy.     He  said : 

"Use  your  own  discretion  about  care  and  transportation  of 
bodies." 

Secretary  Chandler  afterward  telegraphed  : 

"  Prepare  them  according  to  your  judgment  and  bring  them 
home." 

It  took  some  days  to  prepare  the  iron  caskets,  which  were 
all  bolted  and  riveted.  It  was  remarked  at  the  time  by  ex- 
perienced officers  that  this  would  hardly  have  been  necesGary 
for  the  preservation  of  the  frozen  bodies.  They  could  safely 
have  been  brought  on,  without  any  delay,  in  wooden  coffins. 
The  design  was  obviously  to  prevent  all  possibility  of  friends 
of  the  deceased  being  given  an  opportunity  to  look  at  their 
remains  for  the  purpose  of  identification  or  otherwise.  Even 
the  sailors  on  the  relief  ships,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
men  who  assisted  in  removing  the  bodies,  were  not  allowed 
to  see  jthem.  The  lips  of  the  officers  were  sealed.  When 
Commander  Schley  met  Secretary  Chandler  and  General 
Hazen  at  Portsmouth,  August  2d,  on  the  arrival  of  the  ships 
from  St.  John's,  he  was  very  much  agitated,  and  called  the 
gentlemen  into  the  cabin  of  the  vessel,  where  he  communi- 
cated to  them  those  terrible  facts. 

The  sufferintrs  and  orivations  of  the  men  in  their  canvas 


elief  parties, 
be  west  sidfe 
hat  a  colony 
;ven  foresaw 
nable  to  get 
>lony  should 
lid  also  send 
His  instruc- 
:s,  the  death, 
:ed  from  this 

5chley's  first 
inding  of  the 

3w  on  board 
better  trans- 
:rative." 
espatch  was 
•etary  of  the 

iportation  of 


1  bring  them 

,  which  were 
:  time  by  ex- 
2n  necessary 
could  safely 
oden  coffins, 
ty  of  friends 
ook  at  their 
wise.    Even 
on  of  a  few 
not  allowed 
lied.    When 
nd   Genera! 
of  the  ships 
J  called  the 
le  communi- 

their  canvas 


A   HOKRiBLE   DISCOVERY. 


early  hFelrutlV"''!''^'^  ^^t^lAtl  ""'  ^^'  »"=-» 

human  flesh,     wl  „Th  ""■  °^  ''''«■  "'ey  were  t '"''  ]'■''"""' 

served  survivors '^eirfir^d™;"-"  P^'^  Sve^  tl  ?r" 
who  were  insenm'W.  V        '  '■"'X  was  to  lonk-  ,^1     '"^  ''alf- 

Serg-eant  Elison.  was  win  "'I'?'  ^  German  b^X"'"  '°  ""^ 

Henrr^Mtt  it^.f^'^^o^V^^'  'T  ^  "Tt 
■-'"-doit.    D:„^;fe;',,f-en  as%rrytl?'te 


KILLING  SEALS.  '  m— 

i  ne  sailors  were  horr.-f;  j  t 

P^posed'  :"„,  trthoro'' '■"■,"'^  -"'mdes';  ,f 'PPJ;'  of  ^^eir 
reali;^  wa«j  K.l     u  ^^^'^^^"gh  work  of  if      \m        ,-  Schley 

ames,  the  surgeon  of  the  ri„"l   ™™'  ?">°ng  whom  ,v^=  tZ 

"""■  ■*"'  ^"'  ^'>---  -nciusio;;'i;7;^,^r  Tv'"  ^''^"'"'"- 

'""g.     Ihis  was  done 


438 


ARCTIC  EXPLORATIONS. 


and  the  reports  are  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment. Lieutenant  Greely  was  decidedly  averse  to  having 
the  bodies  of  the  buried  clead  disturbed.  He  thought  it  wise, 
as  they  had  been  buried  so  long,  to  let  them  remain  in  their 
Arctic  graves.  Commander  Schley  did  not  agree  with  him. 
The  bodies  were  dug  from  their  graves  in  the  little  hill  just 
back  of  the  permanent  camp  established  in  October,  1883. 
Most  of  the  blankets  contained  nothing  but  heaps  of  white 
bones,  many  of  them  picked  clean.  The  remains  could  be 
identified  only  by  the  marks  on  the  blankets.  By  inquiries 
Commander  Schley  discovered  that  many  of  the  seventeen 
ilien  who  are  said  to  have  perished  from  starvation  had  been 
eaten  by  their  famishing  comrades.  It  was  the  one  last  re- 
sort. Provided  supplies  had  not  arrived,  death  stared  the 
hungry  and  crazed  men  in  the  face,  but  there  was  hope  if  life 
would  hold  out  for  even  a  few  weeks.  It  is  reported  that  the 
only  men  vho  escaped  the  knife  were  three  or  four  who  died 
of  scurvy.  '  4 

Charles  B.  Henry's  death  was  particularly  tragic.     He  was 
a  young  German,  his  real  name  being  Charles  Henry  Bach, 
without  any  relatives  in  this  country,  and  joined  Company  E,' 
Fifth  Cavalry,  in  Cincinnati.     His  friends  tr;ed  to  dissuade 
him  from  going  with  the  expedition,  but  his  spirit  of  adven- 
ture was  aroused  by  tales  of  Arctic  exploits,  and  he  deter- 
mined to  go.     Driven  to  despair  by  his  frightful   huncrer, 
Henry  saw  an  opportunity  to  steal  a  little  more  than  his  sh'are 
of  rations,  and  he  made  the  attempt.     He  was  found  out  and 
shot  for  his  crime.     In  the  published  official  report  the  death 
of  this  man  is  set  down  as  having  occurred  on  June  6th. 
When   the   body   was  found    his   hands   and    face,   though 
shrunken,  were  intact  and  recognizable;  but  nearly  every- 
where else  the  skin  had  been  stripped  from  him  and  the  flesh 
picked  from  the  bones.     Even  his  heart  and  lungs  were  eaten 
by  his  comrades.     One  rib  was  founc!  shattered  by  a  bullet 
ball,  and  to  another  small  fragments  of  lead  were  attached. 
A  bullet  hole  was  found  in  the  skin.     The  body  was  in  this 
condition  when  it  was  interred. 

In  an  interview  Lieutenant  Greely  thvdi  spoke  of  the  death 
of  Henry: 

"  The  tragic  end  of  Private  Henry  was  first  referred  to,  an4 
Lieutenant  Greely  admitted  that  the  man  was  shot  by  orders 
on  June  6th.     As  early  as  March,  bef<>re  the  oarty  went  into 


A   HORRIBLE    DISCOVERY. 

Its  summer  camp    h  m,o  '*  ^^9 

secretly  possefsin;  ]i,Wlf '"r^^""'^^ -^^^^  Henrv  h.A  u 
the  slender  stores  an  J  ^l-     °^  '""^^  "^ore  than  M      u    ^^^^ 

tainty  the  Lieutenant  had  V"'^'^''°"  ^^^V  bTcot'n'^'^  °^ 
the  cu  prit  from   tU  '"^  utmost  diffirnif    •       "^  ^  cer- 

Henry  was  at  one  tJlT"*"^'  '"^'^natt^n  o  V."  P^-^^ecting 
into  the  stock  of  L        ^'^^^^^red  fntoxicateH  ^^^°'"rades 

P-erve  tre\l!SSt"2ch^^^^^^^^^^ 

warn  him  that  a  «:n«^  d'sciplme  of  thf^  i;Z'      ^^^^  ^o 

once  instituted  and  ^^"'^?  °f"ie  pal      1   "'^  ^^  selfish 
Henry  had  stolen  Id  *""  '''^?°^«e'l  thaTwi^  n^f'*"  *^^  « 
■erof  tl,e  expediSot'  ^^^^^^  *«  -alsklXt^'fe'-' 
Lieutenant  Grp^i,,  .l  ^  ""n- 

Henry  be  shot  for  dfsobeH?"P°"  '"'"^d  written  ord        . 
«s  unable  ,o  leave  hi  , J  "'\'"'''  *ough  ,1=  T  f '?  *« 
effect.    Three  m/r, .         ,"^"''  the  order..  T.i        '-'eutenant 

the  rifle  of  one  of  r'".''"^'''^''  '<>  perfonnT'  i''"^'^  ''"'o 

Lieutenant  Greely,  a^J^^  I '''?"''  -^artS<^rwaf^'  ^"^  '" 
man  had  it  not  be%.n  f      ,"'^' ''«  Ji'mself  wo.SS  T^  '"serted. 

against  him  some  2?°  ^-'^^'y  ^"^  theft  hadT"'^  ^^^■ 
expedition.  A  detpH  /'^'''^"^^o^^is  depart,, r^  ^T"  '"^^e 
^0  the  Secretary  of  W^  'T''  °^  ^enr^fe^ecuti"  '^'^  ^'''^' 
ago.  ^'^y  ^^  ^'ar  by  Lieutenant^Gredv  .K  "  ""^^  ^^"^ 

"^s  to  the  eatin<.  ^r  u  ^      """^  ^  ^^^^^ 

^^'^^^  n^uch  feeh-n"^tw"r"r^^^^' Lieutenant  Greel 
^^•^"t>  no  act  of  thrs  sor/'h ^  l^'  ^^  ^^'s  persoLl T^^  'f^^,^^'      • 
nected  with  th^  ^  "^^  ^een  commfft!^  ?        knowledge 

burred  7tJl    ^^"'y'  ^"^  ^^at,  if  a^vTh'    "^  ^^^  ^"^  ^n^  con! 
l,...t;j:  !f_  "^^^   an  individu;,!  .J   .l"y^!^'"g-  of  the  Icinrf  °" 
—  W;  ucprecated."  -  -'"  "^'^eriy  unauthorized  "and 


430 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


The  following  is  Lieutenant  Greely's  official  report  of  the 
execution  of  Private  Henry,  at  Camp  Clay,  tfcar  Cape  Sa- 

Dine '. 

"Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  August  nth,  1884. 

"To  Adjutant-General  United  States  Army  (through  Chief 

Signal  Officer,  United  States  Army) : 

"Sir I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  on  June  6th,  1884,  at 

Camp  Clay,  near  Cape  Sabine,  Grinnell  Land,  it  became 
necessary  for  me  to  order  the  military  execution  of  Private 
Charles  B.  Henry,  Fifth  Cavalry,  for  continued  thieving.  The 
order  was  given  in  writing  on  my  undivided  responsibility, 
being  deemed  absolutely  essential  for  the  safety  of  the  sur- 
viving  members  of  the  expedition. 

"  Ten  had  already  died  of  starvation  and  two  more  lay  at 
the  point  of  death.     The  facts  inducing  my  action  were  as 

follows:  ,        .      XT  u  00  J 

"Provisions  had  been  stolen  in  November,  1883,  and 
Henry's  complicity  therein  was  more  than  suspected.  March 
24th,  1884,  the  party  nearly  perished  from  asphyxia.  While 
several  men  were  unconscious  and  efforts  were  being  made 
for  their  restoration.  Private  Henry  stole  about  two  pounds 
of  bacon  from  the  mess  stores.  He  was  not  only  seen  by 
Esquimau  Jens  Edwards,  but  his  stomach  being  overloaded  he 
threw  up  the  undigested  bacon.  An  open  investigation  was 
held  and  every  member  of  the  party  declared  him  guilty  of 
this  and  other  thefts.  A  clamor  for  his  life  was  raised,  but 
was  repressed  by  me.  I  put  him  under  surveillance  until  our 
wanino-  strength  rendered  his  physical  services  indispensab  e. 
Later *he  was  found  one  day  intoxicated,  having  stolen  the 
liqu9r  on  hand  for  general  issue.  A  second  time  h.s  life  was 
demanded,  but  I  again  spared  him.  On  June  5th,  thefts  of 
provisions  on  his  part  havincr  been  reported  to  me,  1  had  a 
conversation  with  him,  in  wnich  I  appealed  to  his  practical 
sense,  pointing  out  that  union  was  necessary  to  our  preserva- 
tion. He  promised  entire  reformation,  but  distrusting  him  1 
issued  a  written  order  that  he  should  be  shot  if  detected 

^'^.foif  June  6th  he  not  only  stole  part  of  the  shrimps  for  our 
breakfast,  but  visiting  unauthorized  our  winter-camp,  stole 
certain  sealskin  reserved  for  food.  I  then  ordered  him  shot. 
On  his  person  was  found  a  silver  phonograph,  abandoned  b} 
me  at  Fort  Conger  and  stolen  by  him.     In  his  bag  was  found 


A    HORRIBLE    DISCOVERY. 


43" 


»  large  quan my  of  sealskin  and  a  pair  of  sealskin  boots 
s  olen  a  few  days  before  from  tlie  hurfter.  Suspectinir  com 
p  c|ty  on  the  par.  of  several,  1  ordered  his  execS  by  t  °rTe 
of  tne  mos  reliable  men.  After  his  death  the  order  was  read 
to  the  entire  party,  and  was  concurred  in  by  every  men  ber 
as  being  not  only  lust.  but  as  essential  to  our  safety  To 
avoid  public  scandaf  I  ordered  that  no  man  should  speak  of 
this  matter  until  an  official  report  was  made  of  the  fa^ts 

"I  have  the  honor  to  request  that  a  court  of  inquL  be 
ordered  or  a  court-martial  convened,  should  the  Honorabll 
Secretary  of  War  deem  either  advisable,  in  this  case    7  have 
thought  It  best  not  to  ask  the  written  sta.ementTof  the  sur- 
viving members  of  the  party  for  appendices  to  this  renort 
lest  I  might  seem  to  be  tampering  with  them.        have'^not 
asked  since  our  re.scue,  June  22d,  whether  opinions  concur 
rag  ,n  my  action  have  changed  or  not,  leavin<.  such  au" 
lions  to  your  action,  if  deemed  requisite.     1  necelsarilyr^.re; 
that  circumstances  imposed  such  a  terrible  responsibility  ulon 
me,  but  I  am  conscious  that  1  should  have  failed  in  mv  dutv 
to  the  rest  of  my  party  had  I  not  acted  oromptl    a"d^um^ 
manly.     I  am  respectfully  yours,  '..A.  \V  Slv 

J-irst  Lieutenant  Fifth  Cavalry,  A.  S  O    and    ' 
Assistant  Commander  of  L.  F.  B.  Expedition." 

ol^t\TZ.flf"'  f^  "™''>''  ^  ^'™*"'  '"^°  ^'^^  °n  board 
of  the  Bear  of  exhaustion,  communicated  to  three  Scan- 
dinavian sailors  of  that  ship,  named  Knudson,  Dirkson? and 
Denkson,  how  Henry  was  shot.  "About  forty  d,.ys  before 
«  were  rescued/'  he  said, "  we  were  absolutely  devoid  of  any 
food  or  means  of  subsistence  except  our  sealskins,  our  boots^ 
nd  now  and  then  a  bird,  which  was  shot  by  Brainard^o; 
Long  Lieutenant  Greely  was  for  weeks  so  weak  and  sick 
hat  he  was  unable  to  leave  the  tent.  My  arms  had  been 
frozen,  and  I  therefore  was  unable  to  use  them,  so  L^menant 
G  eely,  although  sick  himself,  kindly  attended  to  my  wan," 
eedmg  me  like  a  baby.  But  soon  ie  became  so  weak  thai 
Sert'lf,*"  "^"f  by  Sergeant  Brainard,  and  during  this  t  me 
Sergeant  Long  had  the  sole  control  over  the  camp.*"  Lieut™! 

H  n^v'w^s  onT^f  r^u"^  "^'^'"•^'>'  ""^  ^"h  consideration, 
coonv  I'h  °"  f°  ^'?'"  ""'"  ""^  '■^''^'''«  '"^■"bers  of  the 
shed^or  h'  k  ?•  '  'V°"';  "*'  "^"^^  reprimanded  or  pun- 
ished for  disobedience  of  orders,  or  any  other  misdemeanor. 


433 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Long  was  opposed  to  Henry  from  the  beginning,  and  I  am 
satisfied  that  the  charges  of  larceny  against  Flenry  wf^re 
trumped  up  by  him  and  his  chum  Fredericks.  On  June  25th 
Lieutenant  Greely  si^^ned  ihe  order  of  the  execution  of  Henry, 
who  had  bee  .  c'^arprf;.)  with  stealing  bacon.  The  paper  was 
handed  to  hitn  b^  Long.  Concerning  this  charge,  I  can  only 
say,  that  during  the  last  forty  days  not  a.  ounce  of  bacon  could 
be  found  in  the  camp.  On  the  26th  day  of  June  Lieutenant 
Greely  was  in  a  helpless  condition,  and  unable  to  know  what 
was  going  on  outside.  On  thi*?  day  Sergeant  Long  killed 
Private  Henry  by  shooti.^^  him  in  the  back,  and  then  reported 
to  Lieutenant  Greely  that  the  execution  had  taken  place,  add- 
ing that  Henry  had  been  intoxicated.  Henry  was  searching 
for  victuals  when  he  was  shot.  On  the  same  day  Long  shot 
two  ptarmigans,  which  fact  he  concealed  from  his  companions. 
Henry's  body,  from  which  flesh  was  cut  off,  was  left  unburied 
until  the  day  when  the  rescuing  ships  hove  in  sight.  The 
shooting  of  Private  Henry  was  entirely  unjustifiable,  and  no- 
body is  to  blame  for  it  but  Sergeant  Long.  He  and  Freder- 
icks were  the  only  members  of  our  party  who  could  walk  on 
board  of  the  steam-launch,  the  others  had  to  be  carried  there 
by  the  sailors." 

Elison  was  found  in  a  condition  which  makes  his  allega- 
tions, to  say  the  least,  suggestive  of  inaccuracy. 

In  an  interview  Lieutenant  Greely  on  the  13th  day  of  Au- 
gust gave  the  following  semi-official  account  of  the  events  of 
the  latter  part  of  the  retreat  southward  from  Fort  Conger, 
which  can  only  be  made  more  explicit  but  no  more  impressive 
by  his  official  report : 

About  November  ist  the  party  began  to  be  served  with 
one-quarter  rations,  and  debilitated  health  soon  showed  the 
effect  of  this  insufficient  amount  of  food.  The  men  were  not 
before  this  in  as  good  condition  to  withstand  Arctic  weather 
as  they  had  been  a  year  before.  About  November  ist  pro- 
visions were  missed  from  the  stores,  and  it  was  concluded 
that  they  must  have  been  stolen.  Much  complaint  was  made 
by  the  men,  and  threats  against  the  thief  were  loud.  Janiia.7 
24th  the  party  was  near  perishing  from  asphyxia  and  several 
of  its  members  were  unconscious. 

Private  Henry  during  this  terrible  experience  was  seen  by 
one  of  the  Esquimaux  to  steal  some  of  the  bacon  from  the 
stores.     He  soon  afterwards  was  taken  ill  from  overloading 


A   HORRIBLE  DISCOVERY. 

his  Stomach  and  vomited  im  fT,     u  "^^^ 

vesti^ation  was  had  an,^  u^         °^^°"  "ndiVested      An  • 

It  was  a  terrible  state  of  affair.!      u        ,    . 
ra'les  demanded  his  death     Ovlr  ^T^'  '"dignant  com- 
^-.sed  to  reform,  hut  this  di?Z  s?^  Z'^  ,^-.V 

45"7aV?„rl-™rS  r^  "'=  -"  -C  an  wa! 

sented  to  him  the  enormkv  of  h"     i'^"'™ant  Greely  reore 
■m  the  necessity  for  0™'^,°/^'',',^?'^  ^«  ■''nd  pointe/ouf  to 

be  saved.  Henn,  was  then  plac'd  1^  '"">'  ''"='"  "°"W 
weeks,  unfil  the  increasing  feeble^l""'^;\§^""''  ^°'  several 
of  the  party  rendered  it^neces  arv  f  °1>!''^  °""^'-  "'™bers 

dves  of  Heiio-'s  personal  service  q^"l  '°  ^'^''  'hem! 
s  ole  liquor  from  the  stores  and  h.  ^''•°"'>'  al'erwards  he 
te  comrades  clamored  for  f,l  K?^™"  '"'oxicated.  AgaJn 
Greely  restrained  them.  "  '''^"'  ^"d  again  Lieutenant 

.he  "pLTsiot  "St:rt  ^^'^  r'  ^--'^  -vay  some  of 
and  told  him  it  would  be'l^To?  h?"'^''  "'""y  '»  Hen™ 
teutenant:  "For  God's  salfe  ^en^  J""  '°  ='°P-     Said  th^ 

:r;^S" -^-"^  '^-  ou?i?v-  ^---ToiT 

of  4'^'^"'S:nL^^a^^^^^^^^  be  guilty 

rust  Henry.     After  revolving ?nhii^„-"V^-'  ""^  ™"ld  n« 
he  lieutenant,  on  his  own    e?ponsibil?^'"'^"'"i'^'''-<^""'«ances 
der,  now  m  the  possession  of  ^'  '^^"'^d  a  written  or 

ending  that  Hen?y  be  sTo,  o       "1  °'^  '""^  survivors    com' 
"re  thefts  of  food^  °'  °"  "S^'  "^  'ommission  if  any 

f  »efe  tcrsSs  i:V  ^  '-,r-«'  -y  P-es 
Jme  6th  H  iry  went  to  £  i?^^-  ''""''^  Procure.  About 
%,  near  Cap7sabine  and  stot  "'"'^^<^"arters  at  Camp 
which  was  the  only  food  left  W  ^?""'  °^  "■«  'ast  sealskTn 
"■""ts  in  die  store.  On  h.-  ^  ?''°  '""l^  *e  last  pa  r  '  f 
;e;.„t  Greely,  he  ^dm^dfent^'^H'"^^'''"-^  ''' "ieu- 
»'th  promises  to  do  better.     His  fa  I  *"'  ^^ain  ready 

He  was,  ,n  the  afternoon  of  th  J.5   «'as  upon  him.  ^ 


434 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


They  were  ordered  to  shoot  him,  encountering  as  litde  danger 
themselves  as  possible,  as  Henry  was  the  strongest  of  the 

Sadly  the  men  departed  on  their  terrible  errand.  Thei? 
comrades  left  in  camp  turned  their  eyes  to  the  ocean. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  breeze  bore  to  their  ears  the  sound  of 
two  quick  pistol-shots.  All  were  silent.  Slowly,  after  a 
short  interval,  the  men  returned.  The  written  order  was 
handed  to  Lieutenant  Greely,  and  the  horrible  but  necessary 
execution  was  over.  Henry  was  never  seen  again  by  his 
comrades,  and  his  body  was  understood  to  be  interred  at  the 
foot  of  the  northwest  ice  floe. 

The  order  for  the  execution  of  Henry  was  that  afternoon 
read  to  the  survivors,  and  all  concurred^in  the  justice  and  ne- 
cessity of  the  act.  No  report  of  the  manner  of  his  death 
has  ever  been  made  to  Lieutenant  Greely,  and  the  survivors 
tacitly  ignored  the  terrible  remembrance. 

All  through  the  retreat  the  discipline,  with  the  exception  of 
Henry's  thefts,  was  well  maintained  and  all  yielded  implicit 
obedience  even  to  the  last  dread  day  on  Cape  Sabine. 

A  verbal  report  was  made  to  General  Hazen  by  Lieutenant 
Greely  shordy  after  the  arrival  of  the  relief  expedition  at 
Portsmouth.  In  regard  to  the  execution  of  Henry  General 
Hazen  said :  "  It  was  not  only  justifiable,  but  the  noblest  thing 
in  the  expedition." 

A  written  report  waS  submitted  by  Greely  to  the  War  De- 
partment a  few  days  ago  fully  covering  Henry's  case,  and  a 
court-martial  has  been  asked  for  by  Lieutenant  Greely  if  the 
facts  seem  to  the  War  Department  to  warrant  it. 

In  closing  Lieutenant  Greely  said :  "  I  regret  that  the  re- 
sponsibility of  deciding  Henry's  case  was  thrust  upon  me,  but 
I  feel  that  I  should  have  failed  in  my  duty  to  the  rest  of  the 
noble  men  of  my  command  had  I  not  acted  as  I  did." 

Whether  the  four  bodies  which  were  swept  out  to  sea  and 
never  recovered  would  have  added  further  evidence  to  this 
story  of  horrible  cannibalism  cannot  be  learned  now,  though 
the  papers  in  the  possession  of  the  Navy  Department  give 
all  the  particulars  as  told  by  the  survivors.  At  first  they  were 
loth  to  talk  of  the  horrible  experience  they  had  passed 
through,  but  after  promises  of  absolute  secrecy  their  evidence 
was  all  taken  in  writing.  Lieutenant  Greely  said  that  he 
wished  the  men  liad  been  rescued  by  the  army  instead  of  the 


I  ■ 


A   HORRIBLE   DISCOVERY. 

o7aLr?fr™nX'^re:7P°l'''V''  ^'?P  *e  actual  state 
,"17  "'-™.  The  offi  J;  ™  ,e  „  "'all  '"T^"  "'^^  ""Po^ed 
had  occurred  in  their  presence  n  ""^"^  '"  «»"<  of  what 
in  the  mess  room  about  ,he,'nl.  ™" '"''°  °P«=nlys^ok, 

of  human  flesh  as  bait  for  shrimnr'"''^  °^  "^'"ff  fragm'^nte 
■No.  a  word  of  the  facts  wa^S  ,?'  '"^'i'^'y  '"^prinfanded 
<lcr  Schley  made  his  report  to  S»        anybody  untifcomman 
It  is  more  than  proSle  tLf    T'^''^'  «'andler.  "-°"'""'"- 
s.ory  are  known,  £r.  Se  Paw  Mi"  ""  "'^  ''«="''  °f  the 
''"■on,  ,v,ll  be  found  to  have  shared   h   ^"'^''°"  "^  "'e  expe! 
ar,  fate  to  young-  Henry.     The  deLhl'"  'fT' ,'"'  ^  ^^"7  siml 
terecl  under  the  same  date  on  thf.f  •  ■  °f  ''°"'  '"'^n  are  en- 
».d  about  Henry's  being  shot      Tl,    ^  '  J^T""''     Nothing  ?s 
.he  words  ■•  under  the  foflo^n,.  orfer  "  "  "A^"^  ^''^'  ^"^^h 
t»o  men  are  written  at  the  bof?^^     r'  ^""^  "'^  "ames  of  the 
.vh,ch  was  written  on  a  separate  n'  °^  '^^  P«S«-     The  ordeV 
»p.ed  m  the  book.     Dr '^^avl'^h''!  "^  P^'P^"''  '>ad  not  been 
swept  away  to  sea.     It  is  sa  d  !L,      ''^  V  °"<-'  "f  the  four 
.v..h  the  expedition  we  e  unde^Lr?  °^  !'■"=  ""'"  «'>°  wen 
for  the  same  offence  which  cost  poo    H  ^''u'  ■"  "•«-*  «'inter 

Havmg  questioned  a  few  of  the  off        ^  '"^  ''^"• 
s  ips  as  they  made  fast  to  the  r  nmn  •       '  °"  "'^  '''fee  rehef 
New  York,  some  of  them  aZZTn"^;"  *'  "'^  "avy  yard  of 
the  dead  sailors  were  nTt  a    all  m,  n'^  ?"  *<=  ^°^^^ o 
onnd  and  scouted  all  idea  o    can,^     ,''^""^  "■'''^"  "'<=y  were 
at  the  bodies  were  shocking  .0  Z^  In"-    k^"""^'  ^<J"''«ed 
0  the  storm  and  the  ice.     T^e  ea?l^     V"'  '',"'  attributed  it 
be  a  sailor's  yarn.     The  remains  of ^1  ""'^  "''^y  '«'i<=ved  to 
"Uloths  as  soon  as  possible  after  ,l?e     '""  '"7  ""^fe  wrapped 

:--  t^an  he^avt  tVtTe^Xt  h^:l  ^  ^^l 

"Did  you  see  Henry's  boHv ? "  u 

"I  did  not."  'O^sDody?    he  was  asked. 

;; or  what  did  he  die?" 
starvation  or  scnrw  J  u  v 

™nder,  hurri^dly'^and  ^uT'  "'"  ''"'=^"'°"'"  «aid  the  com 


436 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


details  of  the  trip  I  shall  say  what  I  have  to  say,  if  anything. 
and  not  before."     Without  another  word  tne  commander 

hurried  below.  . 

The  members  of  the  crew  were  a  little  more  communicative, 
but  conflicting  in  their  statements.  Enough  was  said,  how- 
ever  to  confirm  some  of  the  ugly  stones  afloat.  At  least  a 
dozen  of  the  men  admitted  that  Henry  was  shot  for  stealing 

°  On  the  first  day  of  August  at  noon  the  relief  squadron  was 
seen  off  the  harbor  of  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  which  it 
entered  at  a  little  after  five  minutes  to  one,  and  came  to  anchor 
at  a  quarter  past  two  o'clock.  While  passing  through  the 
Atlantic  squadron  all  the  men  of  war  cheered  in  a  most  rous. 
ino-  stvle  and  the  scene  was  of  an  exhilarating  and  animating 
de1;cription.  Crowds  of  ladies  and  gei,demen  were  on  board 
of 'the  flagship  Tennessee  and  the  Tallapoosa,  and  all  were  in 
the  finest  spirits.  The  lower  bay  was  alive  with  small  craft 
jravlv  dressed  in  the  brightest  bunting,  and  with  a  brilliant  sky, 
water  rivalling  the  blue  Mediterranean,  and  a  gende  breeze 
■  nothing  was  wanting  to  make  the  scene  perfect  in  color  and 
form,  an  appropriate  day  for  the  reception  of  the  Arctic  sup 

vivors,    •  .  ,    .  , 

As  soon  as  the  relief  ships  came  to  their  proper  anchorage, 
their  commanding  officers  came  on  board  of  the  Tennessee, 
and  were  welcomed  by  ail  with  fervent  greetings,  cheers  by 
the  men.  and  loud  clapping  of  hands  and  a  flutter  of  hand- 
kerchiefs on  the  part  of  the  charming  lady  guests.  Com. 
mander  W.  S.  Schley,  Charles  S.  Cotton,  and  Lieutenant  \\. 
S  Emory  as  they  descended  from  the  side-ladder  to  the 
quarterdeck,  looked  like  bronzed  sailors  who  had  cruised  on 
the  equator  and  among  tropical  islands.  No  one  wou! 
dream  from  their  aspect  that  the  sun  of  the  polar  region  had 
left  its  hand  upon  their  healthy  complexions.  Tlieir  color 
sugpested  the  ardent  rays  of  the  fiery  tropics.  1  hey  were 
evidenUy  In  excellent  health,  none  the  worse  for  their  pecuhar 
and  dangerous  experience  amid  bergs  and  ice-floes._  Shortly 
after  the  arrival  of  the  commanding  officers  the  juniors  came 
on  board,  and  there  was  a  delightful  meteting  among  old  mess- 
mates, relations,  and  friends.  Many  of  the  wives  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  relief  expedition  were  on  board  to  meet  her 
husbands,  and  the  reunions  were  very  touching  Mrs.  Gre^, 
l^^u^^.u^.  .nrl  hr-.ther-In-law  were  sent  to  the  1  hetis,  the 


tnon.ent  she 


A   HORRIBLE   DISCOVERY. 


437 


. anchored,  in  the  ranMln'o  ^-  t 

10  welcome  her  husband.     SubseauenHv^  ^'  ""'^  "*'  *«  "■•»' 
vivors  of  the  Greely  expedWon  wTre  'p^/^^''^^  °f  .*«  ^r- 
fnends,  but  general  visifing  was  prohih^;H      r     "  ","'  *«'■• 
represent,ng  the  Secreta.^  of  wC  who  1=      "I?'  "'''™' 
the  ceremonies,  also  called  on  Lieutenant  r""l'''^  f  J°'" 
,wors  and  was  visibly  affected  by  the  meetinr^  ^""^  =""- 
ga,.lemen  connected  with  the  staff     Cht^'  ^^  "'^'■«  *e 
little  girls  with  her  from  CaWorn  a  h„f       '"'^Sht  her  two 
the  hotel  in  Portsmouth  to  await    L-f   if      t"  '^''"'''•^n  *<> 
them  was  born  after  I  ieutenan    Gre'..  """"J"  *"^^-     «"«  of 
Earned  of  its  birth  at  St"Tohnl''"v^^^  mF^TV"^  •>« 
her  two  brothers,  the  Me^^^Trc    \jL      •  i       rl^^'  freely  were 
fornia.    The  Lieutenan""^S,e^an™t° L'r^"„,,°'^4  Cali- 
Neivburyport,  were  unable  to  be  present  nn!  ''"."^^  ^' 

advanced  age.  Mrs.  Greelv  is  a  tall  .1"  °"  a™.unt  of  their 
a.,d  a  tWn,  wan  face,  whid/s^owed  life  "^nS;:;!''  f^'.  ''J 
fered.  She  went  to  the  adminl'c  o,k-  *""',  y  ^'"=  '""^  suf- 
Slass  of  wine,  and  tried  to  get  a  ittle  ri";  T''"'\^''"^  '°°k  a 
seven  long  days  of  trave°lh^l  bu  she  I'u  '  *'  '"^"'S"«  °f 
while  the  fleet,  which  bore  heThu  band  and  t1  ".'f  ">'  *<=^« 
true  companions,  was  comin<r    n  .^c  ""•'  fe""^'^^  °f  h's 

corted  he^  to  the  deck  of  Sef  ennessee";::?'"^  S'^'"'"'^''  «" 
a  chair  and  a  fieId-o-|as,  ani  „,^"  •'"''';  "''!■■<=  ^^e  was  given 

the  wife  ofherhus&'s  rescued  'T  m"''  '°  J"'"^'  ^^Mey, 
the  deck  to  keep  the  crowd  away  from  Sr  r ''  f'^^".  ^"°'' 
there  was  a  happy  group.         ^  °-  ^'"""^y-  =""1  "-"hin 

The  masts  of  the  three  A,■^^•,^  ^u- 
ing  those  of  the  AllV  celnIC  tXrlZ  '"T  T"  '"""°^- 
around  the  point  on  which  old  d?.n,o  .?    ,  ?/  ''i^ 'alter  came 
stands,  the  ladies  sur™  ndini  Mr  "  r      .         ^  Constitution 
signal  officer,  who  stepped  out  from     '''>'  ^T"  ""^^  ^°'  *« 
signalled  to  the  All  ia  fee   the   cT     f"  "'■<=  ''""'"ff  ^^"d 
Thea  the  Thetis  can  en  ^M«  a  Tit  f"    ^tf'''^   L"^^' 
miral  all  the  sailors  in   the  flj„,  T    i  "  ^',S™'  f™™  'he  ad- 
waved  their  cap.  and  ">ve».      "l''''''^''  "P  *«  riff"in- 
the  Tennessee  Whf  the  te»r""^  ''l?""'  "''"'=  "'^  b^"d  on 
playing  the  old  famifiar  at '         "  '"'"  ""•  ^^^^'/^  ^V-^^  by 

"Home  again,  home  again, 
From  a  foreign  shore ; 
And,  oh  it  fills  mv  smji  muh  .-..,. 
To  meet  my  friends  once  more," 


.11 


'438 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


The  signal  officer  directed  the  Thetis  to  her  anchorage. 
She  had  scarcely  dropped  her  anchors  when  the  Bear  came 
slowly  steaming  around  the  corner  of  old  Fort  Constitution, 
as  black  and  solemn  as  a  hearse  in  a  funeral  procession,  and 
the  sailors  in  the  rigging  cheered  again.  Then  came  the 
Alert,  and  a  third  cheer  was  heard,  to  which,  however,  there 
were  no  responses. 

The  flags  on  all  the  Arctic  fleet,  which  had  been  at  half- 
mast  since  the  rescue  at  Cape  Sabine,  were  raised  to  the 
mast-head  by  signalled  orders  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
who  remarked  that  this  was  a  day  of  joy  and  of  welcome  to 
the  survivors,  and  not  of  mourning  for  the  lost.  When  the 
Arctic  fleet  drop|.>ed  their  anchors  Secretary  Chandler  offered 
his  arm  to  Mrs.  Greely  and  escorted  her  to  the  gang-plank, 
followed  by  her  brothers.  They  were  placed  in  charge  of 
Commander  Merry,  of  the  Tallapoosa,  who,  in  his  launch, 
conveyed  them  to  the  Thetis.  The  secretary  returned  to  his 
place  on  the  deck,  and  as  the  launch  passed  by  on  her  short 
voyage  to  the  Thetis,  the  secretary  exclaimed :  "  Ladies  and 
gentlemen,  let  us  give  Mrs.  Greely  three  good  cheers!" 
Every  man  aboard  the  Tennessee  caught  the  word  and 
shouted  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  while  every  woman  waved  her 
handkerchief.  As  the  little  launch  passed  the  other  vessels 
the  same  compliment  was  repeated,  and  pretty  soon  Mrs. 
Greely  was  seen  climbing  up  the  gangway  of  the  Thetis,  and 
was  clasped  in  her  husband's  arms.  The  deck  of  the  vessel 
was  cleared,  and  the  meeting  was  witnessed  only  by  her  two 
brothers. 

In  a  few  moments  (!lommander  Merry  returned  to  the  Ten- 
nessee,  closely  followed  by  a  queer-looking  black  war-boat, 
as  liofht  as  a  balloon  and  as  swift  as  a  bird.  It  had  an  engine 
in  its  centre.  It  is  the  same  launch  that  brought  Lieutenant 
Greely  and  his  surviving  companions  from  their  position  of 
starvation  in  the  ice  at  Cape  Sabine.  It  steamed  toward  the 
Tennessee.  As  it  neared  the  vessel  voices  cried  out: 
*' There's  Schley!"  "There's  Bill  Emory!"  "There's 
Coffin!"  Mrs.  Schley  and  her  pretty  daughters  left  their 
chairs  and  Mrs.  Coffin  followed  them  to  the  admiral's  cabin, 
escorted  by  Secretary  Chandler  and  Admiral  Luce.  There 
was  another  hearty  cheer  as  the  little  tug  came  up  to  the 
gangway,  and  the  three  commanders  of  the  Arctic  fleet  were 
greeted  by  their  old  friends  on  board  with  a  royal  welcome, 


A   HORRIBLE   DISCOVERY. 

turn  of  Lieutenant  GreelvanH  fK  •  '^''^'^ration  of  the  re- 

which,  under  the  aus^i  L  of  the  T■™'■^''f '''^  ^^P^diti^n, 
Portsmouth,  took  place  on  ,heithlvf"i"P^'  g°^<=rnment  of 
thousands  of  people,  numerous  banlr*^"''-  "'Wrongs  of 
enthusiasm  could  mke  a  ceSi^n'r^  '""'"■  ^"^  boundless 
cessful.  The  day  was  oerfer-  n  ,  ^"""^'  *'^  "as  sue- 
through  the  squares  there  was  eve?v"  t"  ""^/"^  ^"-^"^  ^"d 
ness.  Throngs  from  all  secTons  ofTh.  '^  °''=^^'"  ^"^  cheerful- 
into  the  city  shortly  after  sunrise  IfX^T''^  "^"""^  crowding 
added  by  trains  and  incoming  steamers  v  ""'^"''^  «'"''^h  werf 
th.  .mmensity  of  the  crowdllreadTprel^nt  "^^^''"'^'  '°=' '" 

North  Atlantic  Squadron  and  Arvi^  fl        f ''""^"  ''°"'  the 
wharves.     As  fast  as  thev  arrived'"  h  ^"  ^^°^^  *«  ^'"o^ded 
the  streets  adjacent  to  rTarkeTsnJar-  "^Th  '''^*"  "^  '^''"S 
t.ons  and  military  companies  arrived  Lj^  ■'""'  ""S^"''^- 
early  trams,  having  to  take  narr  n  ,1,        ,  1"'°"^  P°'"ts  on 
public  buildings  a'nd  many";  .'^'te's  w  ''""T-  /"  ""= 
and  appropriately  decorated  and  «wf       "^   handsomely 
Heroe.  "  was  imprinted  eve 'where  on'r'  '1  °"^  Arctic 
.0  o'clock  the  steam-tug  LeX  landed  ^^'."^  ^T'"S-     At 
from  the  fleet,  and  thf  navaf  colmt  !  "  H'' ""^  *<=  ='^"°'-^ 
march  on  David  and  State  s^reeTs  and  m       f""^'^  ^"^  ">« 
pnate  place.  *"^'  ^™  moved  to  an  appro- 

From  an  earlv  hoiti-  in  tu^  — 

streets  near  whe'^re  GreSy  wa'r'la^d'Tf '  "°^'?'='^  "P  "'« 
Arctic  hero  was  the  all  ah  Jl-         u     '     ^'"=  commg  of  the 

steam-launch  wL  scanned  ".-""^f"  "^  '■"'^^=^'-     Eve  y 
for  his  presence.     At  „  ?o  ovTo'^     '^"""'''"'"'y  "^''^''^d 

thusiasm.  Commander  Schlev  J  ii?,,  ' '''"'''ir'^''"''''*^'-^''^'^  ^"■ 
mander  Coffin  disembarked  Vr^^mrbar^^  ^T^  '"'^  C""" 
were  the  other  officers  of  the  Greelv  r^fV  ^°"°^'."?  them 
were  attired  in  neat  unlfnrm=  ti  ^  ^'"^'^  expedition.  AH 
of  the  Thetis,  Sear  and  aT;-  ^''""."'^'•f  '^"ded  the  sailors 

with  pants  tucked  in  rl,„, on! --'?-'"^'-"^"y  stoga  boots 
•°P°-  "■"■'^  ™"e  «"'"s  and  regulation 


■naa 


440 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


navy  caps.  They  rolled  along  with  a  sailor  gait.  All  were 
bronzed,  sunburned  and  weather-beaten.  They  were  enthu- 
siastically greeted  as  they  landed,  and  the  crowd  pressed  for- 
v/ard  to  shake  their  hands.  Five  sailors  from  the  squadron 
greeted  their  companions  from  the  relief  ships  with  a  hearty 
"messmate,  welcome  home,"  and  other  honest  greetings. 
Not  a  few  tears  were  shed  at  affecting  meetings  between  old 
messmates, 

A  roar  of  welcome  went  up  when,  at  1 1  o'clock,  Greely 
was  discovered  with  his  comrades  coming  towards  the  land- 
ing in  the  admiral's  barge.  Greely  was  clothed  in  white, 
with  a  slouched  hat,  and  wearing  spectacles.  As  he  and  his 
companions  alighted  all  crowded  to  welcome  him.  Greely 
leaned  upon  the  arm  of  Lieutenant  Powell,  and  languidly 
lifted  his  hat.  His  every  movement  indicated  weakness.  His 
comrades  received  much  attention,  and  were  objects  of  curious 
scrutiny.  All  were  placed  in  coaches  and  immedia;ely  driven 
to  the  Rockingham  House,  it  having  been  decided  that  they 
should  not  appear  in  the  procession.  At  the  hotel  crowds 
gathered  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  them.  Lieutenant  Greely  said 
to  the  Associated  Press  representative  that  he  felt  very  well 
that  mornihg,  and  he  looked  it.  He  expressed  himself  as 
being  much  moved  by  the  cordiality  of  his  reception.  Mrs. 
Greely  joined  her  husband  at  the  hotel.  Meanwhile  the 
arrangements  for  starting  the  procession  were  completed. 

Upon  two  large  stands  in  Market  Square  were  gathered 
many  prominent  persons  and  a  number  of  ladies. 

At  11.20  ihe  procession  began  to  k  ve  along  the  packed 
streets.  Thunderous  applause  greeted  the  sailors  of  the  re- 
lief squadron  as  they  moved  along,  the  crew  of  the  Thetis 
leading,  with  that  of  the  Bear  and  then  the  men  from  the 
Alert.  The  ovation  condnued  through  the  entire  route  of  the 
procession. 

Commander  Schley,  Lieutenant  Emory  and  Con:niander 
Coffin  were  received  with  tremendous  applause  as  they  passed 
along  in  an  open  carriage.  They  smilingly  acknowledged 
the  tribute  of  the  crowd  by  lifdng  their  hats.  After  them 
rode  the  other  officers  of  the  relief  squadron,  and  they,  too, 
received  a  hearty  ovation.  After  them  rode  in  an  open 
carriage  Secretary  Chandler,  General  Hazen,  Commodore 
Wells  and  Acting  Admiral    Luce.      These  gendenien  also 


i 


Thf"    marrhincT   of  the  Ion? 


441 


eyes 
tenan 


A   HORRIBLE   DISCOVERY. 

procession  was  very  fine  ^nr?  fi  "^^^ 

of  marines  from  the  J^    ^    ^  manoeuvres  of  the  h^t,  v 
of  the  procession  neared'  he  Ro  1"'^  ^'''"'^"^-     As%t"fc 
tenant  Greely  and  the  surW^tf"^^^       "°"^^'  v.he^e  Lie, 
review  the  procession,  the  pre' nr      f  P,^''>^  ^^^^  waiting  to 
great  that  the  advance  of  d?e"?  °^  '^'^  "^^^^  becamf  so 
minutes.  '^'^  column  was  delayed  se^erll 

Lieutenant  Gree]\?and  h' 
bcilcony,  and  when  the  head  of  fh^''''^^'  "^^'^  seated  upon  a 
after  cheer  greeted  him.  %^c  '^  Pf^^f^ 'on  appeared  ^cheer 
As  the  crews  of  the  Thetis  Bearandl/^'"  Procession  joined 
Greely  bowed  very  Jow  and  ^p/     ^  ^^^/^  P^^^^^,  Lieu  tenant 
d.  me,  ,h,  ,^,  ^y  rece:t^y^::::;:,^,f ^^  r'  ''^  ^'•-t'""d     "o' 
The  scene  was  affecting,  and  mueh  .     ^''^"^  ^"  Arctic  grave 
Je  the  entire  throng  and  J^"''^-  ^"^?^'°"   seemed  to  per* 
-..     The  reliefcrews^Li.Tr'i'i^'^'V'^hed  tears  from  tW 
nt  Greely  was  kern  K.?^  u  ^"^^  ^^'^^^  their  caps      T  ii 
the  long  proc'esd^n  p^  se/^  ^7"^^  ^jf  -^knowlS'g„,en^  t 
and  Lieutenant  Emorv  r.'"    >°/"panders  Schley  and  Pnf 
hero.     A,e,  thel.r^3sTrha^d'7^^^^^^^^^  ?•  ^^^y  P-edt^ 

^>^^s;:stt^^^^-^-^^^^^ 

revewed   the   proceLiorand^?"' -^^f,"^; -^^ere  tney  a^^ 
multitude.  "^  °"   ^"^   received  the  plaudits  of  d-" 

Chanfc^GeneSrHazen  r'"  '"  ^'^^  ^^^"^  ^-re  Secre^a^^ 

many  New  England  cities      ILh     )"  "'y  governments  of 
guests  proceeded  to  tlie  Rn.l  ■     f  ^  '''^'^'' '  "'"^'oclc  the  invitpi 

entertained  at  din^^r  by^l^e 'it? '^"p"""^'^'  -here  they  wfre      ' 
--  S:iSlvr;S:i^  ^^^^^^^^^  evenL  to 

'"  *e  audttoriu.;rt,;tn:':7ed  by  unboundTd  I^rh^^S^" 
foremost  citizens,  wh^eVoon  i'^^Presentation  of  Portsmouth"; 
Sentlemen.    Among  dre^nV'^''  '^'  "^"^  distinguished 
t^°"^  Atlantic  ^Squadrora*'-'?-^  "^.^^•''-  "ffi-rlof 
■-  -  "■  -^  orcW3at  the—  ^'Se«,^bVBt^ 


442 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


and  Alert.  These  sturdy  sailors  were  enthusiastically  received 
by  the  audience  when  they  entered,  as  were  th'^ir  officers 
when  they  shortly  afterwards  took  seats  on  the  stage.  Among 
others  on  the  stage  were  W.  E.  Chandler,  Secretary  of  the 
Navy ;  General  Hazen,  Chief  Signal  Officer ;  Admiral  Luce, 
Commodore  Welles,  General  B.  F.  Butler,  ex-Speaker  Ran- 
d?ll,  Congressman  Robinson,  of  New  York;  Governor  Hale, 
ot  New  Hampshire ;  Senator  Haie,  of  Maine,  and  many 
others. 

Remarks  were  made  by  Rev.  W.  A.  McGinley,  Rev.  H.  E. 
Hovey,  ex-Speaker  Randall,  Commander  Schley,  Lieutenant 
Emory  and  others.  The  meeting  closed  with  prayer  by 
Rev.  J.  A.  Gross. 

In  the  presenc'  of  a  large  concourse,  and  with  the  attend- 
ance of  Secretary  of  War  Lincoln,  Lieutcnant-General  P.  H. 
Sfaerician,  Commander-in-Chief;  Major-General  W.  S.  Han- 
ccK:k,  Commanding  the  Division  of  the  Atlantic ;  Commodore 
Filiebrow  n,  United  States  Navy,  and  many  other  distinguished 
officers  o'l  oth  services,  the  remains  of  Lieutenant  Greely's 
companions,  who  died  in  the  Arctic  regions,  received  on 
August  8th  at  New  York  impressive  melancholy  honors  due 
to  military  merit. 

The  "oggy  weather  which  had  detained  the  returning  relief 
ships  near  Wood's  Holl,  Rhode  Island,  having  cleared  off,  the 
vessels  were  able  to  creep  up  the  coast  so  as  to  be  within 
sight  of  Sandy  Hook  early  on  the  7th. 

Early  in  the  day  the  batteries  of  the  Fourth  and  Fifth 
United  States  artillery,  to  the  number  of  about  four  hundred 
men,  were  drawn  up  in  line  at  half-past  nine  o'clock  on  the 
government  wharf  on  Governor's  Island,  facing  south,  the 
Ddsd  on  the  left  of  the  line,  near  the  point  of  disembarkation. 
The  troops  were  commanded  by  Major  R.  J.  Jackson.  Drums 
were  muffled,  the  officers  and  men  wore  the  regulation  in- 
signia of  mourning,  and  flags  drooped  at  half-mast  on  the 
government  ships  and  buildings  and  on  American  vessels  in 
the  harbor,  it  was  remarkable  that,  with  die  exception  of  a 
large  French  steamer  lying  at  anchor  in  front  of  the  Batter)', 
few  of  the  foreign  ships  in  sight  showed  any  half-mast  signals 
of  mourning. 

After  the  men  had  been  under  arms  some  time  General 
Hancock,  accompanied  by  his  staff,  went  to  the  landing,  where 
he  received  Secretary  of  War  Lincoln  and  Lieutenant-Gen 


A    HORRIBLE    DISCOVERY. 

era!  Sheridan,  who  arrived  nn   fl..  •  i      . 
o'clock.     They  had  beerescorteH  1    "'^u''  J"  ''^"'-P=»st  ten 
ne    Hodges,  Captain  Pond  and  ^enl;,  pT^^  ^^  ^olo" 
detailed  lor  that  duty  bv  General  u^'  ^''^V-  who  were 
and  his  party  crossed^over  to  the  L^^!]™'''-.   "^'^^  ^^--eta^ 

steam-launcl,  Ordnance      Genera  Shen-r  "'^  ^"'"''^  ^tate^ 
of  his  rank.     Among  the  member,  ^n"  *°'"^  "i«  ""'form 
Colonel   M.   V.  She?ida' Th"  ?;eneJr  ^k'T"' ^^^^we^e 
Gregory  and    Colonel    Volchna*;,       A       ^'■°""='")'    Colonel 
General  Hancock  w«e  Captain  W,n  S  wT^*"^'."*?   Major- 
Infantry;  Captain  G.  S.  L^  w/rd    rt     ^"°"' ^'"«<=«"1> 
and  First  Lieutenant  Thomas  Hr'    ["'^"'y-fecond  Infantry, 
personal  staff.     Of  the  d?v";bn  staff  fc"  ^'^""^^"^  to  Jl 
eral  Lieutenant-Colonel  VVilliam  n  wf  •    T"^^  '*''"'  "><=  S^n- 
tant-General ;  Lieutenant  Cod  RrPf''''  ^'''"'^"'^  Adju- 
spector-General ;  Colonel  H    F    dlT'  ^^"''■''  ^"'^'^"'  I"" 
sary.General ;  Colonel  Charles  Sn/h.  i     j  ./'^'^"'  Commis- 
Coonel  Daniel  McClure   Assistant  p""*  *^'''''^' Director; 
Colonel  A.  J.  Perry  Assfstant  O         '^^J'master-General  and 

When  SecretaryUncot  Lul"^"""^''l':^^"=™l• 
ashore  they  were  greeted  by  Gen^rarA     ^■'f'^f  ^'«=PP«d 
them  the  salutes  due  to  their  resntl,'^""'?'  ^^°  "^'^^'^'i 

Secretary  and  Lieutenant-Genera,  ded    Id  X^'',    ^"'^  "^« 
Precisely  ai  ten  minutes  to  ^1.,  "^<^'"fa  these  honors. 

of  the  three  Arctic  sl^pfweVV^enV ''p''  "^J  "^^1^  ''""^ 
tween  Governor's  Island  Tnd  the  ™  ^°"  Columbus,  be- 

approaclied  with  a  slo^  solemn  monT""=  ^'^'^"-  They 
vessel,  the  Thetis,  lead  ng  tiTe  "  °n  °  Th  ""r"'"'''^'' S^'-ky's 
tenant  Emory  in  charge  came  neCt  !  '?'^'"''  *''''  Lie". 
Lieutenant  Coffin,  brought  up  the  rear'" Slo''?  ^^'?'  ""^er 
ically  diey  steamed  past  Fort  r„l      u        '""'y  *"''  "lajest- 

the  frozen  North      A°s  snon  I    ,k     ^'""''  "''''  "'<=  rigors  of 

Columbus  its  gtms  ^IdTed  a  na't^i-f  1  'T  ""^  "'''  Fo° 

the  returned  adventurers  and  of    h'^  '"'"'^  ''"  ^°"°' °( 

down  their  liv.s  without  a  murmu   it  ^he''''n   7T  "''°  '^'^ 
No  sooner  h,^  .1,.,  »L...       ,  "I'T  '''  "le  call  of  dutv 

"" •  ""  ""^'^  ^'^•-*  """^  been  recognized  than 


444 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS 


General  Hancock  sent  off  his  aide-de-camp,  Lieutenant 
Thomas  H.  Barber,  in  a  steam-launch  to  greet  the  returned 
explorers  in  his  name,  and  to  offer  such  assistance  as  they 
might  need.  The  aide-de-camp  had  orders  to  remain  with 
Commander  Schley  and  to  accompany  the  bodies  ashore. 
At  the  same  time  the  steamtug  Catalpa  shot  out  into  mid- 
stream from  the  direction  of  the  Brooklyn  bridge.  She  was 
closely  followed  by  Commodore  Fillebrown's  barge  and  the 
steam-launches  Despatch,  Minnesota  and  Ordnance.  These 
craft  waited  for  the  bodies  to  be  placed  on  the  Catalpa,  in 
order  to  form  her  escort  to  the  landing-place  at  Governor's 
Island. 

The  hulls  of  the  three  relief  ships  showed  but  Htde  signs  of 
severe  usage  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  were  it  not  for  the 
presence  of  some  strange-looking  dogs  and  sledges  on  board 
the  Bear  it  would  never  be  suspected  that  she  had  returned 
from  a  voyage  to  frozen  seas. 

When  the  echo  of  the  saluting  guns  had  died  away,  there 
was  an  interval  of  more  than  an  hour  before  the  bodies  were 
removed  to  the  Catalpa.  As  soon  as  this  was  effected  minute 
guns  were  discharged  until  after  the  caskets  had  been  deposited 
in  the  hospital  ward.  During  the  wait  the  troops  were  allowed 
to  mar  '  back  to  quarters,  where  rations  were  served.  The 
first  mi.  "e  gun  was  the  signal  for  their  reassembling  and 
again  forw  ng  on  the  landing.  The  mounted  men  of  Light 
Battery  B  v/ere  already  formed  on  horseback,  with  giin 
caissons,  awaiting  but  the  signal  to  move  by  the  flank  of  the 
escort,  carrying  the  remains  to  their  temporary  resting-place. 

From  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  little  steamer  Thomas 
Riley  kept  bringing  over  large  numbers  of  people  to  the 
island.  Some  of  them  were  connections  of  the  deceased, 
others  belonged  to  the  military  or  civil  service  and  still  more 
were  sightseers.  The  latter  explored  the  island  thoroughly. 
They  swarmed  on  the  grassy  glacis  of  the  fort,  perched  upon 
the  parapets  and  crowded  the  covered  way.  No  part  of  the 
fortifications  was  sacred  to  the  visitors.  They  crowded  tc 
suffocation  the  hospital  ward  the  moment  the  bodies  were 
deposited  there. 

It  was  twenty  minutes  to  one  o'clock  before  the  Catalpa 
and  her  escort  steamed  up  to  the  dock  where  the  troops  were 
drawn  up.  As  soon  as  the  tug  was  made  fast  Commander 
Schley,  Commander  Coffin,  Lieutenant  Sebree,  Lieutenant 


A  HORRIBLE   DISCOVERY. 

Crosby  and  other  officers  ofthf^  r^r  r  i.- 
They  were  at  once  -tr^duld  ^^Stt^^^^^^^^  ^"  ^^°-- 

eral  Hancock,  who  received  them  in  fh.^  ^^'^'''  ^°  Gen- 
He  immediately  presented  t  em  .    c     ""^'^  *^^''^'^1  "^^nner 

General  Sherida'n^h^lLo    Sved  them  ^^^^  '-"^°^"  ^"^  ^-' 
tiiat  moment  Commodore  F;iS  ,^  ^^^y  warm  y.     At 

barge.  "^modore  Fillebrown  disembarked  from  his 

A  detail  of  eijrht  men  an^l  o 
the  caskets  from^heTu^  alont  ^^f "'  ""f  '°^^  ^^  to  carry 
caissons.     Each  caske^^as  c.itruc^eJ'  f^!^-f  ^^^°^^'  ^°  ^^^ 
riveted  and  hermetically  sealed     Tl         ""^  ^°'^^'  '"^O"-  ^rmly 
having  a  silver  plate  7n  the  lid  1 77''""^   Pointed  black^ 
the  age  of  each  man  and  the  date^^^f  V    J"'TP''°"  showing 
were  covered  with  the  American  en.    '  "^^f^"'     ^^^  ^^^^etf 
on  that  of  Lieutenant  LoTkS  ouT'a^'  "f  °"f  ^^'^^d 
borne  on  a  stretcher  alon^  the  fronrnf'.l,       ^^^^  ^""^"^^  ^^s 
presented  arms,  the  officers  sal  H       i         ^^'^"^^  ^^^  ^^oops 
the  band  played  a  dir^L     An  ^ff  V"       '  "^^'^  ^"^^P^d  and 
while  the  ^oSy  of  Li!?u';nant  Fr!d  kS'^I"^  ""^  ^^^"^^^^d 
His  brothers.  John  G.  and  W^  H    an^H^^ 
Kishngbury,  a  lad  of  fifteen  vear^^,      I  u-^  ^'^  ^°"'  ^'^Iter 
of  General  Hancock  was  moled  ^ttlfe  ^IVK'^^'  ^'^^' 

ttll^^ttef  a^^^nT^^^^  ''''  ''' 

line  of  march  in  the  following  order  •'''  P^^--"  ^ook  up  its 

eadrcli^s'^l^rr^fnro^  by  two  horses 

command  of  Maj^r  Jackson   xvhh  .r°      '^     ^^'  ^^^°^^'  ""^' ^ 
men  wearing  crape  on  die  h^.  r^yers^d,  officers  and 

marching  in"  slow  time  he  hi  i™f  ^"^^  °"  ^^^^  ^word  hilts 
The  Sectary  of  WrGener^lQ?^^^^"^  '^'^  ^^^^  "larch 
staffs  of  these' two  offi^e^fsevtaf  oTb'""  r"^  ^^"^-^'  ^hl' 
era  s  and  the  friends  and  rdatiVeTof  ^b   '^"^'"''"^"'^^      g^"' 

Upon  arriving  at  the  hosnhJX      ^^?  deceased. 
strapped  from  The  caLons^' f    -^  '^^^^''  ^^^^  ^^  once  un- 
Jat  I.ad  been  prepaTe'Ctl  e^  alid^t^'^  ^"^ 

the  tresdes,  wherethey  were  to  re  .f  \T  ^^P^^^^^d  upon 
destinations.  Guards  of  honor  were  l.?^^  'f^'  V°  '^^^"^  ^"^1 
rest  of  the  troops  silently  retired  to  ^I-•  "'  ^  ''^'^'  '^^^ 

seekers  began  to  thin  out  and -^^i'^"?''''^''"'  ^^^^  ^"^'ositv 
deserted  by'  its  visito  s  and  the  b^v''  f  ^5''^  ^^^  ''^^^"^  ^^as 
sentinel's  care  fo  s'—  --  •    tlie  brave  dead  were  left  ip  the 
u  b..,..^  y^j  jjj  j-j^^^j^  glory.  " 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

TERRIBLE   STORY  OF  CANNIBALISM. 

How  thb  bodies  of  the  Victims  were  interred — Proofs  of  Canribalism — The  Fleih  of 
Lieutenant  Kislingbury's  Body  cut  off  with  Knives — The  Carte-de-visite  of  a  Surgeon— 
Thr  Greely  Survivors — Their  Physical  Condition  when  Rescued — Surgeon  Green's  Re. 
port — What  Lieutenant  Greely  says  concerning  Cannibalism — Lieutenant  Greely  on  Dis- 
sensions in  the  Camp — Dr.  Pavy  takes  his  own  Life — The  Body  washed  away — A  Story 
'  full  of  Horror — The  first  Taste  of  Human  Flesh — Private  Henry  Welcome  Food. 

The  question  whether  the  starving  men  of  the  Greely  Ex- 
pedition resorted  to  cannibalism  to  stay  the  gnawing  pangs 
of  hunger  and  prolong  their  lives  has  at  last  been  answered. 
The  body  of  Lieutenant  Kislingbury  was  exhumed  on  the 
1 4th  day  of  August  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  and  it  was  found  that 
the  flesh  had  been  cut  from  the  body,  and  that  only  the  skele- 
ton remained. 

The  result  of  the  examination  is  given  in  the  following  af- 
fidavit, which  was  made  immediately  upon  the  return  of  the 
party  to  the  city : 

"  From  the  upper  portion  of  the  sternum  and  clavicle  to  the 
lower  border  of  the  fifth  rib  on  the  left  side  the  skin  and  mus- 
cles had  all  been  removed  down  to  the  ribs  on  the  right  side. 
The  skin  and  muscles  down  to  the  lower  border  of  the  last 
rib  were  gone.  There  were  two  openings  between  the  fourth 
and  fifth  intercostal  spaces  into  the  thoracic  cavity.  The  skin 
and  muscles  on  the  anterior  portion  of  the  abdomen  were 
intact  to  the  crest  of  the  ilium  or  pelvic  bones ;  muscles  and 
skin  of  anterior  and  posterior  of  the  thighs  were  entirely  re- 
moved except  the  skin  on  the  anterior  portion  of  the  knee 
joints ;  muscles  and  skin  of  left  leg  removed  to  within  three 
inches  of  ankle  joint ;  on  right  leg  skin  and  muscles  removed 
to  within  five  inches  of  ankle  joint. 

"  Both  feet  were  intact  and  the  toes  all  present.  There  was 
no  vestige  of  integument  or  muscles  on  either  arm,  including 
the  muscles  of  the  shoulder-blades  to  wrist  joints,  except  on 

(446) 


TERHIBLE  STORV  OF  CANNIBAUSM. 


ine  examination  of  tU,^   ^    .    • 
showed  that  the  skin  and  muscfes  oT'rT  ^u"r.  "^  ">«  body 
cnth  cervical  vertebra  had  been  disetd'lf''  ^"""^  ""=  ^«v- 
away  down  to  the  bones  with  rh„  •    °'  •="'  completely 

from  two  to  three  inches  Tqua  e  on''Sr"-.°f  P'f "  "^  ^km 
portion  of  the  sacrum.  T^e  pelvfc  )^  ^"^^  °^  *<=  "PP^r 
denuded.  All  the  extremities  were  .-.r^  K'7""^'=°'"P'«ely 
iKamenl:  nly.  No  fracture,  ZrZ  ""^'^'j'^d  to  the  body  bv 
We  found  all  the  orgat  ^^e  t ho  a'x  at'  Z'"  '^'='^°^«-d' 
There  was  evidence  of  recent  ;„n^  "■''  abdomen  present 
and  bowels.     The  largo  ntest Les  werTTf  °/  '''^  ^'omach 

rdte°^  ^-^'  —.  rw\icr;;;^rarrs^^^^^^^^^ 

face  showed  no  signs  of  decomrifion     *'  '^''''  ''^"''^  »"d 

CHARLES  Buckley,  M.D. 
"Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before'  i;; ^^ ^^^ille.  M.  D. 
gi'st,  1884.  t)eJore  .ne  this   14th  day  of  Au- 

ilDWARD   AngEVINE, 

^commissioner  of  Deeds." 
to?e\r^a^  Jj;'";'f3'''«,''-y  iron  -ceptacle  was  found 

screw  the  fifty-two  iron  bolts  which  hdd  T.  "^^  ^T  '°  '""■ 
noiseless  ease  with  which  tL    l„  ''°V"  '''^  lid.     The 

flowed  that  there  wis  an  abse  fcf  f™'  ^"^^  f™"'  ''ts  bed 
■hat  .here  might  be  r^^  body  irrea°4f  t  ^V' n^  ^^'^  f««^<=d 
cover  and  the  contents  of  the  coffi?.!,!.  ^"^  ^""^'^"  *e 
packmg  .saturated  with  wh  te  lead  »„i  I*"",  '"""^  '"bber 
rounded  the  bolts  and  joints  Feeling  v"^  *^^''  ^''^o  ™f- 
of  snowy  cotton  waste  which  filled  h?  «=**'  '"'°  "'^  ■"*'« 
eflnes  soon  exclaimed:  "  He  i  li'^"  .^^'^"  '«  ""=  'op.  Mr. 
alcohol,  but  no  verv  nrr>„„         j        "^^^       ■'^  strong  odor  nf 

ated  from  the  calS.''^"  Buckle??!'"""  ."V^^^-^'  --• 
ton  of  the  coffin's  tenant  '  7^,^'^y.""™vered  the  lower  por- 

the  legs-the  right  o„e-wl^"  '•'  'Pr^^d  ^=  f  oneTf 
was  all  removed  it  b^r;,^  missing,  but  when  the  waste 
-nder  the  left  one        '^""^  "PP"'"'  "^at  the  limb  was  ?fed 


.Ci>^.  V^  ^> 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


1.0 


I.I 


2.5 


2.2 


4.0 


12.0 


!.8 


1.25     1.4      1.6 

., «»  

► 

Photographic 

Sdences 

Corporation 


^ 


^"^ 
■^^ 

""^ 


\ 


^ 


\\ 


^* 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y   14580 

(-~6)  872-4503 


^ 


^ 


448 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


The  casket  was  next  placed  upon  the  floor,  and  the  un- 
shrouded  form  taken  from  it  and  placed  upon  the  table.  On 
the  bottom  of  the  coffin  were  noticed  two  large  spots  of 
blood,  but  they  were  pronounced  of  common  occurrence  at 
burials.  The  sheet  was  taken  away  and  the  tarred  rope 
which  entwined  the  blanket  cut,  and  the  work  of  taking  off 
this  last  covering  began.  Slowly  and  reverentially  the  blanket 
was  removed,  and  then  there  was  a  suppressed  cry  of  horror 
upon  the  lips  of  those  present.  The  half-body,  half-skeleton 
temains  lay  outstretched  in  all  their  ghastly  terror.  The 
blackened,  fleshless  face,  bearin<r  marks  of  Arctic  toil,  had  no 
resemblance  to  the  dead  man.  The  head  was  covered  with 
long,  matted,  dark-brown  hair  and  a  lighter-colored  mous- 
tache cleaved  to  the  upper  lip,  while  a  wool-like  beard  of 
the  same  color  surrounded  the  lower  portion  of  the  coun- 
tenance. The  skin  was  dried  to  the  skull.  The  sightless 
sockets,  the  half-opened  mouth,  gave  the  dead  man  a  look  of 
mute,  appealing  agony. 

"  That  tells  the  whole  story,"  moaned  one  of  the  brothers, 
gazing  with  a  strange  fascination  on  the  awful  scene. 

The  skeleton  was  shrunken.  There  was  little,  if  any,  flesh 
on  the  arms  and  legs,  and  the  body  from  the  throat  down  was 
denuded  of  its  skin.  The  feet  were  incased  in  bluish  woollen 
socks  and  were  emaciated,  but  almost  intact.  Upon  the  right 
side  of  the  breast,  between  the  ribs,  appeared  two  gaping 
wounds,  which  did  not  fail  to  inspire  those  present  with  a  sus- 
picion that  poor  Kislingbury  might  have  been  foully  dealt 
with.  The  doctors  examined  the  mouth,  and  John  Kisling- 
bury, watching  their  movements,  soon  directed  the  attention 
of  his  brother  to  evidence  which  established  the  identity  of 
the  body,  saying :  "  That  is  he,  Frank ;  see,  his  tooth  is  gone!" 
A  plate  containing  several  false  teeth  was  in  the  "mouth.  Fur- 
ther proof  was  furnished  by  marks  on  the  right  toe,  which  had 
been  injured,  while  the  lieutenant  was  guarding  rebel  prison- 
ers at  Elmira,  by  a  horse  stepping  upon  his  foot.  For  some 
time  he  expected  he  would  have  to  have  the  toe  amputated, 
but  it  finally  was  saved.  When  the  doctors  touched  the 
moustache  of  the  dead  man  it  came  off  partially.  The  nose 
was  found,  as  described  by  officers  of  the  relief  expedition, 
partly  missing.  When  the  remains  were  turned  over  on  one 
side,  the  skinless  back  and  bare  shoulder  blades  presented 
the  same  sickening  spectacle  as  the  front. 


T^.>R.nLE  STOKV  OF  C.™,3,^.^ 


p.al^d  S!rbltr:?s"o°S  -y-'^e-rf  violence  21 
were  '"fo^ed^hat    hrSLri'^H""-  ,  ^'""'  "'«  b'^Jl^ers 
were  all  present,  and  they  we?e\.fb  ,.°'^'', '"'^--nal  or^ns 
tlie  same  to  be  opened   nV.rW.     ^^'^  whether  thev  deS,.,l 
and  establish  the  ^ause  of  de ;•;;  '°T^°7'«e  ">«  exa'mS 
should  be  left  undone  which  couMf^^"","'^''^'' ''>«' "odW^ff 
point.    It  was  found  thnVf ,»  •  .     ■   '^"''"•5''  Proof  uDon  t!I? 
of  the  abdonK-n,  p  oW^  lttT"T J"""''^''^  'o X  side' 
matron  of  tl,e  stoLch  a1,d  bowds      F  ^  ''T  '•«^«  inW 
last  thrnn;.  eaten  by  deceas^H  •    T?       '^'^"'  showing  that  ih» 
probably  portions  o'l-  cSno.  o"  seal  f  ""^  condition  V-as 
be.,,  reported  by  the  survivors  tim?"  "'"f"-     ^^  ■''  ''ad 
hau  last  fall  sustained  a  rupture  hv  f  ^.'^""^"ant  KislingbuTv 
examination  was  made  of  th  ^  filing  off  an  iceber<v  ",?^ 

no  evidence  whateyer  ,^  -  r    "T".  P°'"""  "f  the  bod;  h? 
dad  occurred.     No    n  Jr-      "    •   "'  ^">"'""-'  of  the  k^l 
found,  and  fl- concluI'riTetlfedt'",, °''  ^"^'w-nds   w"af 
ween  the  ribs  on  the  ri^h  S  of    f   ''="  "'«  °P«^nings  be! 
t  e  knives  of  those  ,vhS  strbped  ll  YT  "'"='''=  caused  by 
km  to  still  the  terrible  crrv hfcfs  nf        ^'"^^'  °f  '"'  "esh  and 
Lieutenant  Kislingburv  had  lied  ofLl""""'-"S'-^^«ed  hunger 
l"s  comrades  hadtaten  his  bodv  fif '''^"^"O"  and  disease  and 
died  before  an,i  after  him      it  exln^-"'  °"'^'-  "''o  i  "d 

rf^S?a35?rs^e^^:-r 

tan]'"-  ^^^  -as  ct      „^:dTo"tr^P'--°"  °f  cS 
of  o'„"vv;i;:/'"  P°'"P-f  "'"iarydispray^'"-};,^  "",'>  .^^ 

J        Sunday,  but  arrangements  toMreffecrcouU 


i 


I 


450 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


not  be  completed.  It  was  the  intention  of  the  grandfather  to 
have  the  exhumation  strictly  quiet,  and,  as  the  newspapers 
had  said  that  the  body  would  be  disinterred  on  Sunday,  he 
postponed  it  until  this  morning. 

So  quieriy  was  the  affair  conducted  that  farmers  within  a 
half-mile  knew  nothing  of  it.  Six  men  opened  the  grave  at 
6.20  A.  M.,  and  at  7.15  the  casket  v;as  carried  from  the  grave 
to  beneath  the  shade  of  a  tree  in  the  cemetery.  The  body 
lay  in  what  is  known  as  the  Whisder  Graveyard.  This  ceme. 
tery  is  a  veritable  country  churchyard.  There  are  but  twelve 
graves  in  it.  Fourteen  persons  besides  the  laborers  who 
opened  the  grave  were  present.  They  were  Dr.  Charles  E. 
Angell,  Dr.  E.  W.  H.  Beck,  W.  F.  Sharer,  W.  Smith,  D.  A. 
Fassett,  L.  G.  Beck,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jefferson  Deil,  William 
Whistler  and  wife.  Christian  Whisder,  and  representatives  of 
the  press. 

It  took  only  ten  minutes  to  loosen  the  fifty-two  bolts  and 
raise  the  lid  of  the  casket.  The  body  was  wrapped  in  cotton 
waste,  around  which  was  a  hemp  cord.  Displacing  these,  a 
blanket  was  found  next  to  the  body.  When  this  blanket  was 
removed  the  ghasdy  sight  of  a  mere  skeleton  was  seen,  there 
was  nothing  of  the  body  left,  save  the  head  and  trunk.  All 
the  flesh  had  been  cut  from  the  limbs.  The  arms,  legs,  and 
shoulders  were  bare  bones. 

Strips  of  flesh  had  also  been  taken  from  the  breast.  The 
left  foot,  which  had  been  frozen,  was  not  touched,  and  the  left 
hand  was  unharmed.  The  face  was  sunken,  but  not  unlike 
the  ordinary  corpse,  and  the  red  hair  and  short  beard  made 
it  easy  for  Whistler's  friends  to  Identify  him.  It  was  particu- 
larly noticeable  that  the  bones  were  picked  entirely  cK^an; 
not  a  vestige  of  flesh  is  left  on  them.  The  back  has  notliino^ 
on  It.  In  fact,  the  only  things  left  of  the  man  are  his  head, 
breast.  Intestines,  and  the  left  hand  and  left  foot. 

The  appearance  would  show  that  an  expert  had  done  the 
cutting  of  the  flesh.  A  thorough  examination  by  the  physi- 
cians "showed  that  the  stomach  was  entirely  empty.  The 
head  and  neck  were  unharm.ed  by  blows.  The  head  was  in- 
cased In  a  knitted  cape,  over  which  was  a  sealskin.  The 
skeleton  hands  wore  mits — a  mitten  covering  half  the  hand. 
When  the  cofiin  was  opened  there  was  a  strong  odor  of  alcO' 
hoi,  but  no  further  very  bad  stench. 

The  physicians  made  no  report,  and  will  not  unless  asked 


XERRIBLE  STORV  OK  CANKIBAUSM. 


)t  unless  asked 


by  the  government  officials     Ti,.  .  '*^' 

merely  a  fleshless  man  pkked  a,?l '^^ '''^f  *«y  <^«n  report 
to  be  varnished.     The  aC  era„dnf "  ^'       '"''  ^"^^  ^"^ 

-o  the  l,orr.le  conditio'lllfe-d^t^tl'S^ 

«;''■''?''*  eaten  of  them."      ^     '  'onirades  than  that  l,e 

Whistler  died  on  May  24th      H- 
^Tk^-  "^  *^^  t'-enty-seven  years 

1  he  bodies  of  Privates  Charles  R    u 
Schneider  were  conveyed  from  r  "''"'■>'  ^"d  Roderick 

■n  Cypress  Hills  Cen^ery  wit^";!^""*  '•  ^'^"',^  ^"'^  S 
services,  winch  -vere  held  in  thl   fP"',P"^te   honors.     The 

conducted  by  Post-ChapFain  EH  c'^r    "a   •"'"  '■"''''"'',  we  e 
by  ueneral  Hancock,  ilis  staff  "nd  ,£°°''"""'  ^"^  "•^"'led 
of  the  deceased.     On  the  coh,,?,  rr  •     ~'"Pan'ons-in-arms 
and  when   the  services  were  o  er   rh'""^-^',';'^^  "^'-^  folded 
"pon  caisson.,  and    escorted  to  the"!?  "^"^^  »^^<=  P^ced 
Arlhur   on  which  they  were    aken    ='^S"''°^'  ^hes  er  A 
Hancock  and  staff  followed  in  steamt  ^T^^y"'     General 
diers  were  transported  on  a  bLr<4         '""'''"'  ^"^  '^e  sol-      • 
The  cortege  landed  at  the  foot  ,;f  A.I     .• 

Band  of  \|,e  mPRT!lZ7TA^T'y  ^-  ^''""^  Artillery- 

.enes;  "rnage  contain^lglhe  Rev  ^7'  ^'-^  ^^^  »^'- 
ca   Duetior  Janevvay;  tht  ca^k^,=  ^oodwm  and  Medi- 

Pnvates  Schneider  and  Henn^'l'L<^°"f '"'"?  the  bodies  of 
by  pall-bearers  on  foot  ■  rVr.  ^'    "  ^"illery  caissons  flankerl 

cock  and  Ferry.  Ad'uan  -G  ■;i:?,[°{^f "''?  '"''^^^^"i^^n. 
resimental  field  ofificers.  "^   Whipple,  and  staff  and 

"a^s^e^^^pt^'raTtTf-m^'^t  on'tf  7"  ^^P'^'  -^  the 
Jjui  dinp-  rni,,-!-  u  nicist  on  the  Citv  HaJi   aa     •  •     . 

aTe"s'h  ^  r^-^  •""-    o     er's •  If  ^^^'^  "-ry  was 
-  Schneider  were  placed  in  ^/^^^l.^^;^^  ^ 


452 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


remained  until  the  arrival  of  his  relatives  from  Germany.  It 
is  alleged  that  both  bodies  were  eaten  by  the  survivors,  but 
the  proof  could  not  be  established  for  the  above  reasons. 

The  remains  of  Sergeant  William  H.  Cross,  of  the  Greely 
Expedition,  were  conveyed  to  Washington,  D.  C,  where  the 
interment  took  place.  A  committee  composed  of  William  J. 
Ferguson,  William  C.  Peake,  John  Jost,  John  Minnis.  and  A. 
Lau?man,  representing  Franklin  Lodge,  No.  2,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  received  the  remains  at  the  Adams  Express  depot, 
Sixth  street  and  Virginia  avenue.  Southwest,  and  escorted 
them  to  Odd  Fellows'  Hall,  Navy  Yard.  The  body  was  en- 
cased in  a  strong  black  casket,  made  of  boiler-iron,  securely 
riveted,  in  which  it  was  placed  at  Governor's  Island.  This 
casket,  with  its  contents,  weighed  seven  hundred  pounds. 
Tiie  lid  was  bolted  on  with  fifty-six  screw  bolts,  which  would 
have  discouraged  any  attempts  to  open  the  casket,  even  if  it 
were  deemed  advisable  to  open  it.  The  Knights  of  Pythias 
committee  received  a  telegram  from  the  Post  Qu?rtermaster 
at  Governor's  Island  telling  them  not  to  open  the  casket  un- 
der any  circumstances.  It  was  intended  to  have  exposed  the 
remains  to  view,  but  it  is  supposed  that  they  were  not  in 
good  condition  to  be  exposed.  The  committee  of  Knights 
of  Pythias  served  as  a  guard  of  honor.  An  American  flag 
partially  coverexl  the  lower  part  of  the  casket.  Near  the 
head  was  a  silver  plate  inscribed  as  follows: 

William  H.  Cross, 

Sergeant  United  States  Army. 

Died  January  18th,  18S4. 

Aged  thirty-nine  years. 

"It  has  always  been  published,"  said  one  of  the  committee, 
"that  he  died  on  the  ist  of  January;  but  :;his  inscription  is 
correct.  He  died  on  the  18th.  He  was  tiie  first  man  to  suc- 
cumb to  the  hardships  of  the  expedition." 

The  remains  of  Sergeant  Joseph  Elison  were  brought  to 
Fottsville,  Pa.,  for  interment.  A  deputation  of  the  Gowen 
Post,  together  with  a  large  concourse  of  people,  were  at  the 
depot  to  receive  them.  The  remains  were  enclosed  in  an 
iron  casket,  heavily  riveted,  and  could  not  be  opened,  so  that 
a  last  inspection  of  the  fomiliar  features  of  the  martyr  of  the 
ice  was  prohibited.     The  remains  were  immediately  taken  to 


f  the  committee, 


TCRRIBLE  STORV  OF  CANNIBALISM.  ... 

the  residence  of  AlmV-  m.-o^         t       , 

Yorkville,  where  a  c  uft'lL*'?"'^^  °^  "'«  deceased,  at 

all  that  is  mortal  of  the  yX  Wo  ,aT!  "'"''''•  =""•  "''e'e 

orcrsoj-n^:/-7ff^ 

Bird  Brigade  Band  ■  ~a' '^^  eZ/p  "  ""P^"--' 
pany  K,  Liijhth  Recrimenf- •  V^      '  "^'^i^"  Regiment;  Com 

tlair,  Mmersville,  Port  Cnrhnn  ,    to',  ^-  ""^  ShenandSah    St 

Post  No.  .3.  G.  A.  R,  Guard  of  h'„''"^"^'I'  "^^^"^  ^""en 
andfnends.  *      ""''  "'^  Ho.nor;  hearse;  relatives 

Tlie  interment  took  olarp  of  .1,     ^ 
tery.  of  which  chi;rch  .he  dcceaL  1  ■"""  '^■•'*°'''<^  Ceme- 

Joseph  Ehson  was  horn  nn   7      "'"'  ^  "'''"'^'"■■ 
Germany  and  to  avoid  beln^  draZ^-'r'''.'^^.  at  Baden. 
Ijis  fatherland,  arrivino-  in  A™,  •"''''  'P'°  '''e  army  he  left 
.868.     In  a  letter  o  his  brother  a1  "  "  ^  '  '^"'  °^  '^^'^^^'v 
ofUdy  Franklin  Ba,'   ^^188'?''^''^''=^'  '^'^  "i'^^  "or,  i' 
l.eal.l.  and  spirits,  and  leaC  the  Uni  .d'!^'''  "'  ^"'  ''"  &°°d 
assurance  that  1  shall  see  its  si  ores  a<iln  '^^l?  "'"'  "'«  f"" 
fnends  to  think  kindly  of  him  he  US  f    ,.  ^^""^  ^''^•"8  '"■' 
surely  think  of  you  in  my  ^Id  aboT     c"  ''^'^^i'"--  "'  ""' 
and  ,ce,  my  heart  shall  beat    an,,  for  ^"'''""""ded  by  snow 
d,«;n,o.eter  register  80  degr::s  belt  L°ro  "''"  ^''°"'<^  "'« 

sJ^:At;^rer:^„fet'x'Atr  F^^---^^  "-^-d 

the  ceremonies  possible  durLZ'.'  ^'^O'land,  with  all 

^'i^f'^"')^    Ever  .one  unitedTn^palllf!'""  °f  '''«  Naval 
.flushed  dead,  whose  Pvnl^i^  •      P*>"?S  ''""or  to  He  distin- 

>hf,  foot  of  man  ever  trod  ,aS  '^n'","^  "'",  '''^'>^^'  '«'•■?« 
roll  of  illustrious  AnnaSans  whole  f/"°'-'^[."^"''=  '°  ">' 
remains  of  Lieutenant  Lockwood  wer.  .  %"  ""f  °"'=-  The 
services,  from  the  chapel  of  Sf  A  ""^^rred,  during  the 
two  o'clock  the  church  bel„;/fi';r"  '°  "'«  <^''"rch."  At  ' 

professors,  and  cadeTs  th«f  at  the  N^"^K  ^'"^  "f^^^^^- 
present  together  with  a  lar!"  conp-reU  ™'r  ^oade.ny  were 
.he  p^l-bearers  were  met  atTlfe  S^  "!  °*^'f^*'"g<^"i=^ens. 
M^-  S.  Southgate.  who  read  ^L ^vt^^^,--  «- 


454 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


proceeded  down  the  main  aisle.  Halting  at  the  chancel,  the 
pall-bearers  deposited  the  remains  on  the  altar  and  the  ser- 
vices were  continued. 

The  pall-bearers  were  Lieutenant  Peck,  W.  D.  Orme,  S. 
W.  Rittenhouse,  W.  Atkinson,  Ensign  R.  B.  Dashiell,  and 
Nevett  Steele.  The  coffin  was  beautifully  decorated  with 
flowers,  in  the  centre  a  crown  and  the  rest  covered  with 
crosses.  Lieutenant  Lockwood's  father,  mother,  and  three 
sisters  and  Admiral  Balch  were  present. 

After  service  was  concluded  at  the  church  the  corpse  was 
removed  to  the  hearse,  and  the  procession  formed  and  pro- 
ceedt.d  down  College  avenue  to  the  Naval  Cemetery,  the  bell 
of  St.  Anne's  tolling  a  solemn  dirge  as  the  cortege  moved 
away  in  the  following  order: 

Music;  firing  party;  chaplain;  pall-bearers;  hearse;  pall- 
bearers; body-bearers;  sailors,  bearing  national  colors  draped; 
cadets ;  officers  and  proicssors ;  the  governor's  guards ;  car- 
riages ;  civilians. 

On  arriving  at  the  Naval  Cemetery  the  remains  were  de- 
posited in  a  grave  between  those  of  Commander  Edward 
Terry  and  Li(tij,te"ant  Collins,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  the 
site  of^which'ls  a  high,  woody  bluff  that  overlooks  the  birth- 
place*and  alma  mater  of  the  young  hero.  The  religious  rites 
end:2d,  the  firing  party  gave  the  martial  spirit  a  soldier's  last 
farewell,  and  Lieutenant  Lockwood  was  left  to  sleep  till  the 
final  reveille. 

Sergeant  Edward  Israel  was  buried  at  his  home,  Kalama- 
zoo, Michigan.  He  was  the  youngest  man  in  the  expedition, 
being  only  twenty-three  years  of  age,  and  the  only  Hebrew  in 
it.     His  friends  came  on  to  receive  the  body. 

Sergeant  David  Ralston  was  sent  to  Howard,  Knox  county, 
Ohio. 

Sergeant  David  Linn  was  buric  1  in  Philadelphia. 

Private  William  A.  Ellis'  remains  were  taken  charge  of  by 
his  mother  for  interment  at  Clyde,  New  York. 

In  the  official  report  of  Edward  H.  Green,  M.  D.,  surgeon 
of  the  steamship  Thetis,  of  the  Greely  relief  squadron,  on  the 
condition  of  the  survivors  of  the  Greely  party  when  found  at 
their  camp  on  Smith's  Sound,  and  their  subsequent  treatment, 
and  as  a  preliminary  to  the  medical  history  of  the  cases  of  the 
wretched  survivors  of  the  expedition,  the  surgeon  gives  a 
resume  of  their  mode  of  life  at  Camp  Clay,  in  order  that  the 


order  that  the 


TERRIBLE   STORY  OF   CANNIBALISM.  '         ^jj 

wet?o3  •'=«-  -PP-ia.e  .he  condition  in  .hid.  .hey 

Lis^arlrBairS  In'let'at'r'th'l^^rd^;^".^^-:;,'' '-^^d  with 
an  ice-floe;  the  record  left-  af  tu^i^ ^^  exposure  clrifun^  on 
all  well.  On  October  ,5  h  £  mo^  T""^  ''".  P^^^  ^°"- 
between  Cape  Sabine  and  Cocked  H,,  ??"",''  '°  ^  P°i"' 
was  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  u,o,,„l  •  '''^"''-  ^  S'^cier 
tl,™,  about  a  mile  distant  '  tJ"°""'^"'»  »"  either  side  of 
loose  rock  and  moss,  the  walls  b^fn^^?.""™^"'^  ^  ^°"'^  of 
The  roofing  consisted  of  old  ca„3  ^^^'^''.'  '"  thickness. 

tl-.8  dimensions  of  the  house  werr^f^'i'^  °'"=*'  *  ^^'■' 
by  4  feet  high,  making  a  cu\rc  I  L^I:" '?"^,  "^^  J  7  feet  wide 

the  twenty-five  members  of  the  parfv  iLd  'i°°S''^''  >"  "'is 
a  cubic  air  allowance  of  ahnnf*^     ^        .  ^"  """'«■■.  havinir 

The  whole  party  could  ba'ei;snu:«e"'fn^'''/';^  ^^^''  "'^" 
two  or  three  beine  obbVeHti  „  ^  ,  '"  ^"'^  ''«  a'  'enwh 
d;e  effect  of  this  di^S^SL' wilfr  ='-Pi"^-C 
Their  hut  was  but  100  vards  r^,!,„  1  r  ,®  ^^"  'a'tr  on. 
sound,  and  ,00  yardTto  the  'rtrof  I^f""  *"  '^-foo' of  the 
lake,fromwhich^heydrew!heh-wa?e  •  "","1'  ^"  ^"ifi'^'al 
ice;  as  f.e  sea-water'stral^ed  IX  ifkf  ttt'  "^"^r  "P 
mg  brackish  water  all  the  while  ^  ™*^''^  ''""''■ 

ac°unfo7hfs:X/'ptSrarf^^^^H^'°°^  » --^•" 
whole  ration  for  each  rn^n  /esfL  "^  ""''  '^"'"'  ™^'  '""  a 
about  forty-six  ounces  o?solidflT^^/'  ^"  '''"'y  ''ation, 
Dr.  Pavy  f  nd  he  advis:d  toother  a'nd  it  w"^  '"V""^  "'^y^' 
luctance  that  they  determined  .nSf  -^  T^^  *"''  ^ome  re- 
make them  last  until  M^rch  Z  "t^  "P  "^^  "■^"'""^  =«  as  to 
time,  so  that  at  the  end  thev  ^ll  ^T"§  f  "'^  '^'°"'  time  to 
plies  left  with  which  to  attenmr^hi  ,  •""  ^r^'^"  ''''>'^'  •'^"P- 
the  straits  were  frozen  ove?    Dr    P?  '°  ^'"'^'on  Island,  Tf 

=orSc:t?t:  :!::.r^^"i^'^^t^  Z 

Bread  and  dog  biscuit "^'^'^  ounces. 

Canned  vegetables  and  rice.'. f? 

Butter  and  Jard  ^'4 

Soup  and  beef  exVract!; '•"  ^'^^        " 

Berries,  pickles,  raisins.  a;;i'n;iik;:;::;:::;';9°   ;; 


45^ 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


The  daily  allowance  for  the  four  months  was  14.88  ounces. 
During  the  winter  the  following  amount  of  game  was  secured, 
which  added  to  their  stores:  two  seals,  yielding  about  120 
pounds  of  meat,  one  bear,  yielding  300  pounds  of  meat,  ei^ht 
ibxes.  four  pounds  each,  and  sixty  dovekies  (uria  brunnichii), 
a  small  bird,  weighing  about  a  pound. 

March  ist  found  the  party  intact,  with  the  exception  of 
Sergeant  Cross,  who  died  in  January  with  well-marked  scor- 
butic symptoms — the  only  case  of  pronounced  scurvy  that 
developed — and  Hans,  their  Esquimau  hunter,  who  was  lost 
in  his  boat  while  hunting  seals,  early  in  February.  The  rest 
of  the  stores  having  been  exhausted,  the  remaining  supplies 
were  divided  up  so  as  to  last  until  May  12th. 

After  the  last  reduction  the  party  began  rapidly  to  weaken 
and  die.  About  the  24th  of  March  the  whole  party  was  over- 
come with  asphyxia,  and  nearly  lost  their  lives,  owing  to  the 
atmosphere  being  surcharged  with  carbonic  acid.  They  had 
lit  their  alcohol  stove  in  the  hut  to  cook  a  meal,  without  pre- 
viously  having  removed  the  rags  from  the  vent-hole  in  the 
roof;  the  remaining  oxygen  of  the  air  was  soon  consumed 
by  the  stove,  and  the  whole  party  were  seized  with  faintness, 
vertigo,  and  dyspnoea.  It  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  they 
struggled  from  their  sleeping-bags,  and  stumbled  and  were 
helped  into  the  open  air,  many  fainting  away  and  dropping 
unconscious  after  reaching  the  opening.  Being  poorly  clad 
for  a  temperature  such  as  prevailed  outside  at  the  time 
( — 46°  F.),  many  were  frostbitten.  The  after  effects  of  this 
mishap  remained  for  a  long  time,  and  weakened  many  of 
them. 

After  May  12th  everything  like  a  regular  ration  was  ex- 
hausted, and  they  struggled  on  as  best  they  could,  catching 
the  shrimps  (which  they  boiled) ;  gathering  reindeer  moss, 
which,  when  boiled,  yields  a  mucilage  similar  to  Iceland  moss, 
and  boiling  up  the  sealskin  linings  of  their  sleeping-bags, 
from  which  a  gelatinous  mass  was  extracted.  They  had  no 
fuel  for  artificial  warmth,  and  barely  r  ifficient  to  allow  for 
melting  the  ice  for  procuring  drinking  water  and  to  cook  a 
meal  every  other  day;  so  that  the  living  temperature  of  the 
hut  for  the  winter  was  f-om  5°  to  10°  Fahr.  They  recognized 
the  fact  that  the  nearer  they  could  approach  a  state  of  hiber- 
nating, the  better  were  their  chances  of  getting  through. 
Only  those  employed  as  cooks  and  hunters  exerted  them- 


s  t4.S8  ounces. 
ne  was  secured, 
ling  about  120 
s  ot  meat,  eioht 
ria  brunnichii), 

e  exception  of 
I!-marked  scor- 
:ed  scurvy  that 
r,  wlio  was  lost 
lary.  The  rest 
laining  supplies 

Dldly  to  weaken 
party  was  over- 
is,  owincr  to  the 
.cid.  They  had 
lal,  without  pre- 
ent-hole  in  the 
soon  consumed 
1  with  faintness, 
St  difficulty  they 
jbled  and  were 
/  and  dropping 
ing  poorly  clad 
le  at  the  time 
r  effects  of  this 
kened  many  of 

ration  was  ex- 
could,  catching 
reindeer  moss, 
to  Iceland  moss, 
*  sleepinor-bags, 
They  had  no 
nt  to  allow  for 
r  and  to  cook  a 
iperature  of  the 
I 'hey  recognized 
1  state  of  hiber- 
etting  through. 
exerted  them' 


'^57) 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

selves  much,  and  they  were  given  a  double  ration.  The  rest 
occupied  their  sleeping-bags,  and  slept  sixteen  to  eighteen 
hours  out  of  the  twenty-four.  In  answer  to  complaints  of 
hunger  Dr.  Pavy's  motto  was,  "  Qui  dort,  dine,"  which  was 
philosophical  without  being  filling. 

There  seemed  to  be  but  litde  acute  suffering  from  the  lack 
of  food.  It  was  only  after  the  introduction  of  food  into  the 
stomach  that  the  craving  became  great.  For  days  they  went 
without  food  without  actual  suffering.  The  deaths  seemed  to 
take  place  finally  from  heart  trouble  (hydrops  pericardii). 
The  feet  and  face  became  oedematous ;  for  a  day  or  so  they 
would  complain  of  pain  over  the  heart;  have  a  spasm  of  pain 
over  the  praecordia ;  a  slight  general  convulsion,  and  all  would 
be  over.  Their  chief  suffering  during  the  winter  was  from 
constipation. 

Tliere  were  but  seven  out  of  the  twenty-five  found  alive. 
These  were  A.  W.  Greely,  First  Lieutenant,  U.  S.  A. ;  Henry 
Biederbeck,  Hospital  Steward ;  D.  Brainard,  Sergeant,  U.  S. 
A. ;  Morris  Connell,  Private,  U.  S.  A. ;  Joseph  Elison,  Ser- 
geant, U.  S.  A. :  Julius  Fredericks,  Sergeant,  U.  S.  A. ; 
Francis  Long,  Sergeant,  U.  S.  A.  The  first  four  mentioned 
were  taken  on  board  the  flagship  Thetii  and  placed  under 
my  care,  and  with  them  this  paper  will  principally  be  con- 
cerned. 

June  22d,  II  p.  M.,  A.  W.  Greely,  Lieutenant,  U.  S.  A.,  at. 
40.  Disease,  asthenia.  On  admission  he  fainted  after  beincj 
carried  below  in  the  wardroom,  and  vomited ;  administered 
ammoniac  spts.  aromat.  6  c.  c.  (100  minims),  renewed  in  ten 
minutes ;  placed  him  in  a  berth,  gave  a  teaspoonful  of  raw, 
fresh  beef,  minced;  clothes  were  carefully  cut  off  of  him  and 
heavy  red  flannels,  previously  warmed,  substituted.  His 
body  emitted  a  sickly,  offensive  odor ;  emaciated  to  a  degree. 
The  skin  hanging  from  his  limbs  in  flaps;  face,  handstand 
scalp  blackened  with  a  thick  crust  of  soot  and  dirt  (having 
not  washed  or  changed  his  clothing  for  ten  months). 

In  an  interview  at  Portsmouth  Lieutenant  Greely  said,  as 
to  the  reports  of  divisions  in  the  expedition :  "  In  regard  to 
the  story  of  two  factions,  with  Lieutenant  Kislingbury  in 
charge  of  the  opposition,  I  will  say  that  that  rumor  is  totally 
false,  having  no  foundation  whatever.  The  trouble  between 
Kislingbury  and  myself  occurred  in  1881,  the  first  year  of  the 
expedition.     He  desired  to  be  relieved  from  duty  and  I  not 


TERRIBLE  STORY  OF  CANNIBALISM.  4, 

L  he  desired  Po  r:.;;;":  1^ .  c^Sjlited'^rerT"''"" 
southward,  but  the   Proteus  wa^   «;..nL.        pf  tes.     He  went 

duty.     I  treated  him  as  tou^h  „',"''  ^?^'T  '^^"''"^d  ^o 
recently,  when  Lockwood  d^ed^     "  vt  k1i  n  1  ^"^ 

place  in  the  expedition  "  ^       Kislingbury  the  second 

body'^'-lsktr  r^p^oA^r'  ""=  "■''"''°"  of  Kislingbury's 

la,:'  Sot  ;«^"„T:erribIe°ct':':  "•'"^-  '°  ■^--  ^H  these 
awful  suddenness.  1  can  ,  uthfid^f '  T'*  ,T°"  "'"  ""'' 
more  mental  an«uish  Se  as  'fete';f,V,^^-7.="?i«-'^ 
sojourn  n  the  North,  when  the  chantes  we?e  a  ilV'^'"^ 
oneacramst  me.     I  can   but  repeat  t^mT?l  '''■'^''  '° 

cannibalism,  and  there  now  seemf  tn  h,  i^'^  *"'     ^^y 

the  man-eatin<r  was  done  in /.!..  j      "°  ''""•"  about  it, 

knowledge  an=d  cont"; '  o'r^nisdplin^"''",'^  "'"'°"'  "'y 
stronger  denial.  I  have  demanded  :^„"  •  ''*"  8'^<-"  "° 
will  come  in  time,  but  I  can  snv  „1,k"  '"''«'«»"<>"  and  it 
already  stated.  Al  my  paoers  3  Tv"^,  """^  "'=>"  '  ''^ve 
woods  diary, and,  InT/crilery  scrap  of  ^?''"'y^*>^y•  '-°^'^- 

expedition  are  in  charc^  of  [L  w^--  n. '''•  ^  ^""^ '°  "'" 
ington.    The  crew  of  the  Tl,-.,L  Department  at  Wash- 

.helast  man  deaZsch  '^de^'w  Vrot'muLl'"!,'-'"  "^^  "' 
and  the  act  that  we  kept  Efeon  ahte  in  i 't,  '"i'"^  "'*>'• 
we  were  in  ourfit  to  convince  LmK^^i.i.  ^  liopeless  state 
bals.    Since  my  re°urn  from  Newh^  "''"  '""  ""'  "°'  ^^nni- 

n-en  has  called'^.pon  me.     The^  c"me-iS°,",  "7''  T  °^  ""^ 
me  emphatically  ihat  thev  kne^JnlT?      \''°''>'' '""'  ^"ured 
of  the  bodies  of  their  falfo,l°"TS  ^''°;"  "'<=  ^ndition 
swore  that  he  was  innocem      p^f^''*^'  ^nd  each  solemnly 
fed  upon  the  bodfes  of  those  who  ,i- ^f  , '^""^  *''°  "^'^d  last 
^"PPosition.     I  can  but  I'ntwert  tse^'^'n^d ''  f'"'  ="'  "'i^  '^ 
to  the  party.     For  days  and  weeks     lav  n°„         u  "i^  "''^'"'^ 
to  move.     If  in  my  enfeebled  rnnHV'^    "  ""^  back  unable 
"'en  fed  upon  huLn  flesh  it  wLk"  °"f  °'  "'°'^  °^  '"y 
-rtainly  beyond  my  know ledee      I  kT""^,,  '"^  ~"'™1  ^nd 
criticised  for  not  tele<rranMnl  il       ''"°«' «''«£  I  have  been 
Henry  as  soon  a       Sd  a?  t /!'■  °l  '^'  '^°°''"S  °f 
member  that  I  was  in  a  wretched  co-LhI- ''  ^"/J°."  ""='  ■•=- 
'  was  in  a  quandary  whThSt ^ T^ ^^1^70^; 


460 


ARCTIC    EXPL0RATI0K3. 


murder,  as  Henry  was  shot  on  my  own  responsibility  and  not 
by  the  order  of  a  regular  court-martial." 

The  sickeninnr  horrors  that  cluster  about  Greely's  little 
party  of  wretched  cannibals  have  not  yet  half  been  told.  The 
acknowledged  shooting  of  Henry,  the  finding  of  the  oody  of 
Lieutenant  Kislingbury  stripped  of  flesh,  the  burying  of  a 
wooden  image  and  a  few  bones  under  the  name  of  Private 
Henry,  the  mysterious,  persistent  reticence  of  the  officers- 
all  these  point  to  revelations  yet  to  come.  When  the  official 
inquiry  is  instituted  it  is  claimed  that  the  present  known 
horrible  facts  will  sink  into  insignificance  by  the  side  of  the 
te.-rible,  ghoul-like  stories  that  wil!  be  wrung  from  unwiliin? 
witnesj;e'w.  ° 

After  the  throng  of  curious  visitors  had  left  the  Arctic  fleet 
at  Brooklyn  the  junior  officer  became  more  communicative. 
As  the  n^ilight  settled  down  he  grew  pliilosophical  and  fell 
to  moraliiin,;^  on  the  awful  stories  the  survivors  had  burdened 
him  with  He  sepmed  aching  to  share  his  secret  with  some 
one,  and  with  litde  urging  told  what  he  knew  of  the  fate  of 
the  four  men  that  were  washed  away.  There  was  no  one  on 
deck,  and  the  monotonous  lapping  of  the  water  against  the 
dark  sides  of  the  vessel  was  the  only  accompaniment  to  the 
gruesome  story  whispered  by  the  officer: 

"  Poor  D -.  Pavy !  I  cannot  rid  myself  of  his  image,"  began 
the  young  sailor,  bringing  his  chair  still  closer.  "^He  is  get- 
ting to  be  a  nightmare  with  me,  and  if  he  tomes  to  me  in  sudi 
a  manner  how  must  it  be  with  those  mad  wretches  who  fell 
upon  him  and  devoured  hini  ?  You  may  think  the  shooting 
of  Henry  was  sad  enough,  but  infinitely  more  pathf^tic  was 
the  death  of  this  poor  fellow.  To  lie  there  on  his  couch  and 
see  the  hungry  e/es  of  his  stronger  comrades  gloaiing  over 
Jiis  wasted  form  and  praying  for  his  death  W3s  enough  to 
drive  a  well  man  mad.  And  so  it  drove  this  poor  sick  doctor 
to  his  death.  He  died  by  his  own  hand  that  the  starving 
'ievil.q  about  him  might  have  one  more  meal. 

•The  very  day  ti;at  Henry  was  condemned  to  die  S.irgeon 
Pavy  took  his  own  life.  The  despairing  litde  company  had 
split  up  into  two  factions,  both  clamoring  for  the  death  of 
some  one  that  the  others  might  live.  With  all  his  strength 
of  .:han;.':ter  Lieutenant  Greely  vi^as  forced  to  yield  to  the  de- 
mands of  these  mad  wretches,  and  with  heavy  heart  issued 
the  order   that  took   Henry  from  his  living  comrades  and 


..      -■*■ 


onsibllity  and  not 


TERRIBLE    STORY   OF  CANNIBALISM.  ^g, 

placed  his  Hesh  at  the  merrv  of  tu^  ,     , 

Ls  before  had  call^d^.l  ?b°^,t,'"TI  "''?  ''"'  ^  '■'^"-  '^'"- 
body  of  the  dead  man  and  Un,  7  '^  '^."'°"  ^°'>^-  the 

yard  on  the  hill.  Thev  had  m?  r  f  ^'■''  °''^', "  '"  ""■  J-'rave- 
meant  to  guard  wi  ,  iaious  wa.  °r  l'"""^  '".^^^  ^"'1  "'<=/ 
dinin..roo,S.  The  otI,er  fa"  ion^oln  hv  H  "''""  S'^'-y'^'^^ 
out  even  a  handful  of  shrimn?  Ti  7  ''""  ^."^^  ^'^'''^  «"l'- 
on  the  hill  contained  a  corpse'^andwMy'  "7  "'*=  ^''^^^yard 

aying  couch  they  .^us^iS^^^t^-^r^:!^.^:^^; 


""*"'"'=■'"'=''«"■'' THE  A»CT,CR.C,o»s 


ill.?  each  breath  and  honino-  tU,,  i  •    j      , 
delayed.    The  mute  ap?  a? of  fi  ot\''?;'l  '"'"'"  "«  be  Ion? 
ingforan  early  death  was  too    u  chtr'  • '"^'y/>'''^'  P'^^^' 
despainnjj  effort  he  rushed  down   o, I,        '"''  """.^  "''^  ^  '^^t 
"pHead.    Almost  before  the°earfh^^    sea  and  was  picked 
the  corpse  was  cold,  those  mad  m!„     T't*^  '°  ^''''  b'^fore 
rushed  upon  the  body  and  with  T" ~'^m  '^^^  '""^'^  m^''- 
Aiffinto  the  warm  fle.sl,     Thev  strinn  Tl^"''  ?''^^"'  I""'''" 
and  skin  from  off  the  hnn„  ^i  -^   PP^""  '°"R  ''"'•eds  of  flesh 
«h  the  life  tha.t^";,,^°ron:     :  ^^j^'- ™',-'T  n-iverel 
^oryds  tiiey  carried  "to  the  h>'fl^  fi      ^^'=f':  .^^nasti\  drippinp. 

*ech„„.sofmeattur„eit^:i!,«;:re;l,l^,^'y;™ 


462 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


— and  with  a  weary  sigh  th^  officer  dived  down  into  hk 
cabin. 

The  records  show  that  the  body  of  Surgeon  Pavy  was 
"  washed  away."  He  died  on  June  6th.  Three  days  before 
Seaman  Coop  died,  on  June  12th,  Sergeant  Gardiner  was 
missed  and  four  days  later  Private  Bender  is  recorded  as 
dead.  All  these  bodies  were  reported  "  washed  away  by  the 
sea."  The  fact  that  these  men  died  within  convenient  market 
days  of  each  other  and  the  reported  finding  of  a  headless 
trunk  other  than  that  of  Henry  explain-  too  clearly  the  awful 
meaning  hidden  in  the  mysterious  explanation,  "washed 
away." 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  of  August  14th  when  the  news 
from  Rochester  reached  the  Arctic  fleet.  Commander  Schley, 
with  Lieutenants  Emory  and  Colville,  were  enjoying  them- 
selves at  a  reception  given  by  Commodore  Fillebrowne ;  and 
the  Thetis,  the  Bear,  and  Alert  were  left  in  charge  of  junior 
officers.  The  decks  were  alive  with  gayly  dressed  yountr 
ladies,  gossiping  and  flirting  with  the  handsome  officers.  The* 
shrill  treble  of  their  laughter  echoed  from  the  quarterded, 
and  from  the  comfortable  cabin  below  came  the  joyous  sounds 
of  convivial  merry-making.  The  forecasde  was  equally  given 
over  to  jollification,  and  the  bronzed  sailors  vied  with  each 
other  in  making  their  quarters  attractive  to  the  ladies.  The 
vessels  looked  more  like  pleasure-boats  than  heavy  Arctic 
ships. 

In  a  moment  all  this  was  changed.  The  awful  story  of  the 
eaten  body  spread  through  the  crowd  like  a  flash.  The 
laughter  grew  silent,  the  sounds  of  merriment  in  the  cabin 
died  away.  The  officers  turned  from  their  fair  companions  to 
listen  to  the  tale,  and  the  sailor's  jaw  dropped  over  the  half- 
told  story.  There  was  no  need  for  further  concealment. 
The  worst  was  known,  and  the  officers  felt  at  greater  liberty 
to  talk.  The  visitors  spoke  in  whispers,  and  touched  with 
reverent  awe  the  relics  of  the  Arctic  heroes.  They  felt  in. 
stinctively  that  it  would  be  a  profanation  to  remain  any  longer, 
so  one  by  one  they  stepped  silently  over  the  vessel's  side. 

Under  the  awning  on  the  quarter-deck  the  junior  oftcer 
told  in  low  tones  the  story  of  the  eating  of  the  bodies  as  it 
had  been  told  him.     He  was  indignant  that  the  facts  had  not 


" VI   tw  iii^uiviui   iiiL^  iv-?r;^ttiiu;icsr>  iuUKCU  up  in  liic 


i-?^..  ^_  r  I 


pV-i  HULL'- 

archives  of  the  War  Department,  but  now  that  all  was  known, 


own  into  his 


on,   "washed 


TEKmB^   STORV  OF  CANN.BAUSM. 

fie  held  that  the  survivors  wpr..    u    , 

b«.ught^hemLdve3   eo  Ted  r  '=''°'=«, '^ese  wretched  men 
"Can  yp"  imagine a„;Si„':torno"a.w''  ''^=^•  "  ''=  ^^^^d. 
selves  than  their  first  desctnTupon    I  e^' '°  "'"  "^  "'«■"■ 
but  a  few  hours  before  been  XTr  Iv^o^'^'P?"' ^'"'='>  ^ad 
Do  you  belreve  for  a  nioment  thaf  M  J  ^  ^'  J°r'"S^  brothers  > 
seating  food  ?    It  was  easier  "f'.f''^)' 'o^ed  this  flabby,  naul 
brother's  flesh,  but  theirdut/°o  teir  co  '°,  "?  "P""^'^^ 
dying,  and,  hlce  noble  men,  tlfey  Iceot  th.  f"'i*T  ^"'^^'^'^  "'«''• 
alive  at  tlie  cost  of  everytl  inp-  butTfc  •,    u^'^  ^P^'^  °f  life 
for.t.    It'stiieveryacmeof^heroisf  "^'^^    M'°"°'-  "«-" 
of  Arctic  suffering  have  been  written  ^nH^""  *"  "'^  ^f°ri« 
lieroism  sung,  above  them  all  Xl   1„H  i^  '°ngs  of  Arctic 
men  who  ate  their  comrades  thLf  ,i  •"',^  '■^™'"<^  "f  these 

.i.e  world  the  fruits  of  the?r  three  vTarT'V'^^/°  ^^^ '» 
could  but  hear  the  survivors  t^ll  ,!f  J  •  ^  '°''-  And  if  yoi, 
awful  sufi-ering  that  era  irtheir  mndf; '"^'^  ''■;"?«■•• ''f 'he 
them  for  this  last  sad  step  "^^'  >°"  "OfW  not  blame 

."Here,  on   this  verv  soof    ,,„.     r   . 

tl-rough  all  one  night\elC  7  ,  °^/'^  survivor,  held  us 
taste  of  human  flesh.  He  vfl- Id  ■'''^'  '^"  '^"'  °f  ^h  first 
orget  it,  but,  he  said,  that  fir!  1,^^11,^'"  '"^"^  ^'^  "fe  ^° 
between  ii,s  teeth  the  flesh  «f  „  sensation  of  havino- 

fr.nd  was  with  him  afwayt     wS,:;"  I ''  >^^?  °"-  '- 
to  feel  his  lips  pressing  the  smoo      £hK  "'''^P'""' ''«  se«n,ed 
hoked  down  somehoTv  if  he  wm  u  r    ^  T^'  "'=>'  "'"st  be 
■«man,  savage  way  of  get  in"?  ^  p?]    ^"f  "'en  the  in- 
ooci  must  cut  off  his  ow^n  shred,  of  S'  \f  ^^  "P°"  ^"ch 
be  fomul  to  perform  this  horr  ble  nffi     '    u°  '^^'^"d  ~»ld 
>'ouW  eat,  nnist  of  necessity  bet  s  ofn'T  ,f  ^"'•>'  "='"■  '^  he 
miibalistic  orgies,  these  inidniilu  ^.I"  ,''"'^'"='--     And  these 
1  ttle  beaten  patji,  worn  smoorh   h  ,  '  ,"'*"''=  '^^ret.     The 

"■wretches' tent,  told     ^vn':  r™  "«  S-«veyard  ad 
•l>at  tent  shut  his  eyes  and  refused    ^'  S^''^'^'  ^'"'^li^^r  in 

»s  stopped  of  flesh,  but  none  of  H.^'''' ,  '^"^^  ^f"^''  body 
path  dared  speak  of  this.  No  man  a,?' ."'"'  ''""^  "'="  ''ttle 
too  common  sii;ht  of  a  starv^n,^  k^'^  ^  question  at  the 

™yfire  at  "midnight,  :ar',^;,"1,rh^f';/-eping. up  to  the 

n.  n;;::r  rv  ""^  '"^o  the  Wame  on  the  .nVi^r:  !l'.'':"i  "^«.^». 


no  one  of  Jiis  coinp: 


nions 


the  end  of  a  pointed  stick 


says  a  word.     And  wJie 


n  tearing' 


464 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


the  smoking  flesh  with  his  teeth  he  lies  down,  and  another  of 
the  uould-be  sleepers  rises  up  and  goes  silently  down  that 
mysterious  path,  knife  in  hand,  it  is  easy  to  guess  his  horrid 
purpose. 

"And  the  after-effects  of  these  ghastly  feasts  were  as  awful 
as  the  descent  upon  the  mangled  corpses.  The  mere  thought 
of  what  they  had  eaten  brought  on  nausea,  and  in  their  weak 
state  tlie  stomach  refused  to  retain  this  human  flesh.  Is  it 
wonderful  that  these  men  will  carry  that  sensation  of  chewing 
human  flesh  forever?  *I  hope  and  pray  I  may  forget  it  when 
I  die,'  was  the  only  prayer  that  the  wretched  cannibal  could 
truly  pray,  it  was  his  heaven  of  heavens  to  forget  that  awful, 
sickening  taste." 

And  so  the  officer  went  on  telling  in  his  own  way  all  lie 
had  heard. 

Commander  Schley  paced  the  deck  and  communed  with 
himself.  '•  If  you  only  knew  my  position  you  would  not  ask 
me  to  say  a  word,"  he  said,  in  a  kindly,  sorrowing  voice. 
"  My  only  duty  is'  to  the  government.  I  have  convictions, 
strong  convictions  on  this  subject,  but  I  have  no  rigiit  to  say 
a  word  now.  I  wish  I  had.  At  the  proper  time  my  lips  may 
be  opened,  but  now  I  dare  not  open  them." 

If  the  stories  of  the  sailors  can  be  believed,  not  a  sinq;le 
body  from  the  north  in  the  metallic  coffins  but  woukl  reveal 
traces  of  the  knives  of  their  living  companions.  The  locality 
in  which  the  men  lived  was  thought  to  be  enough  to  prove 
the  worst  fears  true.  Shrimp  could  not  be  caught,  and  the 
obtaining  of  game  was  almost  out  of  the  question.  Their 
camp  scene  had  been  the  same,  the  sailors  thought,  as  hun- 
dreds of  others  they  had  heard  of,  and  the  stories  they  told 
did  not  seem  to  be  the  flotsam  and  jetsam  of  the  forecastle. 
That  some  of  the  living  had  to  die  for  their  companions'  sake 
had  been  a  foregone  conclusion,  and  when  the  ill-fated  Henry 
was  shot,  it  is  urged,  it  was  not  so  much  for  a  breach  of  mili- 
tary discipline  as  to  fill  men's  stomachs. 

The  sailors  laughed  when  spoken  to  of  Henry's  body. 
They  had  never  seen  his  body  or  heard  of  it.  They  had  seen 
and  heard  of  a  little  pile  of  bones,  which  were  as  clean  as 
turkey's  legs  at  a  poor  man's  Christmas  dinner.  The  bones 
had  been  laid  out  on  a  board  on  the  snow,  and  the  parts  were 
placed  in  what  seemed  to  be  the  relative  positions.  Upon 
them  were  seen  the  indentations  of  sheath-knives,  and  long 


TERRIBLE   STORY  OF  CANNIBALISM. 


aone  at  Cape  Sabine:^^ 7™™ fhetethXt  t  '"^^'^  "^ 
who  fel  upon  him  before  the  blood  had  \Lu^  I  7'"^  ""«" 
the  body  was  buried,  and  the  dav,  1       5"  ,'^''>'-    Then 
more  futile  attempts  Were  made  ,t^\  Pu".  ''''*  ^ga'".  and 
less,  and  the  different  frozen  fm'?«f^^  '''""'P-     "  ™'  "^e- 
grave  of  Henry  prove™  tfianfolh"'  """"^  '^e  unmarked 
made  of  the  body.    Xa^and  ,     -^^  °"^  "«^al  had  been 
back  into  its  .V^offi„ro„Vl,?rs"m7'^^"2"Pa"d  P"" 
put  into  an  ice-box.     Hence  it  was  th^.     if*'™.*"  ''^^f '"s 
taken  up  for  the  last  rime  Ssh  whU      ""t"  ""=  ^Y  ^as 
a  climate  nor  been  devoured  bv  wndL"^'"]^''  '"""^'^  '"  '"^h 

The  grave-yard  of  the  starvrn  J  K,  ^' u*'"'  "^^^  g°"«- 
room,  as  one  of  the  Thet s'^mfn      "^  ^'^T^  *«'■•  dining, 
they  went  regularly     Thar  HI??     ^"P-^^^^d  ".and  thithir 
that  the  rough  han£  of  the  saHo  '"wV  ?T^  ""=  ""aware 
in  the  voyale  across    he  icyt.s    *'      ''*''  '°j'".''  ^°  ^ard 
away  the  flesh  of  their  dead  If^'      •      «"Saged  in  tearing 
Lieutenant  Greely,  by  his  positioS'T'  ''  P'^^^^^V  '™e^ 
was,  perhaps,  out  of  respect  S  t  *?     '  "''"'^'  ^^--a^er, 
l>ah-stic  life  the  men  wereleadin^'C  ^i'""^""^  °^  *^  "^anni- 
hme  perhaps,  and   yet  when  s?ch  ?     ^^  "-'r'  ^--all  the 
before  one  of  the  Tl/eris's  men  he  smile7''°,^""°"  ^''  'aid 
He  spoke  soon,  and  asked  if  h^lf,.  hT       ^"'^  •""•"«'•  away, 
had  given  up  all  hope  of  ever  see.W  ,h  "•  'T''"^  ™«n,  who 
would  make  a  difference  in  menTnZw  .   ^^1f'■  °"^'  again, 
where  on  the  face  of  tlie  earth  hid  Z      u'^^  ^^''°"-    No- 
mum-sticcityas  the embryrhamle,, "nir m'™.  '"'^  a  com- 
liave  lived  the  same        ^  ' '"  ""^  ^orth,  and  all  must 

tl^"^'^°''ifr%'^^^^^^^^  -ore  truly  than 

by  the  sea  at  Cape  Sabine  Th^T  Z  l^'  "  "'a^  pitched 
the  sea  line  and  the  o?hTr  ferther  i„7'",  ^i  'T  ^"'''-""^  at 
bodies  were  first  buried      Kve  bodi"  '-^  '"^  ''°"  *" 

had  been  buried  here.  The  sea  rnt'  *«  ^'"'"ander  said, 
away  half  the  fort,  and  pecuhrriv  h  "H^r^'^y  ^"^  "ashed 
b-ned  the  five  dead  sc ,.  C  prom  l|, '''''^  '"7'"''^'^  «'«'•« 
the  sea  one  of  the  sa  Inrl  ,  '''^  =<=<=°"d  fort  up  to 

'rack  in  the  snot    iTwa    T^reaV'^H  "'^"  ™'  ^  >>-'«" 

haan    f 1    .  -  »»a.3    d    Clear    Snri    pv^n    rt«.n.  J    • 

t-^.v.n  furmea  by  the  na«;«Jnrv  «•«       j  T        ;   ^  one,  and  iiad 

-  «-"-,/couicrKr:vr„  teo„^-s 


^66 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


I 


li 

fll  I 
B' 

I  ^^ 
ll 


was  the  fort  erected?"  was  unconsciously  asked,  and  the  sail, 
ors  fell  back  as  though  to  answer  would  be  to  lift  the  veil 
from  a  dark  and  horrible  story.  But  there  was  no  gainsaying 
the  fact  that  the  men  believed  that  here  in  the  beginning  one 
or  two  of  the  survivors  had  stolen  out  at  night  to  this  fort 
and,  'vith  their  sheath-knives,  mangled  the  bodies  and  fed 
where  Commander  Greely  could  not  see  them,  and  the  only 
witnesses  to  their  horrible  banquets  the  white  fields  of  snow 
and  ice.  Hunger  made  them  bolder,  the  sailors  argued,  and 
Lieutenant  Greely,  growing  weaker,  did  not  ask  where  the 
men  were  going  who  stole  out  to  the  fort  by  the  sea. 

Horrible  as  this  story  may  appear,  there  are  facts  even 
more  terrible  locked  up  in  the  frozen  sea,  and  only  whisper- 
ings of  them  could  be  obtained  from  the  sailors.  Even  the 
flesh  of  the  dead  men  became  comparatively  scarce,  and  as 
the  chances  of  escape  grew  darker  there  were  divisions  and 
subdivisions  of  the  bodies,  and  that  human  flesh  was  stolen 
just  as  Henry  had  stolen  the  bacon  there  can  be  little  doubt. 
One  of  the  sailors  said  that  down  by  the  camp  pieces  of  flesh 
had  been  turned  up  from  the  snow  in  out-of-the-way  places, 
giving  the  idea  that  when  the  men  went  to  the  fort  to  eat, 
some  of  them  had  stolen  pieces  of  the  flesh  and  buried  them 
by  the  camp  to  feast  on  when  the  last  of  the  supplies  would 
be  gone.  Such  things  had  happened  before  among  the 
whalers,  and  men  were  on  a  level  when  their  stomachs  were 
empty.  One  of  the  sailors,  who  had  turned  up  human  flesh 
from  the  sno  v,  remarked  it  to  an  officef,  who  said :  "  Pshaw, 
those  are  rations,  and,  of  course,  they  kept  them  fresh  in  the 
snow,"  as  though  the  meat  would  putrefy  where  thermome- 
ters were  ornaments.  The  word  cannibalism  was  never  meri' 
tioned  by  the  officers  on  the  homeward  trip,  although  it  was 
well  known  that  it  was  under  discussion  in  the  forecastle. 
The  fate  .of  Henry  was  kept  secret.  Flags  were  wrapped 
above  his  coffin,  although  the  greater  part  of  his  remains 
were  in  the  sea  or  had  gone  to  nourish  the  survivors,  and  the 
flags  waved  over  a  few  bones  and  pieces  of  wood  and  cloth 
made  in  the  shape  of  a  man. 

Until  the  death  of  Surgeon  Pavy,  of  the  Greely  party,  which 
occurred  on  June  6th,  three  weeks  before  rescue  came,  the 
flesh  cut  from  most  of  the  dead  bodies  for  use  by  the  sur- 
vivors as  food  and  bait  was  removed  bv  a  hand  skilled  in  dis- 
section.    A  (ew  of  the  bodies  had  the  fleshy  portions  cut 


^KIBLE   STORV  OF  CANNIBALISM.  '     ^,. 

away  entire..    But  with  th.»  n,o-    •       , 
well  done  that  a  casual  obse^ve^r'' w?.  u'  ^"'".'^  ^^^  ^^^^  so 
without  further  evidence,  of  wh'chZ^^^^^  not  have  suspected 
that  the  survivors  had  b^en  m^ucedTo   ^^^P'?^y.  however, 
for  a  long:  time  been  subsisting  nnV.  °  ^S""''^^J'«ni.  and  had 
thejr  dead  comrades.     I^s  „"!  /"""'P^"^  «"  the  bodies  of 
of  Dr   Pavy,  with  those  oV  ^^oX-^''/?  '^'  ^^^^ 
should  be  reported  as  washed  aLvwv^u^'^^  after  him, 
the  scalpel  could  not  be  used      nif         u''  ^^^  ""'"^^o"  ^one 
eft  with  litde  mark  of  the  'terrfe.'^,'  bodies^had  been 
death  the  survivors  were  for  JhT  !?  ^^°''''  ^""e-     After  his 
denude  them  of  fleshTn  a  wa'  thatTf^ \'-^'^  ^^'^  -"^ 

So  these  unfortunates  were  reported  af  ^"'  ^°"^«- 

and  washed  away,  and  to  the  Hst  was  ad J^T?^  '"  ^"  ''^'^^^ 
who  died   on   June    td    s^n^  c  ^"^^^  Corporal  Sailor 

April  9th.  ^  ^^'  ^"^   Sergeant   Rice,  who  died   on' 

On  most  of  the  bodf^Q  -.«  ;     •  • 
de  downward  below  the  ribs      Th^  ""^1  '"1"^"  ^'°'"  'he  clavi- 
along  under  the  skin  and  rf,;  fl,        ^""'P'''  *^^  'hen  passed 
eW.erside.     The  «"  h  wlf Lrt^re^n  ^'if'^ '^'''  back  on 
sk.n  was  pulled  back  i„  place  TudTh/i  """  "'^  "''=•  ">e 
joraed  so  that  there  was  no  extern»^      ?f '  ""^'"'^  ^^--^fu'ly 
ghastly  work  but  a  dark  line     The  thf\,''"'^'="'^^  '^f'  ^^  'he 
fame  manner,  the  skin  beinff  reol3    T'^  ^'^""^  '"  'he     ' 
bones.    The  legs  were  striZj  to^h.    'u  "^  •"'^  "^^hless 
arms  to  the  wrists.     The  handrfc^,  'he  ankle-joints,  and  the 
ated.    This  was  a  work  requW^r  kill      T  ^''^  "°'  ""■''■ 
a  long  and  careful  operation     §n„'  *"'^  !""='  have  been 
the  surgeon  could  so  skllfiiK?'     '^°  °"«  '"  the  party  exceot 
Wy  an'd  leave  the  sk  n  taeV'T'  1 1'^  '"™"'  ^  '3 
has  not  been  explained  but  it  w.?     'I'^tr*""'^' his  death 
Wth  him  gone,  and  every  davhe       P™''^'''y  by  the  knife 
«re  unbearable,  the  cautio7^^3?  Pt,"S;s  °f  ^""ff^^  ?™>"ng 

«eo  human  flesh  however  ri.Ivco^'''-*"'^  "''^  '""ivorf 
In  the  last  days  before,  rlir^      "'''  '^^^"^st  secure  it 

All  sense  of  honor  and  of  fedfn„  LJ^  k  "fS^'^"  'hat  ruled. 
feant  Long  who  first  saw  the  sjlm  I  '""  i°"-  "  "«  Ser- 
ke  snow  and  ice  from  thrdisL '  "^^V"'^'''  ""''  ^h'd  down 
'»gP?rty.  His  face  and  K„5'f.^='S"»'  '°  S-'eet  the  rescu- 
» wck  which  he  had  recemlv  shot'",''  'J'l"^'?''/'''*'  '''°°d  from 
"-'a'ed  that  he  s.,;^ ^:^^^^;^^  ^^^^        , 


468 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


bird  before  sliding  down  the  snow.  He  was  the  strongest  of 
the  party,  and,  despite  the  frightful  gale,  was  able  to  walk  to 
the  launch.  Sergeant  Fredericks  also  had  considerable 
strength  left,  and  clambered  on  board  the  Thetis  almost  un- 
aided. After  so  many  months  in  the  desolate  Arctic  regions, 
after  so  much  suffering,  and  passing  through  such  scenes  of 
horror,  it  was  seldom  that  the  men  stood  upright.  They 
crawled  about  on  their  hands  and  knees  over  the  rocks  and 
ice,  and  when  Sergeant  Brainard  was  undressed  on  board  the 
Thetis  his  knees  were  found  calloused  to  a  thickness  of  over 
half  an  inch.  In  the  midst  of  such  horrors  it  was  wondered 
by  the  rescuing  party  how  Greely  and  his  few  companions 
kept  their  reason.  About  the  camp  were  scattered  bones  of 
the  dead,  and  dissected  and  mutilated  bodies  were  half  ex- 
posed in  the  litde  burial  plot  back  of  the  tent.  It  was  a  scene 
at  which  the  rescuers  shuddered  as  they  looked  and  the  truth 
stood  revealed. 

The  bodies  of  those  who  died   natural   deaths  were  not 
mutilated  where  death  had  been  caused  by  disease.     As  to 
how  many  died  of  scurvy  accounts  differ.    Commander  Schley 
reported  seventeen  as  having  died  from  starvation.   Sergeant 
Cross,  the  first  of  the  exploring  party  to  die,  passed  away 
last  New  Year's  day,  according  to  Commander  Schley's  re- 
port.     He  did   not  die  of  starvation,  but  from  the  use  of 
liquor.     He  would  drink  anything  that  had  a. suspicion  of 
alcohol  about  it,  even  paint.     This  love  for  liquor  was  so 
strong  among  some  of  the  sailors  of  the  relief  party  that  the 
carpenter,  using  a  litde  alcohol  with  which  to  mix  shellac, 
was  obliged  to  guard  it  as  a  miser  hides  away  his  money. 
Sergeant  Connell,  one  of  the  rescued,  says  that  Cross  died 
of  scurvy  on  January  i8th.     At  St.  John's  it  was  reported 
that  one  of  the  two  men  lost  on  April  9th  died  of  scurvy. 
With  several  dead  of  scurvy  and  Henry  shot,  all  did  not  die 
of  starvadon.     Instead,  it  is  feared  that  others  met  death  as 
Henry  did.     It  is  known  that  court-mardals  were  of  frequent 
occurrence  in  the  Greely  camp.     Dr.  Pavy  was  on  trial  no 
less  than  three  times.     There  were  dissensions  among  the 
men,  and  as  their  condition  grew  more  desperate  these  in- 
creased.    Until  weakened   in  body  and  mind   by  privation 
each  did  all  he  could  for  the  others.      But  at  the  last  the 
struggle  for  life  became  single.     It  was  each  man  for  hiir 
self. 


■reRRIBLE   STORY  OF  CANNIBALISM.  45^ 

ing  for  repetition.  At  the  g' j^  -m  '"''^  ^'^  '°°  ^^^°J'- 
in  as  bad  a  condition  as  t  is  doss  L  ^n^  '^^'-'''  ^^f"  ^^""^ 
terment  of  the  remains  of  Li^uteni^^  Vm^^'k"'  P^  ^•^^"- 
only  what  could  be  re^^eale^  bvT  ^'^^'^^^bury  has  shown 
other  iron  coffins.  Where  onlv.nil?  ^^^  u"^  °^  ^"^  ^^  ^^^^ 
attempt  was  made  to  putThem  Ll.T'*''^  ^°"''.  ^"'"^  ^^^^  "« 
marked  Private  Henry  ^  ^'''^P'  '"  ''^^  "^^^^^ 

thfl^th'oTi&L^t:;;^  -T'.-^  one  of 

at  Cape  Sabine,  returned  to  hirhoSeTn^^^^^^^  h-  starvation 
who  called  on  him  was  shown  i^  7  ,  ^°:  ^^^  ^"^er, 
skin  for  stealing  whTcrprivreH^r^  °^  the  identical  seal- 

like  a  pretty  touahmoLrforfoi^u''^  ''^'  '^''''  ''  ^°°^« 
nothing  else.     The  ^air  had  .n  K  '  ''^^"ST  simply  leather  and 

Samples  of  Arctic  wHlow  1  1  '",  ^°''^^  ""'  '^'^P^^  o^"- 
which  tea  was  made  wLlo'  ''^^''  '"A"^  ^'•^'^'  ^^^  ^^ 
likewise  ^eindeermos;  and  Ik^  ^^  Mr.  Taylor; 

of  walrus  from  Saunders'  Island  rL.  ^^'^  '^,^.^'-  ^  ^"^^ 
the  most  northerly  settlement  of  h"''u'^  ^""  ^  ^'^'^  to 
piece  of  brown  buntinl  ^ce  ed  anT"  ^'"!P-  ^  ^^^^^ 
white  is  preserved  al  TreUr  If  i-  ^"^  '^'^^  ^^^  ^"^6 
northerly  venture  bein^  nar?  If  ?f  V^"'^"^"'  Lockwood's 
few  hours.  Another  flf/rehcf.  ^-  ^"^  ?^\"'"^  'h^'"^  ''^^  ^ 
tress  flown  at  Camp  ofv  fou;' 7T  ^^r^^"  signal  of  dis- 
model  of  a  "  kvak^  or  F<f;.  •  ^^  ^'""P^  ^^P^  Sabine.     A 

for  its  beauty'of 'constfuc^Z'"  a'TII'"  P"^f^  ^^^^  ^^^^ly 
skein  of  woollen  varn  wer.  1  a  r  ""  '"?y^  ^^"^^^^  ^^^  a 
souvenirs.  ^    "  "^^"^  "^^'"^^  ^^"^  ^l^e  Greely  camp  as 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  Greely  Records — His  Official  Report  Sent  In-  -Views  of  Prominent  Officers  and  Scien- 
tists Kegarding  the  Greely  Expedition — Dr.  Emil  Bessells,  General  Bennet,  Mr.  George 
Kcenan,  Lieutenant  Danenhower  and  Nindemann  Denying  Sensational  Reports— The 
Condition  of  Greely's  Men  when  Found — An  Unofficial  Report  of  Lieutenant  Gieely— 
Some  Blame  for  Greely — Sergeant  Brainard — In  Defence  of  Lieutenant  Greely— The 
Relief  of  Greely — Report  of  Commander  Schley  of  the  Expedition — Just  in  Time— Des- 
perate Situation  of  the  Party  on  Arrival  of  the  Relief  Ships — Terrible  Suffering  and 
Death — The  Condition  of  the  Camp — Six  Bodies  had  been  Cut  and  the  Fleshy  Parts  Re- 
moved to  a  greater  or  less  Extent — General  Hazen  on  Garlington's  Failure — Congres. 
sional  Investigation  Suggested. 

The  records  and  relics  of  the  Greely  Arctic  expedition, 
which  were   brought  to  New  York  by  the  relief  party  and 
there  turned  over  to  the  authorities  at  Governor's  Island,  a 
few  days  later  were  brought  to  Washington  and  delivere.-^  to 
the  chief  signal  officer.     The  latter  directed  Lieutenant  Ray, 
of  the  signal  service,  the  officer  who  commanded  the  Point 
Barrow  expedition,  to  take  charge  of  them.     They  will  be 
used  by  Lieutenant  Greely  in  making  his  report  of  the  expe- 
dition, and  by  the  chief  signal  officer  in  making  his  report  to 
the  secretary  of  war.     The  collection  includes  all  the  records 
of  the  scientific  work  and  discoveries  of  the  Greely  party, 
their  instruments  and  the  private  papers  and  diaries  of  mem- 
bers.    General  Hazen  says  that  when   the  expedition  was 
fitted  out  every  member  was  supplied  with  blank  books  in 
which  to  keep  his  personal   record  of  tlie  events  of  his  stay 
in  the  Arctic  regions.     It  was  the  understanding  that  these 
records  were  to  be  their  personal  property,  and  were  not  to 
be  subject  to  the  supervision  of  Lieutenant  Greely  or  any 
one  else.     Seventeen  of  them  are  now  in  the  custody  of  Lieu- 
tenant Ray.    Their  contents  will  be  considered  as  confidential 
between  the  government  and  the  writers,  and  while  portions 
of  them  will  be  used,  as  it  was  intended  they  should  be  when 
provision  was  made  for  their  compilation,  in  making  up  the 
history  of  the  expedition,  nothing  that  they  contain  will  be 

(470) 


CONCLUSION. 


471 


made  public  until  Lieutenant  Greely's  reoort  of  tU. 

tiori  has  been  made.  ^     report  ol  the  expedi. 

The  report  of  Lieutenant  Greelv  was  sen^  in  k    u-     j 
ing  the  latter  part  of  Seotemh^rl  T  -n  ?    '"  ^^  ^""  <^"''- 
the  report  of  the  Ch  ef  S  Offl  "     r  "  ^"  ffbHshed  with 

Dr  Bessells  rhl^.f  ^f  .u^     ■  ^^J"""^'  General  Hazen. 
Ln.  ucbseiis,  cniel  of  the  scient  fir  ct-aff  «f  *u    r>  1     • 

being  asked  by  a  reporter  soon  .f      l^^  "^^  }^^,  Polaris,  upon 
in,J.ee.  w  J  He  ^Z^^  t^:!:^^'^ {^^^^^ 

"As  to  the  real  scientific  work  nf  fi,„  .        ii- 
know  very  little,  bi,t  GrldvnrnLu^  exped.hon,  we  as  yet 
tions,  and  made  al    the  observat^nn^  followed  his  instric 

national  Conference  held  afhLXrrA^"'r„t ''.ffte'r- 

83  deg.  24min.  north^ettin^.K^  .  r '■''"^'■'^,'"'=^'''^'' '^'ti^de 
Inlhesi  point  reacl"d  fy  S^n  Ml^rkL""  f  "^''^''^  ""= 
expedition  under  Sir  Geo^r^rCs^'n'M^;  f,  %F"S^^^ 
liighest  point  reached  by  the  Internationa  1  <;,  I-  ^A=  ^''.^ 
apparently  an  island,  which  they  have  na°ned  f  S.7r"°'^'"' '' 
Lockwood.  'From  an  elevation  of  .^'le'^'h^J"'^""' 
land  to  the  north,  which  Droves  fh=i-  ^•°°° ,'«'='  'hey  saw  no 
not  extend  beyond  the  ei^Mv  fo.mh  ^'^^?"^,^"J  =;«ually  does 
myself  several  years  Loon'^;^''''""'^''  ="'  '  ^^"^  Proved 

ti/al  wave  obseS^  ThftHaTwafe"  fot  '^  "f  ^  °' 
coast  of  Greenland  Das«e«  =|L    v  ;  '°"ow"ig  the  east 

ters  Robeson  ChannerAnofcf  I'V^^''"  ^"^'''  ^"^  en- 
is  the  fact  that  the  exDeditfon  .?,?  '  of  Ceographical  interest 
the  west  coast  of  GrinneH  La?J°'^'  •''^'  ".^"'"'"y  lighted 

from  the  farthest  poin  ""ached  hvl™"?'"^  '''T',""  ^"«  ^""'h 
1876."  ^        reached  by  Lieutenant  Aldrich  in  May, 

4::,  ?;/p:;1,''„;fS''J  to  the  despatches,  and,  with 
sketched  the  hitherto  ,mk„„  ^  P°'"'^  "'^'""^'^  'o,  and 
Land.  Lake  Hazen  Ru^^lesRi^'^w  ^'^''  "^  Grant 
Conger  Mountains  and  fitnt  Arthur  hT^'-?'  ^'"'"^^  "'« 
discovered  and  newly  named  nbctr  ,■  "?"*•  ^^"^  "''"'y 
said:  "  That  makes  GranTLnH  ?'  '^°"""'""?.  Dr.  Bessells 
Grinnell  Land  bylni!S^lTtVr.'r!!w%^^°'!"'''^'^^''^ 
with  the  northernmost  coaTt  of tL^'*  '^"'''^.  "  connected 
of  geographical  value  ,'tt?^l'!.ll°""".«"'-     Another  point 

a^out  the  western   e«e,;sro;Tf^H?,eTO-hfr?„': 


472 


ARCTIC   EXPLOKATIONS. 


creases  the  distance  of  the  latter  from  its  mouth  by  twenty 
miles.  When  the  Polaris  expedition,  after  havinjTf  been  ship, 
wrecked,  wintered  near  Etah,  an  Esquimau  settlement,  they 
were  informed  by  the  natives  that  Hayes'  Sound  was  not 
landlocked,  but  that  it  connected  with  the  Western  Sea,  thus 
making  Grinnell  Land  an  island.  The  English  expedition, 
under  Sir  George  Nares,  judging  from  the  sluggishness  of 
the  tide,  considered  it  a  bay  of  no  great  extent. 

"Greely  seems  to  have  brought  his  instruments  and  records 
all  away  with  him.  If  we  consider  how  difiicult  it  is  to  cany 
heavy  instruments  like  a  magnetometer,  etc.,  Lieutenant 
Greely  can  scarcely  receive  too  much  praise.  The  value  of 
his  records  of  observations  would  not  have  been  as  great  if  the 
instruments  with  which  the  observations  were  made  had  not 
been  brought  back  for  comparison  with  the  standard  instru- 
ments keot  here." 

Dr.  Bessells  critinsed  with  some  severity  the  judgment 
of  Geiieral  Hazen  in  the  organization  of  the  relief  expedi- 
tions. The  first,  he  said,  was  placed  in  command  of  an  in- 
temperate man,  and  the  second  was  under  the  control  of  a 
cavalry  officer,  who  had  never  had  any  nautical  experience 
and  whose  orders  were  very  vague.  It  would  probably  turn 
out,  Dr.  Bessells  said,  that  Greely  had  provisions  enough  to 
last  another  year  at  Lady  Franklin  Bay.  With  respect  to 
Commander  Schley's  report  of  the  condition  of  the  ice  in 
Smith's  Sound,  Dr.  Bessells  said  it  was  yet  too  early  to  form 
an  opinion  as  to  what  the  season  would  be.  The  ice  never 
breaks  up  so  early,  and  it  would  be  folly  to  attempt  to  pass 
north  before  the  middle  of  August. 

General  Bennet,  Chief  of  the  Ordnance  Bureau,  who  was 
president  of  the  court  of  inquiry  which  investigated  the  failure 
of  the  Proteus  expedition,  was  asked  '^  the  failure  to  estab- 
lish a  station  at  Littleton  Island  had  anvthinrj  to  do  with  the 
loss  of  so  many  of  Greely's  party. 

"  I  am  afraid  it  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  it,"  was  the 
reply.  "  Lieutenant  Greely  confidently  expected  to  find  suc- 
cor at  Littleton  Island.  He  abandoned  his  station  at  Lady 
Franklin  Bay  early  in  August  and  proceeded  southward.  He 
wi.sj  so  confident  of  finding  supplies  farther  south,  that  he 
<^^iti  act  use  all  those  which  had  been  cached  on  his  way  down. 
vjpcn  reaching  Cape  Sabine  he  found  only  the  stores  which 
tlie  Proteus  cached,  250  rations,  and 


the 


11 

binaii 


a  in  cunt  leu 


CONCLUSION. 

h,s  boats.     Why  that  wat  don"  we  do  itl ''"  ="'^S''°-<1 
for  nearly  a  niontli  on  an  iJVu       i  ?  ,  °.'  '*"°»'.     He  was 
Cape  Sabine,  where  te  made  I  «  A  *    '''  ''"'■"=''  •"■■"  ^ack  to 
but  few  Stores  to  subsi  t 'on  but'^rt'w!;"^T  '^P'     "'^  ''^d 
do     Littleton  Island  is  in  a  southeal.M  It-'""  ^'^'"  ''e  <^°"W 
Sabine,  only  about  twentyffite  m^      1^''""'="'°"  '"■•'""  Cape 
reach  it  because  the  cha^CrLTten      ^f"!'    ^""=1  ?°""  "« 
uiider  the  circumstances  he  wouldTv^  if  ^  *"•■"'  '«=^''  •''W« 
he  was,  because  onlv  jco  ration!  ,  ^''"  *°''se  off  than 

.88..  But  supposed  smtonTadT'"  '^"^ If  '^>'  '^^'^''eln 
tun  and  men  I'eft  there  with  p  ovisions"  ,^"f  "^''f''  ="  Little- 
as  Greely  expected  would  be'^^^aoe  'jh."  f  f '  "='escopes, 
have  been  saved.  Greelv  vvnV.U?  '  ^  "'''°'<^  Pa"y  miSht 
Sabine,  as  he  probablyldTn  vain'^If'-f '"^''  f™"'  4" 
seen,  as  they  probably  would  have  Ln.'"  P^^V '>="!  been 
Island  would  have  made  an  effort  and  'n  kT?"  ="  ^"""on 
one.o^cross  over  and  -cue'^KorS^-"-^-; 

a.tv?Kr  in^°L^:^,"f '-.  ^^^  '^-  ->-  ^as  take„ 
party,  and  who  went  before 'he  Ar^r^r  IV'^'"'^  freely" 
to  urge  the  offering  of  such  a  rlJ    7^""^  ^^"^  '^st  spriL 
cooperation  of  the^hller  in  d.etlM"'  """'f^  '''"'■^  "'? 
porter  what  he  thought  of  rhVn    '■'=='™''.  was  asked  by  a  re- 
He  replied :  "  It  is  a%tory  of  remrrVal?"^^.  ^1°"'  St.  ]ohZ 
ment  in  the  field,  clouded^y  dTsaste   h  !  ^    •    "°"'  ^'^'"'^'^- 
Washington.      If  Lieutenant  Gredv  1  ^  '°.'"<^°"'Petence  in 
eturned  ,„  safety  to  the  United  sI.        *"?  P^"y  ^^'^  ^11 
done  had  they  been  properly  suodo^L'  ?.  ^''7  ""'g'"'  ^ave 
'n  point  of  skilful  mana,rement  anTf      '  ""="■  Arctic  record, 
unparalleled.     No  othe?X«ie  e"  pe^hr"r°"'<^ ''^^"^  been' 
consecutive  winters  and  nart  of  ?fl  •  j  ?"  ''^^^ve.-  spent  two 

and  achieved  such  resuufw  thout  al'"  ,?*  ''«'' '="it"des 
01  serious  s  ckness      If  i  .  "^"°"^  ^  casualty  or  a  sino-Ie  ra^^ 

™outh  of  Smith"1oundfeheT-  ^T/'''''^  found  at  the 
"St  to  expect  there,  he  wouMnrn?'lf°°.''  ^^'"^  ^'^  had  a 
e/.t.re  party  back  to  the  UnTted  S,^,  "^  ^^'"'  brought  his 
hree  winters  in  the  highest  northtnl ' "  P.""'^'"  ''"^''^'  ^""ter 
been  reached,  and  aftefa"'"!  „?",'. 'f'l^'''^  that  have  ever 

- -dness  and  skilful  exe;«.^Vharrlr:^l^er;^^^^^^^^^^ 


474 


ARrilC   EXPLORATIONS. 


"  Could  the  disaster  which  befell  his  party  have  been  averted 
with  the  knowledge  available  at  the  time  the  relief  expedi- 
tions were  fitted  out  ?  " 

"  Unquestionably ;  and  that  is  the  pity  of  it.  It  doubles  the 
grief  which  must  be  felt  in  the  face  of  such  a  terrible  catas- 
trophe to  think  that  two  ships  on  successive  years,  and  prob- 
ably a  third,  were  in  a  position  to  land  stores  which  would 
have  saved  the  lives  of  those  eighteen  dead  men.  Beebe,  in 
1882,  anchored  in  Payer  Harbor,  just  north  of  Cape  Sabine, 
with  a  ship  full  of  stores.  Garlirgton,  the  next  summer, 
anchored  in  the  same  place,  also  with  a  ship  full  of  stores, 
and  a  few  days  later  the  Yantic,  with  four  months'  provisions 
on  board,  was  only  thirty  miles  away.  Any  one  of  these 
three  ships  might  have  landed  stores  enough,  exactly  where 
Greely  afterward  made  his  winter  camp,  to  have  carried  that 
brave  party  through  ;  but  their  commanding  officers  were  not 
ordered  to  do  so,  and  they  did  not  think  of  it." 

"  Were  Greely's  movements  those  which  it  was  anticipated 
he  would  make  ?  " 

"  They  were  precisely  such  as  I  anticipated.  It  was  thought 
at  the  Signal  Office  that  he  would  remain  at  his  station  until 
September  ist;  but  as  I  pointed  out  in  a  letter  to  the  New 
York  Herald  on  the  17th  of  last  September,  if  he  remained 
until  September  ist  he  could  not  get  away  at  all  that  year,  on 
account  of  the  impracticability  of  sledging  operations  along 
that  coast  in  the  fall.  I  therefore  thought  he  would  abandon 
his  station  in  July  or  August,  1883,  and  come  down  to  the 
mouth  of  Smith's  Sound  in  boats,  as  he  was,  in  fact,  doing  at 
the  veiy  time  my  letter  was  written.  It  was  of  course  a  ter- 
rible shock  and  disappointment  to  him  when  he  failed  to  find 
the  shelter  and  food  which  he  expected,  but  the  party  seems 
to  have  faced  the  terrors  of  an  Arctic  winter,  without  shelter, 
fire,  or  adequate  food,  in  a  most  heroic  manner,  and  to  have 
held  out  to  the  last  with  unflinching  courage  and  extraordinary 
tenacity.  If  a  few  hundred  more  rations  could  have  been 
saved  from  the  wreck  of  the  Prof-ers  they  would  have  carried 
tht  whole  party  through.  All  but  one  of  the  dead  perished 
last  spring  after  the  4th  of  April." 

"If  Lieutenant  Garlington  had  landed  stores  jn  his  way 
north  at  Littleton  Island,  in  accordance  with  what  v.-ere  kn'^wn 
as  his  '  supplementary  instructions,'  would  such  stores  have 
been  of  any  use  to  Lieutenant  Greely?  " 


CONCLUSION. 


475 


by  Dr.  Hoadley^  Mr  Mir?fam  JS  ^^,/«P^"^*y  pointed  out 
the  example  o[tbeharlTtT^^"r  °^^"^-  ^"^  ^=  'hewn  by 
of  the  sound-the  coast  thlfcrl'?"'  """'  "'^  ""^='^™  '=°^^' 

the  opposite  coast,  Xl/hf^^tr'^-r  ItTrT' 
caches  made  by  the  British  pv,^«5.v  r  i^^^^"-  "  »s  to  the 
coast  that  the^e:  surwf:  'Kna'n't'  on  the  western 
mainly  owe  their  lives  "  lieutenant  Greely  s  party 

^  ••  Hovv  hnportant  a;e  the  discoveries  made  by  Lieutenant 

of  Sr-da^s^  i^C'rtlr  tzf^:ts:Tt'  ^'^y  - 

ever  attained  Tn  anv  Dart  of  ^^'^m  u  '\^  '''s'"^^'  '«it"de 
tended  the  limits  of  the  NwA  T''^:^"'  ^^  ''^=  S'^'^^tly  ex- 
and  Grinnell  Land  an  A/     ?^P'°™"°"s  both  in  Greenland 
Nares'  paltoc^sric Tee   and*""tr  I  '"'^"^  ^J"'"  '°  Captain 
founded  upon  it.^  The  fact  that  tlfT"'',  ?'"'''  "«=  '^'^r 
were  stoppled  by  opi:  t  eH    the  polar' h,''>  -^'edge  parties 
were  at  times  adrift  in  stron "  curr^n  f  Y'u' l"'^  '*'"  ''°"' 
carry  them  helplessly  away  nfrdiward  „      u    ■'''•'=«<="'=d  'o 
that  the  polar  basin  is  not  the  soVm       '    f""'"".  ^'"""  '°  ^^ow 
ice  which  Nares  described  and     ^^  f^?  °f  ='"cient,  immovable 

navigable.-     Li^utenat  G^eelv's  SorL'^'^^^  "f  '"<=^^^ 

three  degrees  of  latitude  an7n.ff/^"°"/  «^t™ded  over 
tude.     He  has  virtuillvL      .  "^ariy  forty  degrees  of  longi- 

nell  Land,  htrcrsTj'LTea^tToV  "  '"d'  °""r  °'  ^-■ 
coast  of  Greenland  ha^a-r^n!  '°  "  ''  ^""^  °"  *«  northern 
degrees  of  longitude  befond  T  f^l''  "^  '"''""''=  ^"^  ten 
Captain  Nares'  accomnH^M^  ^"^^^^  P°'"'  '''^^ched  by 
Beaumont.     These  aSnlf'"*?'"^  °^'"-  Lieutenant 

credit  upon  Lieu  enaGreT  and  hU  ''"'"k*^  '"S'^^^' 
must,  of  course  be  added  fh.^  '  ""="  ■   l""  'o  them 

edge  gathered  by  the  Darti''d„?r\T'''  °^  ^'=''^""«'=  '<"°wl. 
Franklin  Bay,  the  records^  of  't?  u'^t"'  '*°  X^^rs  at  Udy 
saved.    When  ZJZ.1°1'^^!'^  V^e  fortunately  been 

in  order,  they  w¥"be7r;ndrt"second  in''"  '""^'^'^  ^"''  P"' 
furn.shed  by  the  circle  of  interl  o^ol    sS  nT"  '°  '"^ 


476 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


-'I 

J 
ft  I 


H'H 


|l 


Lieutenant  Danenhower,  U.  S.  N ,  of  the  Jeannette  expe 
dition,  who  is  now  doing  duty  on  the  Minnesota,  said,  con- 
cerning the  relief  of  the  Greely  party,  that  the  Thetis  relief 
party  was  the  best  equipped  thc»t  was  ever  sent  to  the  north- 
ern latitudes.  He  was  asked  whether  there  could  not  be  a 
cause  for  regret  that  such  a  well-prepared  fleet  had  not 
pushed  its  way  farther  north  after  having  accomplished  its 
object 

"No,"  answered  Lieutenant  Danenhower,  "That  expe- 
dition started  out  with  definite  instructions,  and  it  could  do 
no  more  than  carry  them  out.  I  know  that  Commander 
Schley  went  up  there  with  the  single  object  of  finding  the 
jreely  party  and  returning  after  having  done  so.  If  personal 
ambition  had  ruled  his  movements  there  is  no  telling  what  he 
might  have  done.  But  he  acted  conscientiously,  expeditiously, 
energetically,  and  skilfully,  and  we  have  the  great  result.  He 
might  have  pushed  his  way  through  Smith  Sound  as  he  did 
through  Melville  Bay.  Smith  Sound  is  the  most  treacherous 
part  of  the  Polar  Ocean.  But  Mr.  Schley's  caution,  prudence, 
and  admirable  discretion  made  him  successful  in  his  under- 
taking." 

Referring  to  the  hardships  the  Greely  party  must  have 
undergone,  Lieutenant  Danenhower  said:  "Their  journey 
over  the  ice  from  Fort  Conger  to  Cape  Sabine  must  have 
been  terrible.  The  distance,  if  I  remember  righdy,  was  250 
miles.  At  Cape  Sabine  Greely  probably  found  the  records 
of  Lieutenant  Garlington.  The  explorers  must  have  seen 
the  relief  ship  in  the  offing,  and  crawled  as  best  they  could 
out  on  the  ice  to  meet  her,  for  the  despatch  says  that  they 
were  picked  up  about  five  miles  out  from  the  cape.  It  is  re- 
markable that  an  Esquimau  should  have  been  the  second  man 
to  die.  And  another  Esquimau  died  among  the  first— on 
April  24th.  This  would  seem  to  show  that  the  white  man 
can  outlive  even  the  Esquimaux  under  such  circumstances; 
although,  perhaps,  those  poor  fellows  overworked  themselves 
as  did  Alexei  of  the  DeLong  party.  Speaking  of  the  strength 
of  men,  Lieutenant  Greely  was  considered  a  delicate  man,  and 
most  people  believed  that  he  would  give  out  under  hardships. 
We  now  see  that  he  did  not.  His  wife  always  expressed 
confidence  in  his  physical  and  mental  capacity,  and  during  all 
this  suspense  had  borne  herself  in  a  dignified  and  sensible 


manner. 


CONCLUSION. 


477 


Lieutenant  Danenhower  spoke  of  a  couole  of  fh^  l^c* 
whom  he  knew     He  said  that  Sergeant  Edward   srad  of  th" 
Signal  Corps,  the  astronomer  r^f  fu^      ^^wdru  israei,  ot  the 

esteemed  il  his  hoTl7K°\i±oTZ  T  ^"^  '?«'''y 
looked  upon  by  his  fellow-"  wnsm^as  a  man  of  "h  '"?  "f 
things  were  expected.  Mr.  DanTnTower  sarisl^'sTidoifed 
mother  last  wmter,  when  she  had  about  given  up  hooe  of 
see  ng  her  son  agam.  Of  Second  Lieutenant  Frederick  W 
Kishngbury,  Lieutenant  Danenhower  said  ?hat  he  had  r}!' 
dered  important  service  durino-  the  war  a«  TIT  .  1 

wa.s  afterward  appointed  to  thi  reUar  armv      1^"  •^''V^"'^ 

lait;     s^Jj^lXLoca^7"h^^''  ■  "  •"  ^"'P'^"'^' 
time  it  would  have  reached  C.r.r#K-       r^^^f  ^?''^  ^^  ^^at 
darkness  of  the  polar  nio-ht^  "  won.  tnrough  the  bay  in  the 

would  r'ea  ;f  rj'^o::7r::iA?zr'^^  '^"^' 

*,pHvations%-?-^:liSs'^rerita%t^^^^^^^^^ 

cau';esTf  G?eeV:  mlr''  "Td   ^^'\'  ^^   '°   *<=  P^-^e 
opinion,"  he  replie™  "that  CrtT°'  "^''''^'^  '°  ^''P^'^^^  *« 

hal  it  n'^t'-be^nVor^EV.hfcort:^'^,::",  "Z'^^^-'  "V!^ 
gress  decided  that  Gretly  wIXo  hi-lTtp."   '■■"'''°"''  ^""^ 


478 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


As  to  the  benefits  of  Greely's  search  and  polar  expeditions 
generally,  the  explorer  said :  "  No  doubt  Greely  has  a  series 
of  valuable  observations,  as  such,  but  it  is  not  at  all  certain 
that  deductions  of  great  value  will  he  made  from  them.  As 
far  as  I  can  see  from  study  and  experience,  nothing  of  great 
value  has  been  obtained  from  meteorological  observations  in 
the  polar  regions,  and  notiiing  is  likely  to  be.  I  think  there 
are  much  better  fields  for  exploration  and  scientific  work. 
The  statement  is  made  by  scientists  that  the  most  favorable 
stations  for  meteorological  observations  are  in  the  polar  and 
equatorial  regions — the  extremes.  The  last  Congress  pro- 
posed to  establish  eleven  stations  within  the  Arctic  circle,  but 
I  have  heard  of  no  station  near  the  Equator.  The  world — 
possibly  excepting  the  Germans — is  tired  of  polar  expeditions, 
anyhow.  I  believe  that  they  should  cease  until  some  special 
means  of  locomotion,  such  as  air-machines,  are  devised. 
That  may  sound  strangely,  but  I  say  it  seriously.  They  are 
of  no  use  as  weather  stations,  because  they  cannot  take  a 
long  enough  series  of  observations  and  cannot  be  sufficiently 
numerous." 

One  of  the  most  delighted  men  about  the  Navy  Yard  was 
Quartermaster  Nindemann,  of  the  Jeannette  expedition.  He 
was  at  work  in  the  rigging  loft  of  the  yard  when  approached, 
and  opened  a  conversation  on  the  Greely  trip.  It  was  a  topic 
on  which  the  man  had  talked  so  much  that  he  at  once  started 
off  on  an  interesting  discussion  of  the  subject.  When  asked 
whether  in  his  opinion  the  Greely  party  would  be  found  he  at 
once  said :  "  Yes.  I  feel  confident  that  some  of  them  will  be 
found  alive.  They  may  be  on  their  way  drifting  southward, 
perhaps  in  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  and  it  would  not  have  been 
impossible  for  them  to  drift  to  Litdeton  Island."  Nindemann 
who  has  seen  so  much  service  in  the  Arctic  region  gave  an  in- 
teresting account  of  various  hardships  through  which  he  and 
others  had  passed,  while  floating  along  on  the  ice.  He  was 
trying  to  show  how  it  was  possible  for  the  Greely  party  to  get 
along  on  the  ice,  for  he  had  not  yet  been  informed  of  the  re- 
ceipt of  news  about  the  rescue.     He  said  : 

"When  the  survivors  of  the  Polaris  expedition  were  picked 
up  in  the  ice  in  April,  1873,  I  was  one  of  them.  We  had 
drifted  196  days.  It  stands  to  reason  that  the  Greely  boys, 
who  were  better  supplied  than  we,  ought  to  stand  as  good  a 
chance  at  least.     We  had  a  tough  time  of  it.     Nineteen  of  us 


CONCLUSION. 


479 


per  man.  an^d  VZ' "^s^'' C^fy^^ltC' Z^' '"' 
think  .he  GrLly  parity  w^  c'ole  o"  XS""'''°'"-     O"'  ' 

case,  and  that  the  despatch  f^msf  Lk°"^",.°P'"'°"  °f  'h* 
of  a  certain  number  ofle  paZ  J°''?  '  ^S"''' °f  *«  --^cue 
in  doubt,  half  fearing  that  there  was  h^,f°°'^  """^  '°°'^<=d  half 
ill-considered  joke  ■  and  hin  ?.^  u  ''"  .^'^'^"'Pt  at  a  very 
bearer  of  real/y  true  •:ttLT'hTs  td'h^s  halT  Th=  '" 

?rthaf  rCdX  fcaZv^'"'';^?'  •^eirL7k''s:d' 

say  I  am  surprLd  for  Thave  h^  7'',  ^^"J'  *'*  "  ?  I  <^an't 
have  shake„\,e  an  ,p  I  had  ?t  ^°^!f^  ^°'  K^"'^  ^^^  y°" 
It's  mighty  good  news  "^or  ome  fllk^bft  Tt\  I'''"'''? 
fellows  who  have  dropped  ou^  Th.  '  m,  u  """''  °^  "'^  P^O"- 
a  long  waiting  for  theirttends  "  "  ^^  ^  ''"^  «"*"^  '° 

at  the  Dime  Museum  a  Clevdind  OW^  ^  for  some  days 
grams  from  Washington  statrn^that  =.^  -'  """S  '''°"'"  '^'^- 
seen  the  diaries  of  the  exned^on  ^™yoffi«r,  who  had 

found  were  in  two  oarties  "Tni  i  '  j'T.  "'^  survivors  when 
other  by  Long,  iTwursepa^atdva^f"''  ''I  ^rainard  and  the 
speak  to  onelnothel-  Zt  r Zf'  '"°  '"'?^"'  ^"<^  --efosing  to 
months,  and  the  party'  headed  hJV  '".'"™"''  *<^  1^^' ^^ 
a  child;  that  theVa^in^  of  1 /o ^. I'"''''' '^'"'^'^ '■°'- ^  ""<« 
that  hunters  sent  ou    for  bird,  '  f  5°"?"°"  P''^^'^  : 

selves.  "^  '"'^''^  concealed  them  for  them- 

e^'al^ranTfn'sT  tha'Te^^''  ^°"^'  ^"^  ^--"  '^eny 
say  that  while  five  s  f  t  in  the  wn^lt',  ^T  "°'  divided,  but 
slept  together  underThe  flv  r,r  Tl  '  Bramard  and  Long 

was  notlarge  enough  or  aH^    S.       '™' because  the  interio? 

tenant  Greelywalkfd  out  Lrydra";Sd™"';1  ''''  ^ieu- 
petent  to  command  the  partv  whf.A    J^7f  ""*=  ='"''  <^°m- 

AII  agree  that  nobod/eSpT  Henrv  u"*  '^^"Sho.t. 
r-pot.  ui  me  same  army  officer  savs   thot-   r"   '•    ^  j^^^>"^^^ 
fo.nd  was  much  stronger'than  the  Telt ; 'l^"t  ^^ L'e  ^Z 


480  ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

aboard  great  surprise  was  expressed  at  it ;  that  when  asked 
why  such  was  the  case  he  said :  "  Oh,  I  could  eat  the  stuff  and 
digest  it,  but  the  others  couldn't ; "  that  when  some  one  of  the 
rescuing  party  remarked  upon  the  absence  of  Dr.  Pavy's 
body  and  expressed  wonder  as  to  what  became  of  it,  Brainard 
said:  "  He  is  all  gone.  I  finished  the  last  of  him  just  before 
you  arrived." 

This  report  being  shown  Brainard,  he  said  :  "  I  don't  know 
who  the  army  officer  is,  but  whoever  he  may  be  he  is  a  slan- 
derer. I  was  not  the  strongest  of  the  party,  and,  moreover, 
I  was  not  on  the  Bear,  but  came  home  on  the  Thetis.  Tiie 
story  is  a  lie  out  of  whole  cloth."  Sergeant  Long  and  Pri- 
vate Connell  corroborated  this  denial. 

Commander  Schley,  when  asked  about  the  condition  of  the 
Greely  party  when  found,  said: 

"  I  am  very  glad  indeed  to  be  here.  Our  voyage  was  quite 
a  sailing  away  from  the  joyous,  sunny,  pleasant  world  that  we 
are  accustomed  to.  I  did  not  suffer  from*  the  effects  of  the 
exposure  to  any  great  extent.  I  had  no  uncertainty  or  anx- 
iety to  prey  upon  my  mind.  I  was  absolutely  certain  of  what 
I  had  to  do,  ready  for  any  emergency,  prepared  for  the  worst 
or  the  best,  and  had  the  utmost  confidence  in  my  men.  My 
only  regret  was  that  it  was  not  a  year  earlier.  The  voyage 
was,  of  course,  one  of  peril  and  discomfort,  but  I  did  not  lose 
or  gain  a  pound's  weight,  and  am  in  very  good  health.  The 
whole  voyage  was  one  of  sensational  scenes  and  incidents, 
perilous  moments,  furious  storms,  narrow  escapes,  etc.,  but 
there  was  nothing  to  compare  with  the  terrible  impressive- 
ness  of  the  hour  of  rescue.  The  only  tears  I  have  shed  for 
many  a  year  were  shed  on  that  memorable  occasion,  and  there 
was  not  a  man  who  could  retain  his  composure.  The  scene 
was  inexpressibly  horrible  and  thrilling.  A  little  camp  of 
survivors,  looking  actually  like  skeletons,  and  neariy  all  of 
whom  were  in  the  last  stages  of  starvation,  while  one  at  least, 
Connell,  was  actually  in  the  very  agony  of  death,  doomed  to 
die  within  an  hour  if  nourishment  had  not  been  at  hand,  and 
unconscious  for  two  days  afterward  that  he  had  been  saved, 
The  litde  camp,  desolate,  filthy,  barren,  on  an  ice-bound  coast, 
with  the  long  row  of  graves  that  told  their  story  with  awful 
pathos — the  first  grave  made  with  all  the  care-and  skill  that  a 
'••'illa'-^e  sexton  c<^uld  have  bestowed  urion  if ;  the  second  less 
carefully  constructed;  the  third  more  narrow  and  shallow, and 


CONCLUSION. 


481 


camp,  and  left  ,0  the  mircy  of  windl?§  ,°"'  °^  "'«''*  °f  *e 
cause  no  one  could  lift  the  Jj.h  "  "?';'"  """hovered,  be- 
him.  The  picture  was  fLriUe  "J"  '^^!;'*^'''^h  ^  civer 
immediately  following  were  s^t^l  i  "''^^'''  ^"^  "^^  day, 
and  those  of  his  partfwTo  werTret^  T  '^""i""-  freely. 
cabin.  They  were  perfect  skeletnl'  ™T  '^*«<' ''"  the 
bone  was  clearly  4iUe  H  nl  an^'^PKP"^  '"  '■='"•  Every 
prominent.  Tl,oL  men  were'^h'ungl "verTT  ^"^'''f""' 
ravenous  IS  an  inadequate  word  "^  ^  ^^  minutes; 
;;When  will  your  report  be  made.?" 

ing  eVlli^l^t^^l^rr^xpeST*'"';  '^•"  ''^^^-'-"O 
abandonment,  Hlustmted  b^t^  "nIrtaL'en'"''P.''°"  '°  "^ 
and  covering  250  pages  "  mstantaneous  photographs 

'•What  will  it  teil  about  cannibalism  ?" 

deadwill'Sfa«Syde^cril^dTe'2:'J->'''^'T^  ^"<^  *« 
etc.,  but  no  conclusions  wm  be  dmwn      I   "',,", "^""^  ^'^'^^^ 
about  it,  as  I  have  repeatedly  said^nH  -l  ^"^ ''"°«'  "°*mg 
The  trouble  has  been'^that  too  m,^h  h    l  "  "°'  "^  ''"^'n^ss^ 
ant  Greely,  however,  has  ve  °  SreetTv  t?r  ''"  • '     ^'^"'«"- 
doubtless,  explain  everythinir  i„  ,w  f- ^  ''^P^  <!"'«•  and  will, 
rescue  Greely  was  the  weaklst  nt,  •  T'     ^'  "'^^  '™«  °f  Ws 
tally  of  the  entire  party    ThleS'^^         "''°"^^''  ■"«"" 
dissensions  in  the  party' and  thi?  if     "'^.  statements  about 
separate  parties  at^Jhe^i^e  o  ^  ""fut"'  f'^'"'"^  ''-^^d 
indicate  this,  and  know  nothing  about  it     JrT'"  T?'"S  to 
Lieutenant  Greely  at  all    I  fhonW       .    W'thout  defending 

against  him  in  anyVrticularbeforit"°ffi"'t^  "P  ""V  "''"■i 
made.  I  can  see  no  sense  in, he  H°'^"^'  •■'^P°"^^^  been 
Henrys  remains.  I  have  offic allvtr,'!) '°,  "''^.""'^  ^"^ate 
one  of  those  mutilated  and  nnfl-*^  "'^"'^  """  ^'^  body  was 
plished  by  its  disinterment  "  ^  '"°'^  ~"'^  ^^  accom- 

^'^Z:^^::^tfc:il^^^^^^  British  Association  for 
ant  Greely  amid  unbounded  enfb'^^"'  ^  ^"^^  'S^*,  Lieuten- 
Sir  Henry  Lefrov    the  nrp=w-         S'''^'"  "'^^  <^alled  on  by 


482  ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

had  been  successful  in  the  honorable  desire  to  plant  his 
national  flag  nearest  to  the  North  Pole,  thus  exceeding  the 
noblest  efforts  ever  made.  Referring  to  the  persistence  of 
purpose  shown  by  Lieutenant  Greely's  party  in  bringing  back 
the  pendulum  apparatus,  he  remarked  that  there  was  nothing 
nobler  in  the  annals  of  scientific  heroism  than  the  determina- 
tion of  these  hungry  men  to  drag  the  cumbersome  box  along 
their  weary  way. 

It  was  fully  two  minutes  after  rising  before  Lieutenant 
Greely  could  speak,  so  great  was  the  outburst  of  enthusiasm 
which  greeted  him.  In  introducing  his  papers  he  remarked 
that  he  was  surprised  to  learn  that  the  ground  did  not  thaw 
lower  at  Lieutenant  Ray's  station,  which  was  ten  degrees 
farther  south  than  his  own,  where  the  ground  thawed  to  a 
much  greater  depth — namely,  twenty  to  thirty  inches.  In  re. 
gard  to  an  open  polar  sea  he  differed  from  Lieutenant  Ray. 
He  did  not  believe  there  was  a  navigable  sea  at  the  Pole,  but 
he  was  of  the  opinion  that  there  was  open  water  somewhere 
about.  Lieutenant  Greely's  paper,  which  was  entided  "Re- 
cent Discoveries  in  Northern  Greenland  and  in  Grinnell  Land," 
was  as  follows : 

"  The  geographical  work  of  the  Lady  Franklin  Bay  Expedi^ 
tion  covers  nearly  three  degrees  of  latitude  and  over  forty 
degrees  of  longitude.  Starting  from  latitude  81°  44'  and 
longitude  84°  45',  Lieutenant  Lockwood  reached.  May  i8th, 
1882,  on  the  north  coast  of  Greenland,  latitude  83°  24' and 
longitude  40°  46'.  From  the  same  starting  point  he  reachpf^ 
to  the  southwest,  in  May,  1883,  Greely  Fiord,  an  inlet  of  t:-. 
Western  Polar  Ocean,  latitude  80°  48'  and  longitude  78°  26'. 
This  journey  to  the  northward  resulted  in  the  addition  to  our 
charts  of  a  new  coast  line  of  nearly  100  miles  beyond  the 
farthest  point  seen  by  Lieutenant  Beaumont,  R.  N.  It  also 
carried  Greenland  over  four  hundred  miles  northward,  giving 
that  continent  a  much  greater  extension  in  that  direction  than 
it  had  generally  been  credited  with.  The  vegetation  resembled 
closely  that  of  Grinnell  Land.  Among  the  specimens  brought 
back  the  Arctic  poppy  and  several  saxifrages  were  identified. 
About  the  eighty-third  parallel  traces  of  the  polar  bear,  lem- 
ming and  Arctic  fox  were  seen,  and  a  hare  and  ptarmigan 
were  killed.     Lieutenant  Lockwood  and  myself  journeyed 

across  onnucil  i-.tiiiu  ana  t.-warniiica  iiuo  u^.  i--v — , 

tion,  discovering  what  may  have  been  hitherto  unsuspected 


CONCLUSION. 


483 


1  Bay  Expedi- 
ind  over  forty 

81°  44'  and 
id,  May  i8th, 
le  83°  24'  and 
int  he  reachpf^ 
in  inlet  of  t;  -. 
jitude  78°  26'. 
.ddition  to  our 
;s  beyond  the 
R.  N.  It  also 
thward,  giving 

direction  than 
tion  resembled 
imens  brought 
irere  identified. 
3lar  bear,  lem- 
ind  ptarmigan 
;elf  journeyed 

-ili\rcJrq1  rnndi" 
...J,  ft — 


that  between  the  heads  of  Archer  and  Greeiv  Fiord.  .  ^• 
tance  of  some  seventy  miles  strpfrh^c  .1  ^^^^'^  i^  ords,  a  dis- 
of  an  immense  ice  cap  which  rl'^f'^''^^^'^^P^fPe^dicular  front 
the  eighty-first  parXl      The  i T^r.  °'.  ^-  X""""  ^"^^ '°  ^'^'^ 

than  i}oLt.  'fhe  undula'tbns^T  ^sS^tt  "°^  ^^^'^ 
formed  closely  to  the  ronfio-..^.-  ""^  =""^<:e  ol  the  ice  con- 
variations  in  the  thickness  of  ?hr-  °'^"''  '°"""^'  =°  "'"  ">« 
In  about  sixty  mn4  bu  ^wo  plafes^erT?  '"^""f -«•>'«• 
slope  an-d  space  were  so  modiS  as  to  renn"  "'^^'^  "^* 
tlie  ice  possible.     This  ire  rLT.  ,      ,°     ^^''  ^"  ^^^"t  of 

Grinnell  Land  a  mo  t  en  irelv  L,^  fh  "^u'"".'"'"'^'-''' ^^--s 
Hayes  Sound  and  from  SedTShi^el^  ^^.'''''/"''"^'  '° 
Fiord  in  the  polar  ocean'''"rco'nSo":  wThThrh ':  o^f"''^ 
petuaUnow  I  may  say  that  on  Mount  AXr  it  Jls  n^/f  ■■" 
from  3,500  feet  above  the  sea      Fr^m  k?  •    .^  "°'  f^"" 

ments  it  appeared  that  the  rrtr  .r^^  barometrical  measure- 

.500  feet'e'Jeva.ion  in  front  o  the  ^ou^  '  ^^""^  *'^  "^  ">""" 
feet  near  Mount  Arthur  "  so"'hera  ice  cap  and  3,000 

an  address  and  expressed  hi<;  hpll^f  .1    ;^  •       ^^^  delivered 

searches  will  be  prSve  of  vet  Ln:.^!"'^"^'  "^'""^y'' 
L  eutenant  Greeiv  rising  JU^  mportant  results. 

ex.remel3-  AatSred'at"     %e'L7o„\r^^'^^'  ^''f  ^'^  ™' 
'-on,  such  eminent  men  as  hadTpoken     He  tn  1"^°''"""'' 
.)■  that  a  fact  had  surprised  hi  J    It  w.=  ►^      }  °'='^"°"  '° 
...n  the  tide  was  flowing  from  the  No«hP  .'^'"'"'^'-y  "'« 
Oy  his  observations  that  the  TJ.  '^"'^  "  "'"=  ^und 

flowin.  in  the  oppos  te  dit abn  of  "tT^  "^^"  "■'^'=" 
have  prepared  an  elaborate  tetnf^iT        ?''  ""^  "•°"W«  » 

wonderfuj  phenomenot  which  vould'rvrt^^Hv  be°ot,?  ^^ 
lo  him  these  peculiarltip.  «,«r«  eventually  be  published. 

tl.at  the  obser^vationTroulTreTtrdf  rbv'h'-'^'  '^  '^°P^^ 
»nie  explanation  found  in  regard  to^he'%^^''''''''  ^"^ 
observations  of  the  exDedition      §  ,     ,    'hermometric 

temperature  for  the  year  of  tl-  if  'T"u'"^  "'"  "^^  ™<=»" 
below  zero,  which    ustified  Mm  •       "'^  observations  was  5° 

-Hest  Boiluof  earCev:' rea'h^d  """"=  '"  ^'^''°"  -=  '''^ 
The  Arctic  steamer  Lock  Garry,  as  she  lay  at  the  Brooklyn 


484  /RCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

Navy  Yard  shortly  after  her  arrival,  looked  dirty  and  de- 
serted.  The  only  sign  of  life  on  her  deck  was  a  large,  short- 
tailed,  black-haired  dog,  the  property  of  Ensign  Chambers. 
This  animal  looked  more  like  a  bear  than  a  dog  and  paced 
resdessly  up  and  down  the  deck,  occasionally  stopping  to 
sniff  the  air,  as  though  not  satisfied  with  its  surroundings. 

Within  the  vessel  the  scene  was  changed.  Cooks  were 
rushing  hither  and  thither  preparing  for  dinner,  while  the 
officers  and  crew  lounged  about  discussing  Arctic  expeditions, 
the  weather  and  their  prospects  for  returning  to  Dundee, 
Scotland,  where  they  all  belong,  and  where  the  Loch  Garry 
is  owned.  Among  them  were  Captain  R.  Jones,  of  the  Loch 
Garry,  and  Chief  Officer  Campbell  and  Lieutenant  Reamey, 
who  brought  the  Theds  to  this  port  from  Dundee.  All  are 
Scotchmen.  Ensign  Chambers,  of  the  navy,  was  not  on  board, 
having  left  the  vessel  a  few  hours  previous  to  visit  friends 
in  the  city.  When  questioned  in  relation  to  the  expedition 
the  Dundee  men  declared  that  they  had  been  ordered  to 
"keep  their  mouths  close"  and  "leave  the  talking  to  the 
American  authorities." 

"  Ensign  Chambers  has  all  there  is,"  said  one  of  the  officers, 
"and  he  will  tell  you  what  he  pleases  of  the  expedition." 

"Is   there   anything   about   it   which   he   will   not  tell?" 

was  asked. 

"  Oh,  no.  Commander  Schley's  expedidon  was  a  success, 
but  it  would  not  have  been  if  the  whalers  had  not  shown  the 
relief  vessels  along.  Why,  at  one  time,  while  on  the  way  to 
Disko,  the  vessels  encountered  some  heavy  ice  floes,  whidi 
the  Thetis  began  trying  to  blast  with  torpedoes.  Commander 
Schley  said  the  ice  was  impassable,  and  while  discussing  the 
situation  along  came  a  litde  whaler  and  crashed  through  the 
barrier.  Before  the  commander  recovered  from  his  astonish- 
ment the  whaler  was  almost  out  of  sight. 

"I  don't  believe  Ensign  Chambers  will  tell  you  how  the 
Lock  Garry  was  fitted  out.  We  were  promised  heavy  furs, 
boots,  hats,  gloves  and  snow-glasses  and  other  things  to  fight 
the  cold  and  ice.  All  we  got  were  two  wheelbarrows  for 
cardng  coal  and  two  ice-anchors.  Our  litde  vessel,  with  her 
three-inch  plates  and  no  fordfications  inside,  was  utilized  to 
break  up  the  ice  for  the  relief  vessels  on  many  occasions. 
The  laUer  vessels  were  all  as  strong  inside  as  iron  could  make 
them.     Besides  all  that  Lieutenant  Greely  and  his  party  were 


CONCLUSION. 


485 


not  as  friendly  to  Commander  Schley  as  people  rescued  under 
such  circumstances  generally  are  "  r-scuea  under 

"  What  was  the  difficulty  >  " 

and  a  coldness  between  the  rescued  and  the  rescue's  m 
sprung  up.  The  fact  of  the  matter  is  Greely  would  have 
stood  a  small  chance  of  being  rescued  had  the  exoedition 
been  composed  of  other  than  navy  men.     If  there  had  be^n 

nave  oeen  lost     Army  people  ought  never  to  have  been  <ient 
i.p  in  he  Arctic  regions.     If  the  United  States  hid  fitted  ou 
^ytfag:.'''  "'"'"^  "^"'  ^'•^^^y  --'^  ^-ve  been  r:scued 
"  What  is  thought  of  Greely's  work  >  " 
"He  has  done  a  deal  of  good  work,  but  he  is  solelv  to 
Thn°/  N  '    °''.?^  the  nineteen   m;n  of  his  party  ^  In 

i^tUves'"/rth  r  osfm:nTiirT,f ""  ■^^''"="^■- 

befo,re  long,  and  the  ^ubHc^wmTnrw'o  "m^^^JsZT'tL^e^r 

honws  are  endeavoring  to  keep  quiet.     Greely  did  wefl  for 

a  soldier,  unfl  he  struck  that  floating  cake  of  ice  •  Then  h. 

began  to  show  his  weakness.     There  he  staveH  f  nJl  ,11        j 

■s  men  to  die  off  like  sheep.     Theleason  ^f  in  L  f^ ' 

and  he  could   easi  v  have  rearhpH    T  if-M^..^      t        !     ^^^    • 

.here  were  provision's  en^'u^h  t  tei  monTs  or  m"o;e"'H" 

was  only  twenty-five  miles  sSuth  of  that TsJand  LTl       ^5 

ave  made  the  distance  in  less  than  two  t^f.'    He  albwid 

^StrTt  them  :i  Xwere^°atidlfr;r; 

IseLnf      •"''^1!  *^yg°'°"  'he  ice  they  wouldn't  move 
instead  of  using  the  boats,  which  were  intended  for  th^our' 

for  fuT'Nfn:r''P'^,="'''°".^  ^-^  ^''''-  *ey  cho^p  dXm 
li  J      t        ,^^y  ""'^^  '°  'he  south  of  them  was  the  TarC 

ml  "'Thev"''^irK'''  ^r  ""r  "'^  f°°d  and'hXr  S 

ve  been  rescZ'^h''^^K   ""'',"'."'  t^^  ""'^«'  ^"-^  ^oZ 
south   in,L^     f  f  "^y  "H'*"  ''^<^  'hey  endeavored  to  go 

Thev  hi  t      .    °^  J°""«!  ^"   ''«^*'-'  and  lying  down  to  die 
ifl  ^±°"^y  ?  d'-ag  their  boats  over  ice  hefe  andth  °Jto 

g«  to  Ae'caTys         '  '""  "  ''°"^'^  "^"^^  ^-'"  '^^»  "J'*™'' '» 


486 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


"The  men  on  the  Proteus  suffered  greater  harclshi|)s  be- 
tween the  time  their  ship  was  lost  and  the  time  of  their  rescue 
than  Greely  and  his  party  would  have  had  to  endure  had  they 
endeavored  to  reach  either  ot  the  isles.  Greely's  party  took 
the  most  barren  place  in  the  Arctic  regions  to  die,  when  ihey 
could  have  reached  a  better  spot  and  lived.  The  living  are 
all  heroes,  but  justice  should  be  done  to  the  dead,  and  Greely 
will  have  some  hard  questions  to  answer  in  a  short  time.  He 
has  not  told  a  connected  story  yet.  The  men  on  the  Thetis 
declared  they  could  not  understand  his  tale.  They  are  guard- 
ing him  closely  for  fear  some  person  may  get  hold  of  him  and 
something  may  come  out.  _ 

"  The  Alert  was  a  hindrance  to  the  expedition.  She  is  a 
helpless  eld  tub,  and  it  took  most  of  our  time,  after  June  25th, 
to  look  after  her.  One  good  vessel  with  men  who  know  the 
Arctic  regions  on  board  would  have  rescued  Greely  long  ago, 
and  the  United  States  government  would  have  been  saved  a 

sight  of  money."  r    1     .- 

A  naval  officer,  who  was  on  board  one  of  the  Greely  relief 
vessels,  on  September  5th  said:  ,  ,    1  •  1 

"  I  saw  the  interviews  with  an  officer,  and  I  think  a  great 
injustice  is  being  done  to  Sergeant  Brainard.  One  look  at 
that  man  would  be  sufficient  to  satisfy  you  that  the  statements 
made  regarding  him  are  untrue,  and  Brainard  is  right  in 
denying  them.  In  the  first  place,  he  did  not  board  the  Bear 
until  several  weeks  after  the  party  was  rescued.  Neither  was 
he  the  strongest  man  of  the  party." 

"Who  was?"  asked  the  writer. 

"Why,  Long  was  decidedly  the  strongest.  He  met  the 
rescuing  party  and  was  able  to  walk  when  taken  aboard  of 
the  Bear,  while  Brainard  had  to  be  carried."  ^ 

"Perhaps  Brainard's  name  has  been  confused  with  Longs? 

was  suggested. 

"  That  may  be,"  was  the  reply,  "  for  I  fancy  that  Long  would 
be  much  more  likely  to  say  such  things  than  Brainard.  Why, 
Brainard  was  practically  the  head  of  the  expedition  after 
Greely  became  incapacitated  for  duty,  and  he  showed  himselt 
possessed  of  ability  far  above  his  station.  Long  was  the 
hunter  for  the  party,  and  he  was  a  dead  shot.  There  is  no 
doubt  in  my  mii.d  that  he  kept  more  than  his  share  of  the 
game  killed.  When  he  met  the  rescuing  party  his  mouth 
was  all  bloody,  and  when,  a  litde  later,  the  winter  camp  was 


CONCLUSION. 


487 


23     ^^  uui 


pfaced  there  for  sXkeeping '^^     '"""^  '""'=''■  ='"''  ^^i^^^'y 

"  Was  there  cannibalism  ?^' 

"Why,  of  course  there  wao-   Ki.t  i  u  r         ^ 
Jnow  of  i,  ana  if  he  ate^i J^  (S^I 'hiSrhe^Lt  S:j 

"Was  the  subject  ever  mentioned?" 

bodies°U  :'to'  b''eTaIe°n-ab^rd"sh'  T'  T"'"'"^'^'^  "'"  ">« 
be  left  where  tl,ey  were  buried  f'PG'-<--'=ly  urged  that  they 
lariy  requested  it'  Ihat  w  f a„  ^tTAtt::''T7'T 
was  not  mutilated.     Brainard  didn"t  t  ?  f  °*"'>  ^°^y 

you  can  rest  assured  of  that  I  ,?  I  .?•  f*^  ^"^  "cannibalism, 
which  are  preserved  me„t„n  tV  '"."K^ny  of  the  diaries 
Schneider'sdiary  which  was  M«f'  T  "  "  '"PP"'^'^  'hat 
I.  was  either  picLd  up  a7d  t'^e^d^roTe  77^r  '°  "^ 
was  thrown  overboard  with  r,rP,.|J'ccl„  -l  ."^  '"'=n.  or 
When  the  diaries  are Vub  ished  1 1  ,    P'"«^".''^^,''>' '"'"ake. 

be  far  the  most  mtererting  I^sTe^n^^^  Lockwoods  will 
tirelyn  shorthand,  and  nobody  his  vet  read  :?"  t7'"'"  ■,"■ 
tion  of  the  bodies  was  done  h,,  ,  ITr  1  '^'^aa  it.  The  mutila- 
doubt  but  that  the  hosD^?al  L  ''  '!f  "f  ""'^  "'ere  is  no 

decease  of  Dr.  Pavy  "^  ""^  "^""^  "'^  ^"'^^  after  the 

J  Did  you  see  any  signs  of  a  division  in  the  party  ?"  was 

"No,  sir;  and  that  is  another  mistake      wi         <. 
ors  were  found  they  were  all  und^r  one  tent     1?,  • ''"  ,1""''' 
camped  in  the  tent  but  thr»-.  JkT  •       '  "'*'  '^'  a"  were 

the  lent.     Even  LieutenanVs  GrJwLrLT''^\"j  "' 
.nous^^misunderstanding  up    tm^teTolt^te": 

raS.'  He3Z?h"e  w'uld^'^'^  °f  <?-'P''-  are  unwar- 

anybody,  and  would  waft  ZuuLVed  'a"Sh  ^'T\^2"'"»' 
particular  friend  of  mine  I  know  rh,;  ^  ^"^,  although  he  is  no 
He  has  never  said  a  woTd  a^ahTs,  Hai  T"  ?"",'  °"'  ''''ead. 
Garlington  severelv  flrn^f^        •  ■''?•  *""  ''e  has  criticised 

a.  Payf r  Aarbor  as  diec^ed^'lTTf  't  '''^1  "^  P™"^'°"^ 
fresh  supply  instead  of  ,h»        V  j  '""^-  '^°"'=  "'a'  and  left  a 

probablyP^;;"re'  "o^  t  Xi^ t^r-.^a^Ll- .^'-- 

."!.  "irougn.    Greeiys  work-was  remarkable:  "He'brougS 


t.1*  ■?<< 


ll 


48S 


ARCTIC   EXPLOP\TIONS. 


every  man  to  the  place  he  said  he  would  two  days  before  the 
time  fixed,  where  he  had  every  reason  to  expect  assistance. 
He  must  have  exercised  discipline  or  he  never  could  have 
done  it. 

"At  Cape  Sabine  Dr.  Pavy  and  ooe  of  the  men  came  into 
his  tent  and  insisted  upon  an  immediate  division  of  the  sup- 
plies on  hand.  Greely  emphatically  refused,  and  when  they 
further  insisted  he  ordered  them  out  of  the  tent,  weak  as  he 
was,  threatening  to  shoot  them  on  the  spot  if  they  did  not  go, 
and  they  went.  Every  officer  of  the  relief  expedition  has  ex- 
pressed admiration  for  Greely's  pluck  and  management,  and 
if  there  is  a  fight  about  the  matter  you  may  rest  assured  that 
Greely  will  hold  his  own.  He  is  no  fool.  He  will  undoubt- 
edly be  promoted  unless  there  is  strong  opposition  in  high 
quarters.  But  that  story  about  Brainard  I  will  bet  anything 
is  not  true.  If  he  had  gone  quietly  to  his  home  on  a  farm 
they  couldn't  help  making  him  a  lieutenant.  He  deserves  it 
if  ever  a  man  did.  Long  might  have  been  the  man  meant, 
but  not  Brainard." 

"  I  see,"  continued  the  officer, "  that  some  one  is  again  quoted 
as  saying  that  all  the  survivors  were  taken  aboard  the  Bear, 
and  that  the  Thetis  was  not  present.  That's  a  mistake.  1 
will  tell  you  just  how  it  was.  The  Thetis  arrived  at  Littleton 
Island  first  on  the  2 2d  of  June,  and  the  Bear  arrived  about 
2.30  in  the  afternoon.  Both  vessels  started  for  Payer 
Harbor  together.  The  Thetis  arrived  first  and  was  made  fast 
to  an  ice-floe.  Captain  Schley  immediately  sent  out  two 
search  parties  under  Lieutenant  Taunt  and  Ensign  Harlow, 
and  another  was  sent  out  by  the  Bear  as  soon  as  she  arrived. 
Lieutenant  Taunt's  party  found  the  records  of  the  Greely 
party  off  top  of  Brevoort  Island,  and  returned  to  the  Thetis 
with  them.  Those  records  told  where  the  survivors  were 
camped.  The  steam-launch  of  the  Thetis  was  broken,  so  that 
of  the  Bear  was  sent  with  people  from  both  ships  to  the 
camp,  which  was  only  about  four  miles  distant.  The  Bear 
not  being  fastened  as  was  the  Thetis,  was  boarded  by  Captain 
Schley  and  steamed  for  Cape  Sabine,  and  the  Thetis  remained, 
sounding  her  whisdes  for  the  search  parties  to  return,  which 
was  the  signal  heard  by  the  Greely  party  in  camp.  The 
Thetis  picked  up  the  other  two  search  parties,  Harlow  hav- 
ing found  the  instruments  in  another  cache,  and  arrived  at 
Camp  Clay  about  ten  minutes  after  the  Bear.     Boats,  officers, 


CONCLUSION. 


489 


man  meant, 


EHson.  and  Fredericks  tL  fnf  u  ^""^'"^  ^^^  Bear-Lon^ 
dead  bodies  were  tak^n  on  btr'd  th7  TK^"^"^^  ^"^  ^"  ^^ 
bodies  were  transferred  to  tlie  r1.  ^^T^  ^'^  ^^  the 
both  vessels  were  preset  at  th^  "^'''  '^^>'*  ^^  you  see 
right  in  denying  tha?  he  was  taken  '  K  ""^^  ^".^  ^'"^'"^^^  was 
have  been  lots  ff  mistakerpVbthedt^'t^^^  ^'^''  ^^^^« 
have  given  you  the  correct  storv  .c  n  ^°""ection.  but  I 

Schley's  report  is  made  public  •^'      ^°"  ^'^  ^"^  ^^^^  Captain 

The  report  of  Commodore'  Winfield  Srn^^  c  m 
expedition  under  his  command  for  fh^      ?  c  ^5^1^^  °^  ^he 
party  was  submitted  to  thTsrcretarv  ^?  ruK  °^  "^^  G'"^^!/ 
latter  part  of  the  month  of  00X^^88^^  1"""^  '^^ 

under  which  the  expedition  wa«;  n;i   •  '  J^  '''\''^  '^^  ^^^^rs 
upon  a  graphic  narrLive  :?  tTe  evXts"o7'the "'  '^^"  ^"^^^^ 

Early  on  the  morning  of  lune  Tfh  ?u  ^^ly^'V^^' 
Bear  reached  Littell  Island  wh.Vhl/^-  ^%  '^'P"  ^^^^is  and 
terms  a  desired  outpost  Ir.^       '^^''^  Commodore  Schley 
dangers  of  MelvKy.  'vL,Sr^af'  '^^  "°^^  P^'^^"^ 
cense  fog  now  prevailed,  delaying  fSh'  '"^^-^'^^"^s,  and 
the  morning  of  June  iiHr«fKl  ^     "^^'*  Progress;  but  on 
served  through  rifts  in   he  foft^^^^^^^     T^'^  ^^^  b^^"  ot> 
cast  off  and  the  voyage  was  fes.med^^^'""    ''^  ^^"^  --« 
Ine  usual  Derik  of   a-^^-  •      . 

"pon  the  northward  journey  fromT;'™-  ^-^«  experienced 
anxious  watch  was  kent  fnr^™  '  '? .P°'"'-  Constant  and 
Mile  by  n,ile  a  tay  CfS 'Tr'''^'''  1!'^''^  ^^'^^"v- 
through  dangerous  and  tortuou,  1.=?""'' .  °'^^t™«ions  and 
«f  June  .8th,  the  neighborhood'  ^  ""^'  ?"  *^  '"°™'"g 
Here  communication  was  onen^H  ^F  ^"'^  "^^  ^^ached^ 
t'dmgs  of  Greely's  party  could  bfoK?'-''  'i"^  J""'™'-  ^ut  no 
was  reached  on  the  2  f st  of  I       """^'"ed.     Littleton  Island 

W  been  heard  o  tl  e  obfec^  of "  th?  t°  «hich  time  nothing 
across  to  Payer  Harbor  wis  made  on 'fh''^  ^''^  P^^^^ge 
»d,  dunng  a  heavy  eale  and  ?(,.  ."'^  afternoon  of  the 

■ce.footwfth  ice  ancC;     Pa' ,f.     ''^'' ^'''''^  ""^^d  to  the 

^'t  the  cairns  and  caches  at  Z  ""^'^  "?"^''  ^'  ""-^e  to 
opportunity  should  be  tZ7,„  ?  P°'"*'  '"  order  that  no 
"fGreely^re  "n  K.l!.?i  'V"^''  northward,  if  no  tidl"" 

tile  roaring  wind's  by'thore  oTT;,^K^^l  T'''^  ^eard  above" 

-ed  accurately.   'l'^'^i:^Z:^t"^^'::  ^^^jf^^:.^^ 


I 


490 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


his  appearance,  almost  out  of  breath,  and  reported  that 
Greely  and  his  party  were  at  Cape  Sabine.  He  brought  and 
deUvered  to  Commodore  Schley  records  found  by  Lieutenant 
Taunt  in  a  cairn  on  Brevoort  Island.  The  records  had  been 
chiefly  prepared  by  Lieutenant  Greely  in  person,  and  were 
found  to  bear  dates  of  eight  and  nine  months  previous.  The 
latest  paper,  written  Sunday,  October  21st,  1883,  was  as 
follows : 

"  My  party  is  now  permanently  in  camp  on  the  west  side 
of  a  small  neck  of  land  which  connects  the  wreck  Cache  Cove 
or  Bay,  and  the  one  to  its  west.  Distant  about  equally  from 
Cape  Sabine  and  Cocked  Hat  Island.     AH  well." 

Shortly  after  Yewell's  arrival,  Ensign  Harlow  signalled 
from  Stalknecht  Island :  "  Send  five  men.  I  have  found  all 
Greely's  records,  instruments,  etc." 

Lieutenant  Colwell  was  now  instructed  to  proceed  to  the 
wreck  Camp  Cache,  and  if  one  of  the  party  were  alive,  to  in- 
form them  that  their  relief  was  at  hand.  Commodore  Schley 
followed  in  the  Bear,  leaving  the  Thetis,  with  instructions  to 
pick  up  the  remaining  searching  parties,  and  then  follow  the 
Bear. 

As  the  steam-cutter  reached  the  wreck  Camp  Cache,  Lieu- 
tenant Colwell  and  ice-masters  Ash  and  Norman  discovered 
Sergeant  Long  reclining  on  the  rocks.  Taking  him  into  the 
cutter,  and  learning  from  him  the  location  of  the  camp,  they 
went  to  it  and  announced  to  Lieutenant  Greely  the  coming 
of  relief.  Ice-master  Norman  returned  to  the  steamer  cutter 
from  the  camp,  and  took  Long  off  at  once  to  the  Bear.  Long 
was  too  weak  to  get  on  board  himself,  and  was  carried  up  the 
side  by  the  crew  and  placed  on  a  chair  in  the  saloon.  Full 
particulars  having  been  learned  from  him,  in  a  few  moments 
Commodore  Schley,  with  Lieutenant  Emory,  Ensign  Rey- 
nolds, Dr.  Ames,  and  several  of  the  crew  of  the  Bear,  went 
ashore,  and  reached  Greely's  camp  about  9  p.  m.  Lieutenant 
Colwell  now  reported  that  he  found  the  tent  covering  partly 
blown  down  upon  them,  and  that  he  had  partially  raised  it 
with  the  assistance  of  Ash  and  Norman,  and  had  given  the 
survivors  some  milk  and  beef  extract. 

Signal  was  made  to  the  Thetis  to  send  more  officers  and 
men  with  Ensign  Harlow,  and  the  photographic  instruments; 
also  to  send  clothing,  blankets,  and  stretchers,  lo  this  signal 
Chief  Engineer  Melville,  Dr.  Green,  Lieutenant  Tarrent,  Lieu- 


CONCLUSION. 

assigned  various  duties  in  conSfnt-,i?^Sf''=  "^""^  *«>■« 
living  and  the  dead,  their  effects  «.  T^  "'j^  '■^'"°™'  "f^e 
to  administer  stimulants  to  Lieuten;,;^  r  ,J"^  ""=■■<=  '^ft 
son,  Sergeant  Brainard,  Hosritalq?!  ^T'^:  Sergeant  Eli- 
geant  Fredericks,  and  Private  Connil?''!''  ^'^'^^^^<^^-  Ser- 
in  this  wretched    tent.     Enstn   H,    '  *''°  "e-'e  found  alive 

tent,  the  burying-ground  on   L\Mge7nd''thT*''Y'^^    "''^ 
by.    The  camp  was  lo^a^f-r^  ^^    ""i>e  an^i  the  icefoot  near 

Hat  Island  and  Cape  Sabine  t:'^™"^^^  ''""■•^-^"  Cocked 
from  the  beach,  on  a  sligh  eieva.il  ^^S"'  =«'«"ty-five  feet 
mountains  to  the  southward  In  2  ''  P™'^"""^  ''V  '"gh 
were  found  in  the  tent,  but 'Braird  R;r;'T%"'"==P'Long 
encks  subsequently  eier^ed  tnH  •  °'«''?"'beck,  and  Fred- 
strong  enougl  to  walk  to  fhe  boat  'T'"^  ■'^',' M  ^^^^ 
time  to  demonstrate  their  mistakf '=  .  •'^'i'"'-^^  but  a  short 
were  carried  upon  stretche™  '  ^"''  """y-  "'"^  ^^^  o'hers. 

By  11  p.  M.  the  survivors  iv^ro  »  r 
stimulants  that  all  were  remold  t./'"'  ,=f«"g*ened  by 
Greely,  Sergeant  Brainard  HoTpkal  S,  ^.'^'^-'T^'^^enant . 
Private  Connell  to  the  Theti"  Serif  n7p''P''=.'^^''''^*'a"d 
son  to  the  Bear.  The  gale  which  [^adhl^  Fredet-icks  and  Eli- 
toa  hurricane  during  tlte  niX  Wort  "if  ''^^""eased 
was  both  difficult  and  daniem,,.      ur  u"'""  ''°^'^'  therefore. 

fps  were  kept  head  to^he  wind  Th'r'^ '"^^""^  *= 
often  drove  them  off  broadsideT^  j,  .Sequent  squalls 
.ion.  without  sail,  their  rails  would  h.  ?,''•"'"'">  ^"^''  P°=i- 
water.  Although  the  shol  ^as  dlsUnf  Ir^"  "'"""f  '"'°  *« 
himdred  feet,  the  boats  wouH  nS  '"":'  ^^"^^Y  °"« 

that  short  -iistance.     The  work  of  Sh,^   -^T  '^  ""^versing 
dead  for  t.ansportation  to  the  UniteS  3  "''  ^'^'^'  "^ '^^     • 
under  the  orders  of  Lieutenant  f1^         ?  "^^^  '^"'<'<i  on 
and  promptly  perform^  that  f  -^°  '''  '°  "^nei-getically 

Payer  Harbor  at  fou™ 'clock  on  thf'P'  *?"■"  ^''"'^  ">  ^'»«  for 

Commodore  Schley  describes  as  ^11"'"^  f^""-^  'i'^- 
scene  inside  Greely's  tent  ""'^   "'^  impressive 

W^iXd  Vo^wl^i^^hlTresiL      ^'-^T"^-"^-?-  "- 
The  Book  of  Common  p^-er  ■  -^       ^  "P°"  ""'  ''^f'  hand. 

Hand.    He  appeared  to  be'readino-T"  ^"^  ''^'^  '"  ^is  right 
-1.  Whose  condition  was' m::t*deV;rL'd  S  4"e 


492 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


was  cold  to  the  waist,  all  sensations  of  hunger  gone,  was 
speechless  and  almost  breathless;  his  eyes  were  fixed  and 
glassy ;  indeed,  his  weakness  was  such  that  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty he  swallowed  the  stimulants  given  him  by  Drs.  Green 
and  Ames ;  his  jaws  had  dropped,  his  heart  was  barely  pul- 
sating, and  his  body  temperature  very  low. 

"  This  tender  scene  of  a  helpless,  almost  famished  officer 
consoling  a  dying  companion  was  in  itself  one  that  brought 
tears  to  the  eyes  of  the  strongest  and  stoutest  of  those  who 
stood  about  them  on  the  merciful  errand  of  relief.  Sergeants 
Brainard  and  Fredericks,  and  Hospital  Steward  Biederbeck 
were  extremely  weak  and  hardly  able  to  stand ;  they  were  no 
longer  able  to  venture  away  from  their  camp  to  seek  food  nor 
to  prepare  their  simple  diet  of  boiled  seal-skin,  nor  to  collect 
lichens,  nor  to  catch  shrimps,  upon  which  they  had  to  depend 
to  a  great  extent  to  sustain  life.  Their  faces,  hands  and  limbs 
were  swollen  to  such  an  extent  that  they  could  not  be  recog- 
nized. This  indicated  that  the  entire  party  had  but  a  short 
lease  of  life,  probably  not  more  than  forty-eight  hours  at  the 
mos\  This  fact  was  recognized  by  them  all,  and  had  come 
to  them  from  their  experience  during  that  long  and  desolate 
winter  in  watching  their  dying  companions,  as  one  after  an- 
other passed  away  from  amongst  them  forever. 

"Poor  Sergeant  Elison  was  found  in  his  sleeping-bag, 
where  he  had  lain  helpless  and  hopeless  for  months,  with 
hands  and  feet  frozen  off.  Strapped  to  one  of  the  stumps 
was  found  a  spoon  which  some  companion  had  secured  there 
to  enable  him  to  feed  himself.  His  physical  condition  other- 
wise appeared  to  be  the  best  of  any  of  the  survivors,  and  this 
may  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  each  of  his  companions  had 
doled  out  to  him  from  their  small  allowance  of  food  some- 
thing to  help  him,  on  account  of  his  complete  helplessness  to 
add  anything  to  his  own  by  hunting  about  the  rocks  for 
lichens  or  catching  shrimps.  He  suffered  no  waste  of 
strength  by  exertion  incident  thereto.  This  care  of  Elison 
was  such  as  only  brave  and  generous  men,  suffering  with 
each  other  under  the  most  desperate  circumstances,  could 

think  of. 

"  Sergeant  Long  was  very  much  reduced,  though  in  some- 
what better  condition  than  some  of  the  others.  His  office  of 
hunter  fur  the  starving  party  had  made  it  necessary  to  in= 
crease  slighdy  his  pittance  of  food  to  maintain  his  strength, 


CONCLUSION. 

493 

that  he  might  continue  the  hafflo  f  c  . 
less.  In  this  case,  however  th^/ff'  ^''°?  S^^  ^^^  '^  ^^e  help- 
had  told  its  story'in  ^irwas  ed  form  9^^  '°"''""^^  ^^^^t 
journeys  were  m'ade  in  ^ood  weath^;  w^''^'  f  "^  ^^^^ter 
bad  weather  of  that  re|on  hTs  stren  Jh  '  ""  '^^  ^^^^"^"^ 
paired  that  when  the  joyful  sLal  wS  k"^^!,  1°  "^"^^  ^'"- 
enough  left  to  stagger  out  to  tlP     ,^^^  ^^,^''^'  ^^  had  only 

tosee  if  the  sfgnallTe^rd"  VaVp^o^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^  -te^^ 

His  first  visit  was  a  hi'ft-^r  a-     l^^">^^aed  Irom  ships  n  sio-hf- 

A  second  visi  "fifteen  mnutsTarr'h™''  f  ^.^  '^'^  "°*'"g- 
yards  of  the  Bear's  st^XtVT'),'°''^^!'  *""•  »"'""'n  fiffy 
ships  coming  around  Cape  S  "bTne      w.  ''"'I  °^  *«  '^^^^l 
ran  into  the  beach  where  Lonfr^t         H"  ""^  steam-cutter 
ice-covered  diffs  and  was  take^  7Z  ,1f™'  ^^  '°^^^^  d°«'"  the 
Lieutenant  Colwell  that  the  ,", Ton  of'T""-     "^'"fo^'ed 
over  the  cliff     I„  the  case  of  Weant  ^l  '"T  "^^  J"« 
officers  were  fearful  from  the  first  tlf,?v     1.^°"'  *^  '"^dical 
very  small.     As  soon  a,  healthfi,   fl^?'^  '^'"'"'^'  °f '"«  "e™ 
digestive  functions  should  be  rl  if  kI-T*'/™"'''''^.  and  the 
ful  round  of  blood  circulation  ^^t^d"^^^'?^''.  '^^"y-  ">«  health! 
new  life  to  the  injured  parts  InH  •  fl  ^'"  "?  distribution  of 
rally  occur.    If  Eliion^s  s^reLh  ,1 '"u^!"'"^''°'' ^'''"Id  natu- 
than  the  inflammation!  the  aVnir  '^  '"crease  more  rapidly 
would  perhaps  save  h  s  iffe      geve '7/^  "">  ''"J"'-^''  P««s 
June  28th,  Dr.  Green  reported  that  F^^''  ^'^'"^  ^t  '^"'"^• 
with  congestion  of  the   brain       Ti,       ^°"  "^'^  threatened 

""tefh  "'"r°^  ^^"°*  '°^'  his  reasr"*"""'   '■""<^^^^'' 

f  f  e;tditC;^:r1:t"uS^  df  ^^  *«  "-«  -geo„ 
both  feet  above  the  ankle  as  dennfl™'"^'^ '°  amputate 
sufferer  Disease,  howeve;  tri  mnhJ^  '^T'  V'^"  '^f*  'he 
scenes  that  had  surroundShi'mTP'll '  ^""^  """"^  *<=  "eak 
sacnfice.  and  within  the  desolate  soK.'r  l^'^'"'' '"  ^''^  heroic 
«tmgice  and  snow,  surrounded  1,?V^°'^''"'':"^'■°"°'"«ver- 
l>epassed  away  about  TI Tof  i7  '^  '"'•'•owing  comrades 
amputation.     ^  '^  ^-  "'  "^uly  7th,  three  days  after  the 

f  e  «:^o''ur:[^4^;P:;/;-fe  •>«  n^entany 

H  for  welks  on  accounfof^hic  ^^''n''""/"  l"'^  sleeping- 
He  was  unable  to  ^^H  "  °-  -  gradually  failing  strent^tR. 
.Imost  lielpless  exTept  in  a°  '.".^/"^  '^ngth  of  time,  and°was 
'>™-  had  ceased.  Ks'"ap-';,^  w-^J^.t'^K 


494 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


I:' 


lono-  and  unkempt;  his  face  and  hands  were  covered  with 
sooty  black  dirt ;  his  body  was  scantily  covered  with  worn- 
out  clothes ;  his  form  was  wasted ;  his  joints  were  swollen 
and  his  eyes  were  sunken.  r-     v  t.  i 

•'The  first  inquiry  was  if  they  were  not  bnglishmen,  but 
when  he  was  told  that  we  were  his  own  countrymen,  he 
paused  for  a  moment  as  if  reflecting,  then  said:  'And  I  am 

glad  to  see  you.'  .         .  ,     , 

"The  condition  of  hr  p  was  in  keeping  with  the  scene 

inside  the  tent,  despera..  and  derolate ;  the  bleak  bareness 
of  the  spot,  over  which  the  Arctic  bird  would  not  fly ;  the 
row  of  graves  on  a  little  ridge,  lOO  feet  away,  with  the  pro- 
truding heads  and  feet  of  those  lately  buried,  a  sad  but  silent 
witness  to  the  daily  increasing  weakness  of  the  litde  band  of 
survivors ;  the  deserted  winter-quarters  in  the  hollow  below, 
with  its  broken  wall,  invaded  by  the  water  from  the  melting 
snow  and  ice  above  it ;  the  dead  bodies  of  two  companions 
stretched  on  the  ice  foot  that  remained ;  the  wretched  apology 
for  cooking  utensils,  improvised  by  them  in  their  sore  dis- 
tress, hardly  deserving  the  name  ;  the  scattered  and  worn-out 
clothes  and  sleeping-bags  of  the  dead;  the  absence  of  all  food 
save  a  few  drops  of  boiled  sealskin  scraps  ;  the  wild  and  weird 
scene  of  snow,  ice  and  glaciers  overlooking  and  overhanging 
this  desolate  camp,  completed  a  picture  as  starding  as  it  was 
impressive.     I  hope  never  again  in  my  life  to  look  upon  such 
wretchedness  and  such  destitution.     The  picture  was  more 
starding  and  more  deeply  pathetic  than  I  had  ever  dreamed 
could  be  possible.     In  beholding  it  I  stood  for  a  moment 
almost  unmanned,  and  then  realized  that  if  the  expedition 
had  demonstrated  anyone  thing  more  than  another  it  was 
that  an  hour  had  its  value  to  atleast  one  of  the  party.    Stouter 
hearts  than  mine  felt  full  of  sorrow.     Eyes  that  had  not  wept 
for  vears  were  moistened  with  tears  in  the  solemnity  of  that 
precious  hour  in  the  lives  of  that  heroic  litde  band  of  sufferers, 
until  this  moment  so  hopeless  and  helpless. 

"The  dead  were  buried  on  a  ridge  back  of  the  camp,  dis- 
tant from  it  about  forty  yards.  The  bodies  of  Privates  Henr)' 
and  Schneider  were  found  on  the  ice-foot  west  of  the  camp, 
distant  fifty  yards.  In  exhuming  these  bodies,  one  at  a  time 
was  taken  up  and  wrapped  in  blankets.  Tickets  or  tags  oi 
canvas  were  sewed  to  them,  marked  in  the  oruer  ot  cx.."m 
ing  them,  i,  2,  3,  etc. 


CONCLUSION. 


495 


•'Lieutenant  Emory  drew  a  nlnf  „f  .u-  i  . 
with  the  numbers  of  the  erases  ma rL/-*""  ''"■T'mg-grouncl, 
The  plot  was  subsequenfly  lubm^t^^  .'"2''''^''°''^'''^"'"ing 
who  had  superintended  the  buriX  T^,  Sergeant  Brainard, 
bodies  according  to  the  nnn,K.  ^  "^""^^  °f  the  dead 

identity  was  com°p  ete  ThTb„;"'''''  "'"■''"'='  °"  'hem.  Their 
up  and  stowed  int  e  ofl^tt/orSa^i  -^""y  wrapp^J 
were  then  covered  with  ice  JZ  Z  i  j  "'^  ^''^"^-  They 
be  prepared  to  hold  al  ohoT  ThisC  H  "?'  ^"''^  ™"'d 
ward,  when  six  of  the  hnVlt.  ""' ""^^  °°"f=  three  days  after- 
All  the  bodies  were  ^hen  pi:c:d'?n',T"l['=r?'^  1°  "''  ^-^  • 
carried  to  St.  John's,  N  F  °  °'  '"  "'«  ^^nks  and 

was^s'ent'  back'  /o""th;i*ek'^r mal'  ^"°?  "'*  ""=  B-r. 
locality  more  extendedTan  C  of  th'  ^"°"'5^  ''=^'-'=''  °f  ^e 
include  the  coast  from  the  ce  limiM, '5?"'^"'^'"!'"'^^.  ^"d  '<> 
camp,  up  to  Cape  Sabinp     Th-  '  ,  ,    ^  ""''«  west  of  the 

butaddid-nothiL  to  tLat  mJde'thf'''  ^^''^^  '^^"^^  hours! 
the  Bear  returnef  to  Payer  Harbor  h'^"''"°K'  '^7'     ^'  5  P.  M 
crush  of  ice  against  the  land  in  tL    • '"»•  '''"■?'>'  «'=^P«d  the 

^:^^a:^^cKii3i5^"--^ 
;?» t:f  tilJ-Lr-£|fB%°' '^^ -'^^^^ 

and  Ensign   Harlow,  of  the  Theri,     n     ^"S>"^^'^  Melville 
Crosby  and  Lieutenant  Colwel    of  th.  n    "'^''  lieutenant 
bodies  ,„  the  following  manner    fL^.^uu-^P'^''""^  '^e 
was  removed.     It  was  then  wraonZ?™      '•  ^^^  "'e  clothing 
from  head  to  foot  backwar"s  "^nd  /"  ''"P/  "^  '^°"°"  '^'otS 
Cotton  sheeting  was  then  used  t^  i  ™^'■'''  f  ^"^'  ''-"es. 
t  e  fcrm  of  thl  body.     Wrapned  in  .?  """  ''¥''■  <="'  «°  fit 
placed  m  the  tanks  and  secured  lo.'.""^  ""=  ''°<^>' «^^ 
rammmg  ice,  or  when  rollln^7n  .?  ^*'""  movements  from 
ice.    This    rrangement  wasi,^  ^^  P^''^""  ^f'^--  '^^'ving  th™ 
wi..  making, re  p~b^^^^^^^^^^^ 

^cfopsTK  i  "^rfol^j-bln-^  vr^-'™  "> 

&:  '5'"'7;-Sergeants  JeweH  and  P  .  or" "  -  "''  ''il?.'^"^"' 
-m.y  ana  iiiiis,  had  been  cut  anH  ThT  a  '.'"'^tes  vVlustler, 
'0  a  greater  or  less  extent     Alf  fL    1  "^j''^,  P^"'  '•™°ved 

•    '^"  'he  other  bodies  were  found    ' 


496 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


intact.  When  the  bodies  of  the  dead  were  exposed  in  pre- 
paring them,  the  identification  was  found  to  be  complete. 
Some  of  them  could  be  recognized  by  aid  of  a  picture  taken 
with  us  from  home.  Others  whose  features  had  decayed 
were  identified  by  other  characteristics.  I  am  therefore 
satisfied  that  no  mistake  was  made  in  this  important  matter, 
which  so  impressed  us  from  the  beginning." 

Commodore  Schley  then  recites  incidents  of  the  return  to 
St.  John's.  Records  were  deposited  in  the  Nares  cairn  for 
Commander  Coffin,  informing  him  of  the  result  of  the  expedi- 
tion, and  ordering  him  to  Upernavik,  or  Disko,  where  the 
Thetis  and  Bear  were  to  await  his  arrival.  The  return  trip 
was  made  amid  much  danger,  the  ships  often  being  much  ex- 
posed and  encountering  heavy  floes  of  ice.  At  a  point  near 
Wolstenhome  Island  the  rescuing  party  fell  in  with  the 
Dundee  whalers,  and  announced  to  most  of  them  the  news 
of  the  rescue  of  Lieutenant  Greely  and  six  of  the  Lady 
Franklin  Bay  Expedition.  This  was  done  in  order  that  they 
mio-ht  not  continue  on  into  the  danglers  of  Smith  Sound,  or 
be^'led  farther  north  if  they  had  so  intended,  in  view  of  the 
reward  offered  by  Congress  for  the  rescue  of  the  Greely 

"  In  connection  with  these  splendid  sailors  of  the  Dundee 
fleet,"  Commodore  Schley  says,  "I  would  state  to  the  depart- 
ment that  they  were  most  cordial  to  me  during  the  interval 
of  time  when  the  ice  conditions  of  Melville  Bay  kept  us 
together.  From  them  a  vast  amount  of  useful  information 
touching  the  navi^ration  of  this  region  was  obtained,  which 
aided  me  greatly  and  increased  my  confidence  so  n.uch  in 
pushing  my  expedition  into  the  ports  of  Melville  Bay,  at  that 
early  period  of  a  very  close  and  unfavorable  season.  Both 
at  Disko  and  Upernavik  the  governors  informed  me  that  the 
season  was  the  closest  and  severest  for  thirty  years.  In  their 
behalf  I  am  glad  to  say  that  their  appreciation  of  the  situation 
of  Lieutenant  Greely  and  his  party  in  the  desolate  waste  of 
the  dismal  Arctic  regions  inspired  them,  as  it  did  us,  with  a 
determination  to  assume  any  risk  necessary  to  reach  the 
imperilled  party.  If  my  ships  had  met  with  accident  some  ol 
these  noble  men  would  have  reached  Greely,  though,  as  the 
sequel  has  demonstrated,  too  late  to  have^  saved  the  lives  ol 
the  few  survivors  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  reach  in  time. 

Commodore  Schley  continues : 


CONCLUSION. 


497 


"From  the  time  of  enterino-  Mav  r^fU       .-i        ,  . 

.here  was  no.  a  moment  X°„  .he'^shi'p  'wre'o^^  o^t'"'' 
The  most  unceas  ng-  v  e-ilance  «;a«  noJl  °'  °a'>ger. 

age  or  to  take  advantaf e  of  onrnfn  Tf"^  to  preven.  dim- 
of  my  time,  as  welfasTat  oTthT^  '^''^  ?°  ^''"""'=^-  Much 
the  oJher  ships,  was  .^ptt'  in'  tt  Cro'^T^^.-^TrJT  °' 

sponsibility  of  tliis"  0^  caLn.  K^  '""'!!">'  ^"^  g'^^^  re- 
wi.hou.  experienci  in^^ These  dan°ero,?  ""''^^"°°d  P^perly 
labor  woulS  almost  break  :s  dow^n  but  "fJa^s"';  ^^T  ""« 
t.n  that  Greely  and  his  party  weTe  in  peri  The  r^'/^'S^"'" 
of  our  countrymen,  .he  remembrance  of  their  r^^  ^n^ence 
the  nnerest  you  took  in  the  exopdlLn  ^od-speed,  and 

.lifficulties  increased  The  l.,?"^  1  °^'  ?"<^°"'-aged  us  when 
foious  for  .,3<^miles  to  reaclffi'7''''  "' "^^  instant  and 
.he  Lady  Franklin  BaVExoed  ion  n^/^  '1"""''  °^ 

After  passing  Waieat  Strahfthe  •' ^  °  ^","S  ""="'  ''ome. 
eriy,  hauled  to  so?thwS    and  T  ''  "5'"''  ''^'','^=^"  "°"''- 

n>oderate  gale,  with  snZ''d,^-:!g'::rofth°e"d{v^  '^^  "  ' 

During  our  stay  in  Greenland  we  .were  Ltk^teH  "■    '     ' 
way  by  the  mspec.or  of  North  Greenland  and    he     '"  '''""'^' 
of  Godhavn,  Upernavik  and  Tassuisak      T?    ^  governors 
were^u^remitting  in  their  poli.enesstnd  I^.^'^^Z 

saystT?ftaT  Ser  "Jif^et^^- f  ""^-^^  ^^hley 
considerable  portion  of  this  sul  w?  f  u""'  »75c.ooo.  A 
ships,  which  were  returned  in  Ind  V^^  ^""^^'^  "^  "-e 
togethe.  with  that  of  the  retumS  .  condition.  Their  value, 
Frtments.  when  disposed  of  eithef  ?"^  °""^'^  ''"  ^"  de- 
general  service,  will  greatlv  red  re  ,K-^  '^  °'  "^"'"er  to  the 
cmise  of  the  chips  In  t  e  -=■  ^  'his  amount.  During  the 
Debre,  Crosley  anj  B"dtr  wh^  °^  G-'eenland,  Lieutenants 
of  the  three  shiordnl^^^j  I      °  ^"'.^  "'e  executive  officers 

7  there.;!  aSnTd^htVe^E^tf^H  °''f  ^=  .'"  ^"^■ 
that  coast  were  deficient  in  a  mlt  ^  r  Admiralty  charts  of 
ever  opportunity  offered  IdlZ^^  °^  Particulars.  When- 
cers  to  increase  the  accuracJnf'r-  '™?  '^\^"  ^y  these  offi- 

Ue-tenanrimorrhe— r.?Se:arW?'H-^n^^^^^^^^ 


498 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


nianding  the  Bear,  was  under  my  immediate  observation 
during  most  of  tlie  cruise.  It  affords  me  the  greatest  pleasure 
to  testify  to  the  promptness,  energy,  and  skillfulness  of  tills 
meritorious  officer;  his  coolness  and  good  ju'^gment  were 
valuable  to  me.  On  no  occasion  was  it  necessary  to  either 
prompt  or  order  him  to  discharge  duty.  He  was  always  on 
the  watch,  with  the  keenest  appreciation  of  the  situation,  in 
anticipating  all  T.y  wishes.  I  would  commend  him  specially 
to  the  Department  as  an  officer  of  high  professional  merit 
and  competency,  and  would  frankly  state  that  much  of  the 
success  of  the  expedition  is  due  to  him  and  his  ably-officered 
ship." 

Commodore  Schley  also  commends  the  other  officials  of 
the  various  ships,  and  says  the  selection  of  the  crews  of  the 
three  vessels  was  faultless.  There  were  no  punishments  on 
board  the  ships  until  the  return  to  civilization,  and  the  few 
cases  then  were  caused  entirely  by  rum.  The  report  con- 
cludes :  "  If  not  a  breach  of  official  etiquette,  I  would  state  that 
our  success  in  the  work  which  we  had  the  honor  to  accom- 
plish was  made  possible,  first,  by  the  munificent  appropria- 
tion of  Congress ;  sscond,  by  the  unceasing  energy  of  your- 
self and  the  Secretary  of  War;  your  masterly  comprehension 
of  the  problems  to  be  solved  by  the  expedition ;  your  inde- 
fatigable activity  in  fitting  it  for  its  work,  and  your  unflagging 
interest  in  preparing  everything  which  concerned  its  succes:. 
This  spirit  was  caught  up  by  the  officers  and  men  you  hon- 
ored, and  was  the  main  sprmg  of  their  action  when  absent, 
Much  of  the  ^access  of  the  expedition  was  due  to  you,  and 
when  I  say  this  I  only  convey  to  you  the  sentiment  of  all  who 
served  with  me  in  the  difficult,  dangerous,  and  honorable 
duty  which  you  intrusted  to  our  charge." 

General  Hazen,  the  Chief  Signal  Officer,  has  also  sent  in 
his  annual  report  to  the  Secretary  of  War.  Speaking  of  the 
Arctic  relief  expeditions  he  says,  among  other  things,  refer- 
ring to  the  depsTUire  of  the  Yantic,  after  the  loss  of  the  Pro- 
teus, from  Litdeton  Island  to  St,  Joim's  without  leaving  pro- 
visions, that  this  abandonment  of  Lieutenant  Grecly  and  his 
party  to  probable  starvation  by  the  officers  whose  only  mis- 
sion in  those  waters  was  to  succor  them,  displayed  a  lamenta- 
ble disregard  of  grave  responsibilities.  He  hok'::  that  if 
Lieutenant  Garlington  had  insisted  upon  leaving  rations  froin 
the  Yantic,  or  if  another  relief  vessel  had  been  sent  from  St. 


CONCLUSION. 


499 


Greely  carried  out  his  instructior^,  1,^.  n"  '"'>'5  lieutenant 
Bureau  carried  out  tlie  prearrLn  li  ?"^''  ^?''  "'*=  Signal 
after  referring  to  Lieutena'^TS^''  P'^";  ,  "^^  »nti,Ls. 

.H:re"C,rj:ro"cctit  S'r'^^tl^^^  t  ^""  '  "="^  '-''P^'' 
at  this  or  any  future  time.     But^w  Lw\1"t"'°"  "f  bfame 
the  subject,  and  with  it  mv  duty  bemme,  nl"-  ^""^ '''''  "P"" 
of -iistory  and  justice  'o  ail  ca  I  for  =?  k  ■  P'^'"'.'"'^  the  truth 
a.,Lhoritative  judgment  asatrhnnl.k'^^  ^P^"'^'  '""i^'n'  and 
Ae  whole  qJestlu  shairin  ttte  an7    '"°"^'' '°  ^'"^■•ace 
Congress  of  the  United  Statjri'     ^"^^P^nounce,  and  the 
•  •  .  I  therefore   trust  thaf.hu      ?'^"'f«'ly  such  a  tribunal 
Franklin  Bay  expedTt  on  and    h7''°'%'?'*"^^  °f  'he  Lady 
jts  relief,  will  be'deemed  worthy  of  a''tt"°''\°''^^"''-''  ^^ 
by  Congress."  ""^  °'  ^  thorough  investigation 

the  foremost  of  rts''&',''!r  •'^'^^'y  f^P-^dition  as  "amon? 
Greely  in  the  Arcdc  and  thfsrnafBn'"  " ''P"!  LieutenTnl 
earned  out  their  parts  of  the  nrefrrl-f  Tf  'n  Wa3hi„gto„ 
ally  and  successfully  in  every  particula^r!"  ^      °^  '^'"^  "'^'- 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


FUTURE   EXPEDITIONS. 

How  Lieutenant  Loclcwood  and  Lieutenant  Greely  Spent  Christmas  in  the  Arctic  Region- 
Extracts  from  the  Diary  of  the  Former  Officer,  who  Lost  his  Life  Among  the  Icebergs  of 
Cape  Sabine— The  Sufferings  of  Holiday  Weelt— The  Fiend  of  Hunger— New  Year, 
1884— A  Christmas  in  Grinnell  Land  as  Described  l)y  Lieutenant  Greely— The  Work 
Done  by  Greely— Loclcwood  Sees  Cape  Robert  Lincoln,  the  Highest  Northern  Latitude 
Ever  Seen  by  Man— The  Secretary  of  War  on  the  Result  of  the  Expedition— Future 
Expeditions  to  the  Pole— Lieutenant  Greely  Says  that  the  Best  Route  is  Via  Franz 
Josef  Lmd— When  to  Start— How  the  Crew  should  be  Selected  and  Equipped. 

« 

The  story  of  that  Christmas  day,  1883,  at  Cape  Sabine,  of 
Greely  and  his  men,  is  by  far  the  most  pathetic  and  pitiful  that 
the  world  has  ever  read,  yet  in  the  lines  written  by  one  brave 
man  there  is  no  word  of  complaint  from  his  brave  soul. 

Lockwood,  the  noble  gentleman,  the  brave  man,  the  gallant 
soldier,  and  the  true  heart,  wrote  of  that  time  to  tell  how 
brave  men  look  calmly  into  the  grave  and  grasp  hands  with 
death,  no  matter  how  horrible  his  shape  may  be,  and  lay  down 
to  eternal  sleep. 

In  October  Major  Greely  and  his  comrades  reached  Cape 
Sabine  in  their  southward  search  for  succor,  and  on  the  20th 
of  the  month  occupied  the  hut  of  snow  and  ice  that  formed 
the  last  home  on  earth  of  some  of  the  party.  Very  soon  the 
scant  food  remaining  to  them  became  so  much  reduced  that 
the  daily  story,  written  alike  by  the  rescued  and  the  dead,  was 
of  the  dread  battle  with  the  fiend  of  hunger. 

Lieutenant  Lockwood  wrote  all  of  his  daily  histories  In 
'<  short-hand,"  and  his  diaries  transcribed  are  probably  the 
most  voluminous  of  all,  making  many  volumes  of  manuscript. 
In  these  daily  wridngs  he  formally  notes  the  temperature,  and 
the  constant  record  of  33°  or  34°  tells  of  the  suffering  by  cold, 
even  were  there  no  words  to  tell  of  frozen  hands  and  feet,  or 


As  the  rations  grew  smaller,  the  record  tells  of  how  the 
(500) 


FUTURE    EXPEDITIONS. 


501 


thmii;l.t  of  all  turned  on  the  good  thine,  "at  hnm»  "  .^      . 

and  drmk      Even  while  wrltrnj;  of    ome  even"T,..n  ,'m 

come,  such  as  •■  Memorandum_?ranberrv  ieUv  "  and  ?hi  ' 
rative  goes  on.  '"""t-rryjeuy,    and  the  nar- 

,„,??fT  ""''  """"J?}"  '■"  '•-'l'<ol""l'ome»and-"America" 
and  of  the  sweets  of  hfe  and  food  there,  and  llecSnhn 
grand  feasts,  set  dinners,  and  exchange  hosoitati  i,^i  I  ^T 
wood  says:  ■■  Brainard  is  to  come  to  sunner^f  "f,'  '-°'''- 
reaching  Washington,  and  I  have  promfsed  him^q^l" V" 

.le  s,^X™rMa^  M.r'r:;Tthe't"  "'""^  """'V^'^'  ^^ 
1  have  invite?  F^er^^fa  TL  g'^to'rn^erthe",:  ''''"'^ 
eat  some  preserved  strawberries  ami  Wack  cake  Th!.''„,l "'' 
jiess^hac,  agrowl  tcnight  about  theirtou^p^^ol^r  cl^ 

a„d"stv&re'l;:  "J^^ivTn"  tt  f""  ^°'"  ^"'  '"'^'" 

rounding  ice  and  probable  rescfe  tL  tWnl  H%°^  '"'; 
to  Christmas,  and  in  a  small  way  pit  S  sm^ 1 1.  ^""""'^ 
ration  of  the  day      December  7x  fr!i^    ?  b  t  ':°™'"emo- 

^^^^^dtriSSS?!? 

My  dear  mother  and   sistos    Harrv  I'd        "  '""  "''^"^ ' 
brothers-in-law;  how  often^f  think  ^fThem"    "'^  """^  ^"'^ 

ofSr&'-;ri^^:^:,^sirorthr^^^^^^^^^ 

l::f  :  :tnro'f  m^^^a^d'and^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^ 
for  Chri.;fm".c      T    u^u       ^     ^""^  '''^''"^  '^^^  ounces  of  butter 
lor  Liiristmas.     I  shall  make  a  vicrorous  effort  t^  r^ujl  -    r 
eating  it  before  then."     Think  ohhnH     A  '   •    ^^"^^'"J^^"^ 

to  keep  from  eating  an  ouTe  of  bread      AnK'T  ^^?'\" 
charge  of  Biederb.rl.  ..  .^.JL^I^f'^'r  ^^"^  ^^  "P"t  it  m 

aiox  that  same-day  mad;':;;;^ex;;^:::-|^-;^;^^ 


502 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


December  22, — "We  look  forward  to  to-morrow  and  Christ- 
mas," and  "  I  offered  to  give  any  one  a  roast  turkey  on  reach- 
ing home  for  a  single  dog-biscuit  now,  but  found  no  takers." 
The  next  day,  "I  saved  nearly  all  my  hard  bread  for 
Christmas,  though  I  need  it  sorely."  It  was  a  wretched  day, 
and  he  and  others  were  very  weak,  and  he  hopes  "  Christmas 
will  be  ^better  than  to-day,"  and  to  make  his  dinner  grander 
he  made  a  tremendous  effort  and  went  without  hi^  rum,  "in 
order  to  have  it  for  Christmas  "  to  add  to  the  punch. 

Chri^'^mas  eve  came,  and  he  added  to  his  scanty  savings  for 
the  next  day's  feast  half  of  his  bread  and  his  piece  of  lemon. 
Ah !  Christmas  eve  had  greater  power  there  than  even  here 
in  warm  homes,  by  well-spread  boards,  to  turn  the  thoughts 
to  the  absent  ones.  The  devoted  and  faithful  son  and  loving 
brother  wrote :  "  To-night  is  Christmas  eve,  and  my  thoughts 
are  turned  toward  home.  God  preserve  me  to  see  this  day 
next  year,  and  enjoy  it  home  with  those  I  love.  To-morrow 
is  to  he  pretty  much  a  repetition  of  Thanksgiving.  I  have 
saved  up'my  bread  and  rum.  I  think  of  the  children  at  home; 
the  Christmas-tree  to-night,  and  the  toys,  etc.  But  my  fingers 
are  too  cold  to  write  more." 

At  last  comes  the  Christmas  all  have  looked  forward  to  for 
so  long,  and  the  diary  tells  this  story:  "December  25.  Ba- 
rometer 29.93;  thermometer,  35.5.  Christmas.  We  have 
all  been  talking  and  waiting  anxiously  for  the  hour,  and  now 
it  is  here  and  (5  p.  m.)  nearly  gone. 

"  Breakfast  consisted  of  thin  soup  of  peas  and  carrots,  with 
a  litde  blubber  and  some  spoonfuls  of  potatoes.  This  we  had 
at  six  o'clock.     Cloudberries  served  out  (two  cans  to  each 

niess^. 

"At  I  p.  M.  Long  lighted  up  for  the  event  of  the  day— din- 
ner. Dinner  consisted  of  a  fine,  rich  stew  of  all  seal  meat, 
with  onions,  a  litde  blubber,  potatoes,  and  bread  cruml3s. 
After  this  we  had,  in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  so,  a  fine,  nice 
stew,  with  raisins,  and  a  little  blubber  and  milk. 

"  These  were  pretty  much  the  same  as  Thanksgiving,  but 
the  cooks  made  a  great  deal  on  that  day,  and  the  meals  seemed 
better.  The  cooks  are  now  preparing  some  fine  chocolate, 
and  that  will  be  followed  by  a  punch  of  one  gill  of  rum  to 
each  man. 

"  The  party  have  been  in  fine  spirits  to-day.  Cheers  were 
given  after  breakfast  for  Lieutenant  Greely,  Corporal  Elison, 


FUTURE   EXPEDITIONS. 


503 


fjS'nf  i?t  two  cooks.  It  was  agreed  that  we  should  give 
rach  of  the  two  Esquimaux  fifty  cents  from  each  merabe?  of 
the  expedition  to  be  kept  for  them  for  next  Christm™  • 

"Yesterday  has  passed/'  he  writes  the  next  afternoon,  "but 
I  find  my  notes  of  yesterday  very  imperfect.  The  dav  was", 
great  success.  We  all  had  enough,  or  nearly  enough  '^  Thad 
eight  ounces  extra  which  I  had  saved  up,  one  ouncf  of  bu  ter 
besides,  and  the  ruin  of  the  Sunday  before 

"It  was  agreed  early  in  the  morning  that  nothing  should 
be  said  to  mar  the  pleasures  of  thi  day.  Man?  kind Iv 
thoughts  were  expressed  for  those  at  home,  and  oh  I  how 
often  we  spoke  of  what  was  going  on  at  our  several  homes 

?erri:s"::dmt;^e"pf  ^'"  '°  '"^""°"  ^°^^'  turkey,  cran- 
"Reminiscences  of  home,  invitations  to  future  Christmases 
arrangements  for  future  Christmas  meetings  DalffiocTvstlr 
and  to  the  Ann  Arbor  hotel.  The  readinlV?^  reSrd 
Some  songs  ,n  all  languages,  including  French,  German 
Danish,  and  Innu.t.  The  birthday  bills  of  fare  were  VeaT  bv 
me:  Six  pounds  ace,  tl,ree  pounds  milk,  two  pounds  coffee 
two  and  a  quarter  chocolate,  five  pounds  raisins,  twelve Tnd 
a  half  lemons  twelve  and  a  half  pounds  bread,  sik  and  a  half 
pounds  bread  toast  two  pounds'^lard,  three  pounds  blubber 
eight  pounds  cloudberries,  one  pound  su|ar,  twemv  foe 
ounces  carrots,  fifty  ounces  peas  in*^the  stewsT  six  ouS  ex! 
Z^I      I-  '"'"'""  '°  '^T^'^"  """"^^  =^^'  meat,  fourounS 

7Z  fo  :rch  i:r°"'^'''"'  ^•'°"'  '"'^■-  ~  °f  ^'^ 
.:JXu«aV:;rr^^^^^^ 

tremely  satisfactory.    The  rice  was  th^e  samef^nd  mLy  terJ 
rh/?f'  r^"  '°  ^'^^^     The  punch  was  extremely  fine 
weretn'r^^f  '""""  o'clock,  and  by  this  time  most  of  us 

d   kened  off  IZ  "  v.^^'  ""'^  "f  ^°"versation  graduall^ 
Slackened  off  and,  with  the  songs,  the  day  ended.  ' 

To-day  we  have  all  been  feeling  extremely  well  all  day 
-nice  and  warm,  and  comfortable  in  the  extreme.  Some  of 
lZ°Z.':r±lT^'^'^?y-  "'"t  °'?ly  ^o  niuch  as  to  feel  a  little 

of  tl.i     ""T     1?  "^^f  ^  ^'^^^  °^^^a^  to  the  cooks  on  account 
of  the  smoke,  there  being  very  little  wind,  but  the  cooks  were 


504 


AKCTir  EXPLORATIONS. 


given  an  extra  half  gili  of  rum.  They  did  nobly.  Bender 
relieved  Fredericks  to-day,  his  eyes  hurting  him  a  good 
deal. 

"  Our  talk  this  morning  was  of  home  and  our  families.  Dr. 
Pavy,  Rice,  Israel;  Brainard,  and  others  expressed  themselves 
as  having  conceived  a  very  high  idea  of  my  father,  from  what 
they  had  heard  from  Lieutenant  Greely  and  from  me.  I  have 
invited  them  to  come  to  the  house  particularly.  I  have  ex- 
tended a  general  invitation  to  all  the  members  of  the  expedi- 
tion. I  spoke  this  morning  of  the  reunions  of  my  family,  and 
how  enjoyable  they  are.  My  remarks  about  my  father  brought 
tears — the  first  time  I  have  shed  tears  since  I  have  been 
in  this  country ;  if  I  except  the  occasion  at  Esquimaux  Point 
when  Rice  returned  with  the  records — the  only  time  I  spoke 
also  of  my  sisters,  and  of  Mary  Murray,  whose  many  virtues 
I  highly  eulogized. 

••  Kislingbury  was  kind  enough  to  make  for  each  of  the 
party  a  cigarette.  Many  of  us  are  now  out  of  tobacco  en- 
tirely." 

Could  so  terrible  a  st'ory  of  suffering  and  privation  be  told 
more  graphically  ?  And  who  to-day  will  not  offer  a  pitying 
prayer  for  the  brave,  good  soldier  and  son  and  his  comrades, 
who  laid  down  their  lives  so  uncomplainingly? 

December  26. — ^The  diary  of  Lockwood  reads  of  Christmas 
week  :  "  To-day,  thermometer,  34.8°.  We  have  all  been 
feeling  extremely  well  to-day ;  nice  and  warm  and  comfort- 
able in  the  extreme.  Some  of  us  ate  too  much  yesterday, 
but  we  all  slept  well.  Breakfast  this  morning  was  late,  con- 
sisting of  a  soup  made  of  seal-blubber,  which  was  very  good, 
I  did  not  feel  very  hunger.  Supper  of  English  beef,  etc.  I 
had  a  few  bread  crumbs,  salt  water,  and  'gunpowder,'  which 
Long  warmed  over  the  lamp.  We  spoke  a  good  deal  to-day 
of  the  prospects  of  getting  across  the  straits  in  the  spring; 
of  Rice's  preliminary  trip ;  of  the  chances  of  finding  food 
there,  etc.  The  day  has  been  calm.  We  count  on  240  ra- 
tions as  certain.  A  fox  has  been  seen  around  to-day,  but  our 
efforts  to  shoot  him  were  not  successful  so  far.  The  talk  this 
evening  is  all  about  food,  dessert,  etc. 

"December  28. — Thermometer  29.5°,  calm  and  clear.  1 
exchanged  places  with  Whistler  during  the  forenoon,  he  oc- 
cupying my  bag  and  i  his.  Had  very  cold,  numb  hands  all 
the  forenoon,  but   now  the  circulation  seems  to  have  come 


FUTURE   EXPEDITIONS. 

back,  though  it  hac  t^m  «  *    r 

shows  how  food  is  fuel  in  Ss  coun '°  ""^  'hort  rations,  and 
th>s  mo  nmg.  Jewell  made  some  re^-^.t'^''""'=''y  ^P"^^"  ot 
horse  preedmg  in  the  State  '^^arks  m  connection  with 

"Last  night  Gardiner  commencd  =.   k    i 
sh.ppmg,  found  in  the  cachHere     w      ?''  °".  American 
"■^'^"avy  board  ordered  before'weT.ft^^^""'  from  this 
establishment  of  a  formidable  naw!nHr'^°T'"^"'^^''  *e 
brought  the  same  and  the  subiectYf  A      *"  **  President 
fore  Congress.  It  is  singular  hiww/,h^"'?"  ''"■pP'"^  be- 
0  mformation.    Rice  read  some  o?  Mr^"^  V?  "«'«  ""PS 
Modern   Times,  and  thus  the  eve„i„^f  "'■"'5",  ^''''°'y  °f 
930  p.  M.  ""^  evening  was  prolonged  until 

"I  have  amended  mvlunrh  vn.tU  i  • 
.0  send  to  California  for  the  recipe T.r"^?-^^^'^-  "« ■» 
makingcurryand  rice  with  chicken '^Th--  ^"l'"^'^  "'^V  "f 
for  the  tenderloin  steak.  With  CrooJ  ^  "  '°  ''^  substituted 
b.t,  black  cake,  and  egg-nog  I  '!,'''  \V°  ^\'  ^^'^h  rare- 
ca  e :  he  furnishes  thf  othS  articks       ^'  '°  '''"  ''^"se  the 

"The  record  of  the  sSth  =,„^       I' 
ground.    There  was  inteL'cold'fnn^"  '^"^  ">«  same 
interest  was  an  order  of  Lfeuten'   t  Crl  1  ''"""P^'  *'"g  "^ 
penment  of  using  seal-blubber  for  fue^^^  '°  ""''<=  ^"  «^- 

December3o._Thermometer2i"     T,  ,    •  v 

«as  continued  late  into  the  nS  and         u  "'•^'"  marketing 

expressed  for  this  morning  wfth  it  1"""?  ""Patience  waf 

ew).    Snyder,  with  some  Me  else%!n""f  ^"^"\  (»   bread 

t-iree  o'clock  this  morning  '  ^'™''''  "P  »  bargain  at 

"1  save  to-day's  rum   ixr  »„ 
probably  remain  up  to  see  Ve  I^^'™"'  "'«''''  ^^en  I  shall 
gun  .this  morning  was  parti^ulart  T'  °"':.    ^he  son-oft 
wening  equally  ,,t.  P='""^"'arly  fi„e,  and  ti,e  stew  this 

.iecMg.  ^F^S's:::^  t  r  ^  t^='>''  -  ^-^  sub. 

'"g  silence,  the  party  lying  down  In""  ^^'.^«'=<^t  <>(  indue 
repose.  It  is  singular  hoi  wa^™.,^"-'°y'"«^  comfortable 
meal  makes  one.  Came  o„  w  ™  ^""^  comfortable  a  good 
ytorm  is  now  raging  f?om  threes?  ^If^  ^'"'«  "°°"  and 
»f  smoke,  but  it ;«  o".:-- -  ■  ^^?-     ^^^  rope  mak^=  1„, 

«upied  in  cooking."  T^i:  rornin*l'°  "'^  J'^'*''  «"d  the"tim, 
^^*..    This  ev^eningtaTSfeeTo'irr^iut 


time 


g06  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

wind.  I  am  suffering  with  my  eyes,  which  seem  to  have  been 
affected  by  the  smoke. 

"  Memorandum. — Cracked  wheat  with  honey  and  milk. 

"December  31. — Thermometer  21°.  Thermometer  yester- 
day morning  at  ten  o'clock  inside  the  house  24°.  Storm  raging 
all  last  night  and  all  day  to-day  from  the  east.  This  evening 
it  seems  to  have  stopped. 

"About  ten  a.  m.  it  was  discovered  that  the  water-hole  was 
frozen  uo,  and  a  new  hole  nearer  the  shore  was  commenced. 
We  worked  at  the  new  hole  from  this  time  until  4.15  p.  m., 
when  Brainard  succeeded  in  striking  water.  It  was  very  se- 
vere work.  The  wind  blew  in  gusts  very  hard.  All  the  well 
ones  went  out  except  Lieutenant  Greely.  Those  who  did  not 
go  out  were  Lieutenant  Greely,  Elison,  Jewell,  Gardiner, 
Henry,  the  doctor,  Biederbeck,  Cross,  Bender,  Whistler,  and 
the  two  Esquimaux ;  also  the  two  cooks.  The  two  cooks  and 
the  Esquimaux,  and  the  doctor  and  Biederbeck,  do  not  take 
part  in  keeping  open  the  water-hole.     Whisrier  was  occupied 

in  cutting  up  the  wood.  ,     , ,  , , 

"  This  evening  was  fixed  upon  for  trymg  the  blubber  to 
cook  by,  but  it  has  been  postponed.  The  water  used  by  the 
doctor  for  dressing  frost-bites  has  been  warmed  up  to-day  for 
the  first  time  over  the  blubber-lamp.  This  might  have  been 
done  right  along.  Instead,  about  three  ounces  of  alcohol 
each  day  have  been  used. 

"Breakfast  this  morning  consisted  of  ox-tail  soup,  and 
supper  of  English  meat.  My  rum  issued  yesterday  I  will 
drink  to-night,  as  I  want  to  set  up  and  see  the  old  year  out. 
Supper  was  delayed  until  about  five  o'clock  by  the  work  on 
the  water-hole.  We  all  got  cold  feet  by  going  out.  My  own 
became  painfully  cold,  and  we  are  still  very  cold.  It  is  dis- 
comfort in  the  extreme. 

"  How  glad  we  all  are  that  the  end  of  the  year  has  been 
reached  again,  can  hardly  be  explained.  Rice  expects  to 
start  across  about  the  end  of  January.  We  had  to  cut  down 
through  about  four  feet  of  ice  to  reach  water. 

"Tuesday,  January  i,  1884.— Day  passed  in  bag.  Lieuten- 
ant Greely  came  over  and  paid  me  a  visit  shortly  after  break- 
fast. He  told  me  that  the  doctor  had  made  overtures  to 
make  allowance  (offensive  remark  made  some  time  ago),  but 
that  he  had  declined.  He  told  me  also  that  some  time  ago 
he  felt  certain  that  the  doctor  was  eating  during  the  night 


FUTURE   EXPEDITIONS. 

CWral  Elison's  allowance  of  bread     W=.=     vu- 

a  half  feet  of  the  doctor  at  th»  ,•  j     '  *'"'""  two  and 

fact  before  a  court.  He  d^'oughttriX''^"'''''  ?™^^'  '°  *« 
to  Brainard,  but  had  said  nX  ^"'  '°  mention  the  fact 
But  this,  as  well  as  formt  mat^f  T  T  "^5^  ^'^^  '''»«^" 

tieton  Island.    All  this^  ^eems  to  h?'"''K^    ''"■^' ''"' «  Lit- 
or  altogether  from  Biederbeck  ''^^"  gained  mostly 

.  ""'!  '°1''  me  that  he  would'' do  all  ;„  M. 
in  gettmg  a  staff  appointmpnt  ,.n  ^  P''"'^'' '«  aid  me 

I  could  have  three  ^rfourTeekso?;:'"? '  *"'  '^  '  '■^^'''•^d 

SoU-rtS^HF'l---^^^^^ 

ter.and  a  little  latteVwe  haS  cloudb/'"  dog-biscuits  with  but- 
Supper  consisted  of  fin^  se^meat  ^tew  '  w1 7"  ^'^'^  '<="'°"- 
the  misfortune  to  spill  my  breTd  LT"'    -^  "'''  '=^""&  '  had 
the  last  drop  of  my  t^.    vlfv^'i?  PJ^.'""g  "  "P  spilled 
Long,  and  Biederdeck  gave  m7a  H  riJ^  Lieutenant  Greely, 
most  regained.     Before  I  ITmv  1' '2  *S  ""P^"'  ™»  «'- 
seven  dog-biscuits,  and  next  Sun^»„'        ^"^"^^  °f^^'^'i  "e 
».of-a-gun  for  my  stew  th  s  evenfnl  W  "?  '"^'^'"'°"  °f  'he 
k  mmd.     When  Ellis  perceived  I  h^'d       •n'^'?"'""''  <^''«"g«<l 
fered  to  trade  me  half  i^cupM  but  .\  h  ^'.'''^f  "7  '^^  he  of- 
■ny  mi  ifortune,  I  declined  ^^  '°°''  advantage  of 

on"t*%tinf  ofTh"e  Ni:Vr"''^.'''l-'''s'' =P'"'^<1 'o-day 

opeful.    We-now  speak  freq^endv"?  *•   '1'="'"^^"  ^«™ 
We  are  all  in  hit^h  hone..      T         ^       g?"ig  home  this  ye- - 

"ell's  place  in  fi.Zl„t  ifeW.V^"  ?r"'"ff  ^--*^k^ 

"How    myrhoU^hTs-nr  r^LrTtoT  ^"  -^" ^ 


">ere!    Are  they  think 


ing  of  me 


dear  ones 


5o8  ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

Lieutenant  Greely,  in  the  course  of  conversation,  describes 
a  Polar  Christmas  (1882)  in  Grinnell  Land  as  follows: 

"  It  was  Christmas  Eve  in  Grinnell  Land  as  in  all  the  world 
beside.  The  temperature  was  moderate  for  the  season,  rang. 
ing  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  degrees  below  the  zero  of  Fahren- 
heit. For  two  days,  however,  a  severe  storm  of  high  wind  and 
drifting  snow  had  prevailed,  rendering  our  usual  out-of-door 
exercise  difficult  and  dangerous.  For  seventy  days  the  cheer- 
less gloom  and  darkness  of  the  long  Arctic  night  had  been 
upon  us,  leaving  their  impress  in  the  shape  of  failing  appe- 
tites, fading  color,  and  depressed  spirits.  Now  more  than 
ever  came  to  our  minds  a  sense  of  isolation  and  a  remem- 
brance of  that  world  from  which  we  were  separated  by  long 
and  dreary  expanses  of  ice  and  snow. 

"  Would  storm  and  wind  allay  and  give  us  a  bright  Christ- 
mas ?  This  was  the  question  which  disturbed  our  minds.  At 
noon,  to  our  delight,  the  wind  fell,  and  a  few  hours  later  the 
snowy  clouds  vanished  as  if  by  magic,  and  once  again  the 
starry  beauties  of  the  Polar  heaven  shone  forth  in  all  thir 
glory.  This  sudden  change  spoke  well  for  the  morrow,  and 
gave  new  vigor  to  Sergeants  Rice  and  Brainard,  who  had  set 
their  hearts  upon  a  fitting  celebration  of  the  coming  day. 
They  asked  the  use  of  all  flags,  banners,  and  other  decorative 
articles,  intimating  at  the  same  time  that  my  absence  from  the 
men's  quarters  until  six  p.  m.  was  desirable.  At  that  hour  the 
results  of  their  work  stood  disclosed.  The  bright  flags,  neat 
banners,  and  gay  guidons  were  tastefully  arranged,  and  pre- 
sented a  marked  and  delightful  contrast  to  the  smoke-be- 
grimed walls  and  ceiling.  In  the  most  prominent  place  was 
hung  an  afghan,  whose  alternations  of  snowy  whiteness  and 
crimson  color  were  broken  by  various  devices  in  delicate 
needle-work.  Its  golden  anchor  of  hope,  its  silver  horse- 
shoe of  luck,  its  white  lilies  of  purity,  its  sweet  violets  of  re- 
membrance, its  polar  star  and  its  cross  of  faith,  were  to  us  all 
emblems  ever  dear.  Wrought  by  loving  hands  in  other 
climes,  its  first  usefulness  served  to  cheer  and  brighten  our 
lonely  Arctic  quarters  on  this  Christmas  Eve. 

"Our  stock  of  presents  was  not  large.  The  greater  partol 
them  had  been  contributed  through  the  kindness  of  a  lady  in 
New  York  city,  who,  although  unacquainted  with  any  member 
of  the  expedition,  had,  with  considerate  thoughtfulness,  for- 
warded some  little  gift  for  each  one  of  the  party.    The  pres- 


a  remem- 


FUTURE   EXPEDITIONS. 

p^J^:^::i  l^-'STiiSe^"  -r^-^i  --'>  '=o!Z 

from  .he  lieutenarit  a  question  to  PnWe  s'"h  ''°f  'V^"'="«<1 
been  often  heard  in  lower  kt^.uii  ^au''"^''"'^''' '^Wch  has 
you  want  to  buy  a  doe?'    Th""^^'=    Ah,  Schneider,  don't 

mark  lay  fn  the  W  thft  SchleHerTaTT'"'^.^  "^  "'«  "«- 
the  Esquimaux  puppies  and  ?.,!'"'  devoted  himself  to 
two  litters  of  theS,.'^'^¥he  officers' m'"  '^""f  specially  for 
an  excellent  imitation  of  an  Wsh  ZSJ'Vu     ''"P""'  °f 
officer  received  a  fan,  which  w^ri,?  J?         T''^  commandinff 
climes  for  which  it  C^  made     '^/f  ^  "^^^ed  to  recall  thf 
nearly  a  ways  included  pipes  or  tob^rJ    ■l"'l '°'"  "'^  ■"«" 
books,  slates,  pencils,  wristlets    e?c      c '  "'"'  *S  ''^''"'on  of 
.tan  adverse  fate  which  sent  to  hTm  f^'S^^"'  R'ce  thought 
filled  w,th  a  goodly  quantity  o  the  wed""^"'"'^''''  ^  P""^'' 
was  greatly  delighted  and  surorUd  k     ^^''ge^'nt  Gardiner 

ivards,  were  set  out  on  thp  f"wi      ""^oered  from  one  uo. 
The  highest  throw  ha3  first  ctoice,'^dP°T'^  °^  ''>'  ^^^""1 
-vh.ch  entitled  him  to  the  cor"  .°' !■  """^  '^^''=««=^!  a  ""mber 
sealed  caskets,  .the  prfvn:g;tf°"e;eS-    ^-™''.Po«ia's 
granted,  and  as  in  that  case  wh»L      ■  ?  '  f^xammation  was 
silveriest  the  prize,  so  hereThe  heavTef aL^""  '"'  '"''"'"^ 
ans  were  not  always  the  most  vaTn/hf       ,'"°'''=  ^''''^^'ve 
eavier  cans  were  fflled  with  beanf  m^^'     '"•  S""<='-^'  *« 
ghter  contained  orders  foT  confeff    -f  "'^'  *•"''«  "-e 
fortunate  individual  Sero-ean^r!  ^?    '  ?"^'  '''""•  «'<=.    One 
ton  of  ice-a  seconc^^an  ofde"  ■SodT'"'  "^T  ""  °"^"  f°"^     ' 
"ticket 'good  for  a  passa™  to  St  ill   '  TH"^'  ^"^  a  third. 
As  transpired  two  years  liter  r^^-'r"  '  ^^  "'^  ^'''^  ^^amer.' 
'".mind  to  turn  the  joke  uno^  me  i'"7~''°°''  ''^""^''-had  t 
»n.    On  one  of  the^'b  ilhtTvs  i^,,?    ^^^  ""^  ""^ '"  ""X  own 
ime  at  Sabine-for  even  ImJ^  ►    ,  '^"'^  '°  "=  '"  *«  sprine- 
;We  privations,  our  sp'  ,"s  neter  emi^f  ^t/"^'  '"^  '-" 

f:j^-  bright  and^heerfI.;^Sr:;:^e"/-^"s^„X 
^n'^rt:^;-^^^^^^^^  yo.     I  had 

K  but,  as  that  -y  nler-be;ituld'',ire;rto'tad 


i 


5»o 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


"  It  was  my  order  for  a  ton  of  ice. 

"While  tlie  raffling  was  in  progress,  skillful  hands  had  been 
busy  preparing  our  Christmas  cup,  a  delicious  egtr-noor— 
delicious  to  us  even  though  the  milk  and  eggs  used  in  com- 
pounding it  were  from  the  can  and  not  freshly  from  the  farm. 
The  merriment  of  the  evening,  as  was  natural  and  appropriate, 
burst  forth  in  song.  Plantation  melodies,  comic  songs  and 
sentimental  ditties  were  rendered,  giving  way,  as  midnight 
approached,  to  sacred  hymns  and  those  beautiful  and  tender 
Christmas  carols  which  have  come  down  to  us  from  the  mid- 
dle ages.  Thus  with  songs  of  praise  was  ushered  in  that 
Christmas  morn  in  our  lonely  home  in  the  weird  and  frozen 
Northland. 

"At  six  o'clock  on  Christmas  day  the  thermometer  registered 
forty  degrees  below  zero,  but  calm  weather  and  a  clear  sky 
insured  a  delightful  day,  as  Arctic  days  go  at  that  season  of 
the  year.  Our  breakfast  came,  as  usual,  at  half-past  seven. 
At  ten  o'clock  the  men  assembled  for  the  customary  Sabbath 
service.  The  selection  of  Psalms  for  Christmas  day  was 
read,  as  well  as  the  139th  and  ;.40th  Psalms.  Situated 
as  we  were  upon  the  verge  of  the  world,  and  living  in  the 
great  shadow  of  that  Arctic  night,  to  us  all  came  more 
touchingly  and  forcibly  than  ever  the  truth  of  those  beautiful 
words : 

"» If  I  take  the  wings  of  llie  morning,  and  remain  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea; 
«"  If  I  say,  Peradventure  the  darkness  shall  cover  me ;  then  shall  my  night  be  turned  to 
day.' 

"Need  I  say  that  our  morning  exercises  were  closed  with 
*  Praise  God  from  Whom  All  Blessings  Flow,'  in  which  even 
the  least  musical  raised  his  voice  ? 

"  During  the  day  nearly  every  man  took  an  unusual  amount 
of  physical  exercise  in  view  of  the  approaching  feast,  and  the 
three-mile  course  to  Dutch  Island  and  back  was,  as  usual,  the 
favorite  of  the  day.  If  high  noon  brought  to  us  naught  but 
the  shining  stars  and  circling  planets  of  the  night,  yet  our 
eyes  and  senses,  trained  to  Arctic  darkness,  enabled  us  to 
keep  the  rough  roadway  through  the  tangled  icefoot  and  on 
the  palisocrystic  floes.  And  if  nature  by  her  frosty  touch  had 
banished  every  living  subject  from  our  clime  and  thus  silenced 
the  hum  of  animal  life,  yet  with  grand  and  wordless  voices 
she  spake  to  us  ihrough  the  surging  tides  ^  d  crackling  ice- 
foot. 


FUTURE   EXPEDITIONS.  -„ 

ion?re„?:f ire  3':;  dDlntT.^r  '°t  "'^'r"^'  '^"'  *«= 

cooks,  Frederick  and  I  nn  J^„  j"  ""  ?"  ''°"''  '*'«"•.  »=  our 
should  be  at  iS  bes?  AlfknT  ''"f  ™.'""''  "'^  everything 
our  table,  and  if  the  <=o„vJf-  ,*"'', '^'"""  P^'-^  "ibite  to 
weU  replaced'  i^'^hVirk^nd'  g"ui  :;;oTs  Zt''  '\  "^^^ 

co:f unf  T.  -teut^^rtS-^r^f rr  - '"« 

pudding  had  been  senf  tn  th^       \  ^?  ^  '^^^  of  canned 

.he  wife  of  the'comnTandit  X^er'"  tS"'?^'  ^'^f™'" 
iinder-cook  with  the  DudHln„  ,         u     7"*  entrance  of  the 

The  lambent,  pale  blu'^flamfso/ the'  "T  "^^  "'^  '"""e^- 
pudding  were  a  novelty  toToL  Vnd  /Tr''t"'="'S^  ='''°"'  "'« 
the  coffee  each  officer  and  m^^!  =  ''*'«'?'  '°  =>"•     After 

cigar,  the  gift  of  a  tWh.H^^?  ,  ^  presented  with  a  Havana 
wSakness  of  the  ran°  fnd  fiuT''  ^'"^^J'^''  '"PPreciated  the 
Shortlyafterth-  dinner  Serte,„/p-''  '"*  ^"'^'^  '-'''  '"^"O-- 
room,  stating  tl.  t  he  came  f„  k'i  ',f  ^PP/=^'^^ '"  the  officers' 
to  express,  through  me  Tw  A  f  of  the  men,  who  desired 
siderate  k  ndneTh^d  con/rih,  f  J"'  '^  '^e  ladies  whose  con- 
and  happiness  on\S,^''cSard'ar  '°  ''''"  •"^'''^"^'^ 

-?  Artr^enrorlro'fl^erirh?",^  ^'"'™''"-« 
loudly  out :  ^"^  '"^  "'S^t  observer  called 

"'Eleven  o'clock!' 

"  Chrktmas  day  at  Conger  was  ended." 

^n'er  M;  fB'arTtf  H^vd  "''''  f^  '"^^«'°"  °f  Com- 
Navigation,  with  refertce  "' f  "S'-^P'^^'-  t°  the  Bureau  of 
acquisitions  to  a  knoS? '?';J"'^°''P.°'"^''°"  °f  "'«  '^"^^t 
fhe  North  Pole  furnXdfeVten/nTGr?  ,^''-™j"/^«"'  'o 
■snow substantially  comnle^L  tI  T  ^'"""^y  ^"^  '"^  ?=>«/. 
'he  marvellous  amVunTof  labor  I!^f  r'  UTT  "  "  S'^nce 
«dered.by  the  Greeiv  ™r»,     x^  '^P'"'''^'^' ^"  """gs  con- 

American^Polar  rell^  from  ntffi"-'''t'"'^'''^'"^  ""^  ^orth 
showing  the  most  rerenV  ry  ■"  °.   '"'>'  '"  Lincoln  sea, 

United^States  Poaris  e"'ed'i't?n:-"''i'"^'"*"S  those  of  the 
F.  Hall,  the  British  ArrH^  •  '^l'-''  ""'"«'■  C^Ptain  C. 

lain  G.  S.  N"i'l„J'!l.'^.'=?P'?'-«i°nfin  -875-6  under  Can- 

.88.-3  underTi;ut;'n-rA."w.'G';edy,"u.  's^^a'P^"''-"  ■" 


S«a 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


The  results  of  the  explorations  of  the  Greely  party,  as 
shown  on  the  chart,  covered  three  times  what  was  accom- 
plished by  all  the  other  expeditions  named.  The  highest  point 
reached  by  the  Polaris,  on  August  31,  1871,  was  82^  15'. 
Commander  Markham  and  Lieutenrnt  Parr,  of  the  Nares 
British  expedition,  on  May  12,  1876,  touched  83°  20'  26". 
Lieutenant  Beaumont,  of  the  same  expedition,  on  May  21, 
1876,  saw  Beaumont  Island  beyond.  Lieutenant  Lockwood, 
of  the  Greely  party,  accompanied  by  Sergeant  Brainard, 
started  out  on  their  celebrated  journey  northward  early  in 
May,  1882,  crossing  over  to  Cape  Britannia,  Beaumont  Island, 
the  farthest  point  seen  by  the  Nares  party  in  1876,  skirted 
the  COS  3t,  sketching  the  oudine  of  the  inlets  and  fiords  as  they 
went  along,  and  passing  Beajimont  Island  1  cached  on  May 
13-15,  1882,  two  islands,  according  to  the  accurate  scale  oi" 
the  chart,  in  latitude  83°  30',  or  three  and  one-half  miles 
nearer  the  pole  than  was  ever  reached  by  any  human  being, 
which  they  named  Lockwood  and  Brainard  Islands,  and  saw 
a  cape  ten  miles  beyond,  bearing  northeast,  which  they  named 
Robert  Lincoln,  the  highest  seen  point  in  the  world  and  be- 
lieved to  be  the  extreme  northern  point  of  the  continent  of 
Greenland.  If  the  same  travelled  distance  had  been  possible 
to  the  northward  Lockwood  and  Brainard  would  have  been 
some  ninety  miles  nearer  the  pole  and  in  its  immediate  vicinity. 
The  report  will  show  that  owing  to  the  open  sea  during  the 
spring  of  1882  this  party  was  forced  to  keep  the  coast  line 
instead  of  penetrating  due  north,  as  appears  to  have  been 
their  purpose. 

Lieutenant  Lockwood  adds  ninety  miles  of  carefully 
delineated  coast  to  the  hitherto  extreme  limits  of  geographical 
knowledge.  Mount  Schley,  on  Lockwood  Island,  is  shown 
to  be  2,500  feet  high.  This  additional  data  completes  the 
outlines,  it  is  believed,  of  the  northern  coast  of  Greenland 
and  leaves  but  a  small  strip  of  abort  ninety  miles  of  that 
coast  to  complete  the  circumnavigation  and  circumexploration 
of  that  icy  continent.  The  highest  point  reached  on  the 
eastern  coast  was  in  1670.  Since  that  time  two  centuries 
elapsed  without  any  attempt  to  follow  the  coast  on  that  side 
until  the  second  German  expedition,  which  reached,  however, 
a  lower  point  in  1870. 

The  announcement  which  appears  to  have  attracted  the 
most  profound  attention  was  that  for  the  first  time  formulated 


FUTURE   EXPEDITIONS.  • 

wcod  Island,  trendin°  to  the  nnffh  '  P'^'""'^  f™™  Lock- 
northern  point  of  the  ?on°inc„t  of  Crf '  '  T\'^^  ^«'-«"^« 
was  held  and  the  circur^polar  °1S=  ^""^^  ^  .™"''»ltation 
nection  with  Lieutenant  LocLS  l"^  "^jamined  in  con. 

journeyalongthenorthern  coast  o^."    °.^  ^'^  celebrated 
was  unanimously  acceDtrrl  ,1,  jl    °f  Greenland,  and  the  theory 

and  l.ad  LockJ'oodTnd^^^  „:";.''  ??'  ''T^^"  "^«  f^^^ 
passed  Cape  Robert  Unco™  thl  I  ff^^''  ■*''^*''  ^"'1 
found  a  southerly  trend  to  the  coiT,  7"  •  '"^^'t^bly  have 
.0  distance  than  that  they  had  awlth  ^1°'"""^  "o  Skater 
their  winter  rendezvous  at  Cnnlr'^  '"^^''  northward  from 
advantage  of  moving  nearer  fh»  ^"^^'''  ''?"P'^^  ^ith  the 
have  given  them  the  fonor  of  comnU™"'J"-""'^^='  "<">'d 
non  of  the  Greenland  continent     '^""^  '^^  circumexplora- 

Sergeant  Brainard  rives  as  a  'r.,o„    r 
the  fact  that  their  sup^ply  of  food  wL  ^°' T  P",'^'"S  ^^^^^d 
had  that  not  been  the  rase  thIv,l-T.,"*^^'''>'  exhausted,  but 
advance  farther.      t1sTDarpJf?K«^"^^^  ""^'^'^  ^"  <=ff°rt  to 
exploration  of  the  contS  rf  GreL  '%^"-''''°"  °^  "'^"^ 
of  doubt,  but  simply  one  of  suppHerfor  ?h   'e  ""/""^^  °"« 

For  the  time  beinsr  the  auestlnn  .ff  ?i!    y^^^  ?'  ^°'"  '"en- 
.ohave  been  set  in  t1>e  shade  anS  th  *'-^T*  J°'"  ^PP««" 
"f  urging  the  equipment  ofl  small  Ian  J?  ?^^  "'"^''  '^'^ 
undertake  the  completion  of  fhHv','  "f?  °'  '^^Sfe  party  to 
of  Greenland.     The  farthest  land  ?.l„  K°",  °'  ,**=  ™='«  «"« 
Robert  Lincoln)  was  latitude  8,"  ,<?  in,  5"  L°?»°°d  (Cape 
of  the  meridian  of  Greenw^ch^   30,.n  long.tudeas"  30' west 
■he  eastern  coast  by  Ae  leconH  r       ^^''^^'  P°"  =«^"  o" 
was  latitude  79°.  in  longitude  °o»  west  rf"r '''''''"[°']'  '«7°' 
but  a  small  space  of  4°  ■,li„\l.^°^^r''"'''''^'  'saving 
tade  to  be  explored     A<=  IVJl         rf  ^""^  =*°  3°"  in  longf 
lels  of  7g-8,«  norti;  .f^.\'^^Sre<i  of  longitude  on  the  oarfl 

.hat  a  jVrLy"T-u:  same'  Sh^"  k'^^,"  -'"  be'^'et 
Brainard  had  "already  made  wou^hn'''"?   H"^''"""^  ^"d 

»nthe  coast  with'in  the  JnL  nee  o'f  th?^' ''''■"  *^" 
wnich  passes  nearer  bv  and  .„J,ui,  ,  ^  ocean  current 

*  the  fixed  point  oGrroh,tVr  ""f^  ^^^'^  connection 
^tet-7^- '^4^7»1^-1^*^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

■^y.ob.ng^ck;he'';S;rranrsS!-e:rts^^^^^^^^^^^ 


SH 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


party,  left  at  Fort  Conger,  to  equip  a  sledge  party  and  start 
them  out  on  this  Greenland  expedition. 

Intense  interest  is  felt  in  the  subject  among  scientists  and 
geographers.  The  opportunity  to  crown  the  brilliant  labors 
of  Greely  and  Lockwood  and  their  heroic  companions  with 
this  one  grand  culmination  is  one  which  it  is  thought  the 
United  States  should  not  fail  to  improve,  as  the  expense 
would  be  small  and  the  objects  and  results  would  be  quite 
different  from  the  bare  disc,  ery  of  the  North  Pole,  by  having 
an  economic  as  well  as  sciL..tific  value. 

Robert  T.  Lincoln,  Secretary  of  War,  m  his  annual  report  to 
Congress,  gives  the  following  remarks  regarding  the  Greely 

expedition :  ...         •  i       re  •        ,      .,  , 

"The  Chief  Signal  Officer  describes  with  i^ufficient  detail  the 

events  connected  with  the  closing  of  the  work  of  exploration 
in  the  Arctic  regions  and  the  return  of  the  survivors  of  the 
party  under  Lieutenant  Greely.  The  survivors  were  relieved 
at  Cape  Sabine  on  June  22,  1884.  by  a  naval  expedition  under 
the  command  of  Commander  W.  S.  Schley.  The  zeal  and 
enterprise  of  the  relieving  expedition  were  such  as  to  entitle 
all  its  officers  and  men  to  the  highest  commendation;  and 
while  it  reached  Cape  Sabine  at  the  earliest  possible  moment, 
the  final  catastrophe  to  the  few  survivors  of  Lieutenant 
Greely's  party  was,  but  for  the  rescue,  only  a  few  hours  dis- 
tant.  The  Greely  party  numbered  twenty-five  persons,  of 
whom  only  seven  were  rescued  alive,  and  one  died  after  the 
rescue.  Of  the  dead,  all  perished  from  starvation  except  an 
Esquimau,  who  was  drowned,  and  Private  Henry,  who  was 
executed  by  order  of  Lieutenant  Greely  for  repeated  thefts 
of  food  from  the  insufficient  supply  of  the  enfeebled  and  dis- 
tressed company.  1    .  u   /-u-  r 

"The  Secretary  of  War  observes  with  regret  that  the  Lhiet 
Signal  Officer  has  chosen  to  make,  in  his  annual  report  a 
formal  expression  of  opinion  that,  after  the  arrival  of  the 
wrecked  Proteus  party  on  September  13,  1883,  at  St.  Johns, 
there  was  still  time,  'as  known  from  previous  experience  and 
shown  by  subsequent  facts,  to  send  efficient  relief,  stating 
that  •  Captain  Melville  and  others  volunteered  to  go,  giving 
their  full  plans  for  the  relief.' 

"A  contention  as  to  what  would  have  been  the  probable  re- 
sult of  an  expedition  to  the  Arctic  regions  started  in  the  au- 
tumn, with  such  preparations  as  could  be  made  alter  the  mia 


FUTURE    EXPEDITIONS. 

tliere  may  be  persons  whose  hum. ?^^^^^     °/^^  subject,  as 

existed  for  months  may  not  be  acm  '  L   '  -^^^  P'^''^ 

of  the  opinion  of  experienced  oerrn^  '^"^  ^^  ^  ^^nowledge 
cl'saster  and  the  little^op"  of  s'uccess'ofV'  '^'  ^'^"^^^'^  °^ 
preach  him  at  that  season  °^  ^"^  ^"^"^Pt  to  ap- 

S'.  John's  Sept:.j:be'/',f  Tss','  T^^^f  "-'  ^'^'P.  -ached 
flKrge  of  the  party   wa,  on   ,i,  .H""*""*"'  Garlington    in 
whether  anythin'g  ™oVe  ".Id  b  tnf ,Lf '^''  ^X  .elegrkph 
on  September  14-  •  Bv  M, '  ,•         "?  '''^'  V^ar.     He  replied 
procured,  filled.  p'roviZned  etc^'r ^ ^^-^^^'^   -"'d    be 
son  to  accomplish  anything  ibis  Uar'N  ^'^  '^"=  "'  ^^a- 
rpponse,  on  the  same  dav  hTJ     r      Notwithstanding  this 
War  and  of  the  Navy,  a '^ur.L    teT"  °^  ""=  S^-^^'arfes  of 
tenant  Garlington  asking  for  ft  lltflir  f™'  \"P' '°  ^ieu- 
from  Commander  Wildes   rl^J,        j?  "^  ^'°"^   himself  and 
steamer  Yantic,    upon   ::'r^rTes,-^   ""=    ^"'"''^    S'aT-s 
fcther  asking  whether  it  w^'a  Sble"?   P'-°P<'""d-d,   and 
steam-sealer  to  go  northward  tL  ,tT        P^J'^"  '°  '^'"rter  a 
suggestions  as  to  the  outfitt'in     of  Z""!  ""'^''"^  "'^°  '^-^^ 
this  Lieutenant  Garlin«on  Tni- 1  ^      '.    P   *"''  ""^"^     To 
.5*,  at  length,  saying  fmong  It  &^,7'''  September 
suit  of  any  .mdertakfng  to  #0  nord,  ,?^,t'-    ^^  "'""'="^  fe- 
probiematical ;    chances  agaS^t  ?t '  .       '"'  '™«  extremely 
n.gh.s,  now  begun   in  thle   "  io„s   m=?  °^'"^   '°  ^^^^^ 
extremely  critical  work.     TherX  nA  T  f    "?  "^^-navigation 
on  west  shore   of  Greenland  kI,         ^a^  wmter  anchorage 
Harbor,  except,  perhaps!  North  sTb"'^"-~  '""^  P^^"^ 
Saunders.     However,  there  La  h/.     7'  "'"'er-quarters  of 

;f  my  recommendations  ar^approvedl';'"''  ^J  '"'"'''■  ="'d 
10  make  the  effort.'  He  the?S  ^"^  '■?^''>'  ^"«'  ai'xious 
a  steam-sealer,  and  howit  was  t7be  r^^'''i°"i  ^=  '°  ^^"1 
Commander  Wildes  rep  .rd  in  ,h.  '"^?'^'^''  ='"d  "^aonel 
September  ,5th:  '  To  cCter  ano,h  T"^^'  ""^^^  ''^'e  of 
e;gn  crew  for  this  duty  to  go  north  at  ,h-''r  ^'''P  ^''"^  »"<"- 
simply  mvite  fresh  disastfr  l^-"""  '^'^  reason  would 

«nned  and   officered    by  nav^  and  ?1  """ ,  ^^   American 
Unless  wmter-auarter=  .J  "!  7  ."^  . '''oroughly   eauioned 

"•eattempt  would  l^usel^sr   TOrcannTb"^  >^  ^^- 

inis  cannot  be  done.     Mel- 


2i6  ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

ville  Bay  will  be  impassable  by  October  ist,  at  latest.    Ship 
cannot  winter  at  Upernavik  and  cannot  sledge   north  from 

there.'  ^, .  n-     •         /^ 

"  Under  date  of  September  14, 1 883,  Chief-Engmeer  George 
W.   Melville,   United    States   Navy,   submitted   a   proposed 
method  of  relief  for  the  Greely  party,  which  was  in  substance 
to  use  the  steamship  Yantic,  but  there  was  no  suggestion  in 
his  proposition  of  any  hope  of  getting  the  Yantic  farther 
north  than  Cape  York,  his  plan  being  to  sledge  northward 
from  there.     Under  date  of  September  15,  1883,  Dr.  James 
Lawb,  who  was  surgeon  in  the  Hartstene  expedition  sent  out 
to  the  relief  of  Dr.  Kane  in  1855,  strongly  urged  the  utter 
impracticability,  from  his  experience,  of  any  expedition,  how- 
ever well  fitted,  being  able  to  reach  a  point  where  it  could  be 
of  the  slightest  service  to  the  Greely  party.     He  said  that  be- 
fore an  expedition  could  reach  the  shores  of  Greenland  it 
would  be  dangerous  to  proceed  above  Disco  Island.    Captain 
George  E.  Tyson,  who,  as  is  well  known,  was  with  Hall's  last 
expedition,  and  was  in  command  of  the  party  which  floated 
down  from  the  Arctic  regions  on  an  ice-floe,  offered  his  ser- 
vices to  lead  an  expedition,  but  he  made  no  suggestion  to  go 
in  the  autumn  of  1883.     On  the  contrary,  he  expressed,  in 
personal  conference,  his  firm  conviction  of  the  impracticability 
and  danger  of  undertaking  such  an  expedition  in  the  autumn. 
"  Persons  whose  experience  and  studies  gave  their  opinions 
weight  were  personally  consulted  by  the  Secretaries  of  War 
and  of  the  Navy,  among  them  being  Captain  Greer,  United 
States  Navy,  who  went  to  Litdeton  Island  In  1873,  in  com- 
mand of  the  Tigress,  in  search  of  some  of  the  company  of 
the  wecked  Polaris,  and  Doctor  Emil  Bessels,  who  was  in 
charge  of  the  scientific  work  of  the  Polaris,  and  after  its  wreck 
in  1872  spent  the  winter  at  Life-Boat  Cove.     Upon  consider- 
ation of  all  information,  the  conclusion  was  inevitable  that, 
under  the  most  favorable  conditions,  a  vessel  might  reach 
Upernavik,  but  that  it  could  go  no  farther  north  in  that 
season.     This  point  is  about  seven  hundred  miles  from  Lit- 
tleton Island,  and  the  stretch  of  water  and  land  between  is 
impassable  for  boats  or  sledges  after  the  ist  of  October,  and 
oftentimes  after  the  ist  of  September.    The  Arctic  night  be- 
gins at  Upernavik  about  the  middle  of  October,  and  it  was 
considered  that,  selting  asiae  au  qucbuuws  Oi  it=  ^."..  p^ri-. 
the  best  that  a  new  relief  expedition  at  that  time  could  do 


FUTURE   EXPEDITIONS.  e,- 

would  be  to  go  a  part  of  the  way  and  wait  for  the  next  .„m 
mer  to  resume  the  journey.     The  testimony  was  conlsive" 
tlia tsledgmg  north  from  Upernavik  was  impossfble  "^^ 

The  deplorable  situation  of  the  Greely  party  then  feared 
but  smce  known  to  exist,  did  not  lessen  the  S  wh  ch 
would  have  beset  any  relief  party  started  at  the  bee  n nil  o^ 
an  Arctic  winter.     The  Serrpfnr,,  ^f  ur     V"^  °^g"i"'ng  ot 

whose  opinion  would  be  eon    d^  L  exYew  tTihtf"^-  ""', 
Officer,  who  would  not  have  recrarHiH        u  "'f/  ^'S"^' 

only  as  substantially  hopde'ssXay     lirf  e"aSt;n"r' 
actually  given,  but  perilous  in  the  extreme  If  nnlf^  IK    7" 

"Nothing  is  more  Ulustrative  of  .heTmpossib litv  if'    ^■ 
coming  at  all  times  the  difficulties  of  Arr-TJ^tr,,  PL    ,.°''f " 
land  or  sea,  than  the  fact  that  tt  tl  i  o  Liew^^^^^^^ 

separated  by  Smith's  So^nd!  'it'probaSy  ^eve'r IcSt' 

nua  report,  and  which  was  in  part  f^  follows  '       ^      '  ""' 
received  letters  from  some  who  Ire  more  taT^^^^ 

Lering  aS;X?Set"^'rr  Tr^l^y'l-i'--  ?( 


5i8 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


pelled  by  the  darkness,  would  force  the  sledging  parties  to 
consume  so  much  food  while  accomplishing  brief  daily  jour- 
neys, that  they  could  afford  no  succor  to  Greely,  and  havincr 
no  depots  on  the  way  to  draw  on,  they  would  soon  be  com- 
pelled to  fall  back  to  avoid  starvation.  Some  have  suggested 
sending  a  vtissel  to  Cape  York,  but  no  one  advises  that  it  can 
be  reached  without  imminent  peril  to  the  vessel  and  all  on 
board ;  and  from  that  point,  if  attained,  the  impossibility  of 
sledging  is  again  encountered.  The  distance  from  Littleton 
Island  to  Cape  York  is  about  225  miles,  and,  to  Upernavik 
550,  and  to  Disco  800.' 

"  It  may  be  added  that  the  Secretary  of  War,  while  deplor- 
ing  the  terrible  loss  of  life  incurred  by  the  Lady  Franklin 
Bay  expedition,  has  never  seen  reason  to  doubt  the  propriety 
of  these  conclusions  reached  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
and  himself,  upon  all  the  considerations  which  were  available 
to  them. 

"  To  some  of  the  criticisms  made  by  the  Chief  Signal  Officer 
in  his  report  no  reference  seems  to  be  required,  beyond  say- 
ing that  the  Proteus  Court  of  Inquiry,  so  called,  had  the  merit 
of  basing  its  conclusions  as  to  the  officers  with  whom  it  dealt 
upon  such  information  of  facts  and  conditions  as  was  attain- 
able by  the  officers  themselves  at  the  time  of  their  action,  as 
well  as  by  the  court.  But  the  expression  of  the  Chief  Signal 
Officer,  above  referred  to,  is  an  intrusion  of  an  official  opinion 
as  to  the  propriety  of  the  course  of  the  Secretaries  of  War 
and  of  the  Navy  in  not  hazarding  more  lives  in  1883  i"  ^ 
nearly  hopeless  adventure,  upon  his  telegraphic  requests. 
This  excursion  into  an  official  jurisdiction  beyond  his  own,  and 
his  dictum  upon  the  exercise  of  a  superior  responsibility 
which  he  was  not  invited  to  share  are  extraordinary  in  their 
time  and  place,  and  are  hardly  excusable  even  under  what- 
ever of  irritation  may  have  been  caused  by  the  findings  of  the 
Proteus  Court  of  Inquiry.  Waiving,  however,  that  consider- 
ation, if  there  had  at  the  time  been  given  more  weight  to  the 
views  of  that  branch  of  the  public  service,  under  whose  man- 
agement there  had  been  one  futile  and  one  disastrous  expe- 
dition in  the  northern  seas  In  two  successive  years,  than  to 
the  views  of  men  having  experience  in  such  matters,  it  is  now 
hardly  to  be  doubted  that  we  would  have  had  last  summer  the 
news  of  two  A.i-ctic  calamities  instead  of  one.  It  is  not  thought 
that  the  public  would  wish  better  evidence  of  this  than  is  to 


FUTURE   EXPEDITIONS. 

t^hicU  quLV^  °''^'^'  ^^P°«  °f  C~Oer  Schley,  fro! 

■  883,  with  the  repor[':;the  OSS  of  the  fcs^?r,'.^^  ''' 

nox  (September  21st)  cold  w«,tl?.!  .-^  ,"*^  *^  ^q"  - 
ture  keidily  fell  at  D^o  UpnavTk  and  Tr"^  .'^e  tempeV 
Wow  zero  (Fah.)  was  rekrhpd     Ti?-'         T^s-'msak  until  6o» 

of  sixty  consecutivrdays  Melvine'L'v""""?''  ^°'  ^  P^™^ 
fares  could  be  seen  from  these Vhri.^  ^^^  ^T""  """^^  as 
As  the  season  ofconnu^ldarknlr^f!?'""  ^"^^  ""  ^""ber. 
the  navigation  of  this  region  w^u  ^'^  "T^  °"  ^V  0«ober, 

possible^even  if  the  baXd  bTen'op'r  fe  ^11  "'?''  ''■"- 
stances  any  vessel  attemotinir  Th;^'^      ■      -^^  ^^^  c'rcum- 

co™etogrfef.ifshehK'bfen'^:ta'lf;ifst°"  "°"'''  ''^- 

.attlTcti^o^Ssryrw?^^^^^^ 

^^'^:^n^^?;Z^:z^1J°-^^^^^^^^    upon  the 

following  article:   ^^       '^"'"■"'^  ^'•«"=  ^"P^ditions  in  the 

.0  '--Mhrgolrorrc^'ambi^'^Tp'^^- "-"  -a^^ 

Behring's  Strlits  rouS  has  robahlvT""  ^,°"^  ^°^''-    The 
year  by  the  unfortunate  issue  of  thl  1°?"'^  '■°''  '"='"y  » 

commanded  by  the  lamen  ed  DeLn^  Ty,'^T\  ""^'"^  ™= 
ever  reached  in  that  dirtf^nn  ^'  J^%^>Shest  latitude 
Jeannette.  The  lack  of  and  to  the'n  \  °'H"?  ''"  '^e 
attempt  in  that  quarter  for  all  ^„I,„  .".°"''™"'  forbids  any 
Hon  are  quite  ag?eed  thk  llnd  if  "'^f  °"  '^'"«'<=  '^^P'o-'a- 
dition,  the  southeast  currenf!f      «^«"t'?I  to  success.     In  ad- 

for  a  vessel  oncrbeTet  by  t Te^pl?  „^^^^^^^^^^^  ''-g-. 

struction.     No  shio  xvh\rh  hi    u         '"^vitably  drifts  to  de- 

to  tell  the  tale  undl  thf  ^ndAm?^nW     ^m!"^  ^^'  ^^^^  ^^t^^ned 
J-nette  on  the^'siberian  co^JZ^'JlVrZ^Z"' l^^ 


520 


ARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


vessel.  To  the  nordiwest  the  terrible  character  of  the 
palseocrystic  ffack  met  by  McClure  and  Collins  on  the  west 
coast  of  Bank's  Land  is  equally  unfavorable.  Indeed,  should 
an  attempt  be  made  in  that  quarter,  it  should  rather  be  from 
Baffin's  Bay  through  Lancaster  Sound  and  McClure's  Strait, 
in  the  hope  that  a  safe  harbor  could  be  found  at  Prince  Pat- 
rick Island.  It  was  by  this  route  that  Parry  in  1 819  succeeded 
in  reaching  Winter  Harbor,  Melville  Island,  in  a  sailing  ship, 
and  returned  without  trouble  in  the  following  year.  In  my 
opinion,  however,  no  profitable  or  successful  Arctic  work  can 
be  prosecuted  in  the  future  in  either  quadrant  to  the  north- 
ward of  Behring's  Straits. 

"Second — The  Smith  Sound  route.  By  this  route  the 
nearest  approaches  to  the  Pole  by  land  and  sea  have  been 
made — on  June  30,  1872,  Sergeant  Myer,  U.  S.  Army,  of  the 
Polaris  expedition,  reached  82°  07'  on  the  shores  of  the  Polar 
Ocean,  near  Repulse  Harbor.  In  May,  1876,  Lieutenant 
Aidrich,  R.  N.,  reached  the  northern  point  of  Grinnell  Land, 
Cape  Columbia,  83°  of  north,  70°  10'  west.  On  May  12, 
1876,  Commander  Markham,  R.  N.,  reached  83°  20'  26"  north 
on  the  frozen  Polar  Ocean,  at  that  time  the  greatest  northing 
ever  made.  This  latitude  was  surpassed  by  Lieutenant 
James  B.  Lockwcod,  U.  S.  Army,  who,  carrying  land  twenty- 
eight  miles  farther  north  than  ever  before  known,  reached 
83°  24'  May  18,  1882,  on  the  north  coast  of  Greenland. 

"  This  has  been  called  distinctively  the  American  route,  but 
in  my  opinion  it  is  not  the  true  road  to  the  Pole.  It  has, 
however,  beon  practically  closed  by  Aldrich's  remarkable  trip 
on  the  shores  of  the  Polar  Ocean  to  the  westward  from 
Robeson's  Channel,  and  by  Lockwood's  magnificent  and  un- 
paralleled journey  along  the  north  coast  of  Greenland. 
Another  properly  appointed  expedition  by  this  route  would 
require  two  staunch  vessels,  with  thorough  outfit,  entailing 
an  expense  of  about  ;^750,cxx).  By  skillful  management 
hard  work,  and,  above  all  good  fortune,  it  could  hope  to 
beat  Lockwood's  latitude  but  a  few  miles,  certainly  not  a 
A  single  bad  year  for  ice  to  the  northward  of 
Sound  would  insure  failure,  if  it  did  not  cause  dire 
disaster.  It  is  true  that  much  work  needs  to  be  done  to  the 
westward  of  Hayes'  Sound,  in  the  vicinity  of  Arthur  Land, 

The  Lady  Franklin  Bay  expedition,  which  I  had  the  honor 


degree. 
Smith's 


FUTURE   EXPEDITIONS 

to  command,  dlscovpr^r?  fko«.  /- 

(Bedford  Pii  Is^utaTSXt.Tr  \°"  ^"  -'""d 
by  R.ce  Strait,  which  conneas  r"  S""  *^  "'^'"  »ast 
Stra.t.  By  this  route  a  vesse  can  i")- 1^^  ^"J^  ^"'^'■^"an 
Haven  from  Cocked  Hat  IsIanH  I  &  '^"""^  Alexandria 

and  assisted  in  the  second  expedlSn"  f^P.'*"°"  °f  '868 
ped.t.ons  were  commanded  by  S,°  '3^?^  ^°*  «^- 
h.ghest  known  latitude  ever  attafnedrfh?  '^°''^«"«y-  The 
by  Koideney  and  Payer  in  1S70  r=.  p?™^""^'''^^';''':'! 
radical  objection  to  this  "outl^,?^^-?'^^'"''^-  77°-  The 
.mpenetrable  drift  ice  alom"  2  ""  ""'\>'="  °''  ''eavy  and 
renewed  by  the  immense  nfan  1  "'A  *''J'^''  '«  continual"y 
from  the  Polar  Basin  A^far  as  T  t  '"'"'""""^  =°""'vvard 
cates  it.  ^^  """  as  I  know  no  one  now  advo- 

be  a  5^ -?:f\' vl^^^^^^^^  chance,  though  it 

Edward    Parry,  in   1827   leL^^^nf  hIi'     ? '^^^  ^-^^^  tha?  Sir 
79°  55'  north.  16°  53'  east  ren^'f  a%  ?°^^'   Spitzber^en 
f^%f^  820  45^  nor'ti.'Ti;iri"  Ldrri:^^-  ^^.'  ^^  ^oat  fnd' 
for  fifty  years,  till  beaten  bv  Markh.   ^^"^^'"^^  unsurpassed 
gave  way  to  Lockwoo^in  1882       oJ"  '^^'' ^^"^  '"  ^"^" 
dnft.  Parry's  extreme  point  was  h^^?^"^•,'°  '^^  southerly 
a  though  he  had  travelled  neaHvcnn    T  "''^?  ^'^"^  ^^'^  ship, 
trips  over  the  same  road      fv?       '^l''  ^^^lusive  of  double 
very  favorable  season  say  one  vear'in^'  ^'  '^''.  ^°"^^  ^'^  a 
Jianned  vvhaler  could  reach  84°^or  8  "  n^^K  '  '-T^^^'  ^  ^^"- 
d'fficulty.     Such  a  voyacre  woulH  f  ^  m    u^  '^'^^°"^  ^^^ous 
entanglement  in  the  pac^  wlTh^i      ^"^^ij/^e  chances  of  an 
vessel,  as  happened  to  tl^Hansa     if  ^''^^'  destruction  of  the 
I^owever,  as  the  drift  is  southerlv  r V       '"'^  circumstances. 
orb..t.  would,  in  all  proStv  L  ^  ^^^''^  ^''^^^  ^^  ^^^^^ 
^oes,  a  violation  of  thrfbnH.^  ^ ' .  ?  ^''^^'^^^'     Involving  as  it 
nation,  and  entaihnfgreafanTi  '  ^''""-Y''  of  Arctic^nav 
t'on  .3  n^ot  to  be  recfSde^       "'"'  "^^^'  ^"^^  an  expedi- 


! voyage 


'8.9-.0  through  Un^alerand' 


5=« 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Other  sounds  to  Melville  Island,  enunciated  the  law  of  sue- 
cessful  ice  navigation  in  the  Polar  seas.  He  said :  '  It  can 
never  be  performed  with  any  degree  of  certainty  without  a 
continuity  of  land.  It  was  only  by  watching  the  openings 
between  the  ice  and  the  shore  that  our  late  progress  to  the 
westward  was  effected,  and,  had  the  land  continued  in  the 
desired  direction,  there  can  be  no  question  that  we  should 
have  continued  to  advance,  however  slowly,  toward  the  com- 
pletion of  our  enterprise.' 

"I  think  all  Arctic  authorities  now  concur  in  Sir  Edward's 
opinion.  To  this  has  been  added  another  proposition,  which 
originated,  I  believe,  with  Sherard  Osborne,  but  has  of  late 
years  been  strenuously  supported  by  Commander  Markham, 
R.  N.:  *To  penetrate  far  into  the  unknown  region,  it  is  ne- 
cessary'to  find  a  coast  trending  northward  with  a  western 
aspect,'  This  is  negatively  substantiated,  not  only  by  the 
loss  of  the  Jeannette,  but  by  the  fact  that  the  shores  of  East 
Greenland  are  practically  inaccessible,  while  Spitzbergen  can 
rarely,  if  ever,  be  coasted  along  its  eastern  side.  Positive  and 
convincing  evidence  is  presented  by  Barent's  voyage  to  the 
north  point  of  Nova  Zembla,  Parry's  to  Melville  Island,  Mc- 
Clure's  to  Mercy  Bay,  Kane's  to  Van  Rensselaer  Harbor, 
Hall's  to  Thank  God  Harbor,  Nares'  to  Floeberg  Beach, 
Leigh  Smith's  to  Eira  Harbor,  as  well  as  by  the  whalers' 
yearly  experiences  in  reaching  the  north  water  of  Baffin's 
Bay.  The  cause  of  this  may  in  a  measure  depend  on  the 
rotary  motion  of  the  earth  or  other  complicated  phenomena, 
but  a  reasonable  explanation  is,  perhaps,  to  be  found  in  the 
northeasterly  winds  which  prevail  to  such  an  extent  in  the 
Arctic  regions. 

"Long  sledge  journeys  are  necessary  for  successful  ex- 
ploration even  after  the  vessel  is  in  harbor  at  a  high  latitude. 
The  easier  the  hurbor  is  of  accesi,  so  much  greater  will  be 
the  chances  of  ultimate  success.  These  conditions—continu- 
ity of  land,  with  northern  trend  and  western  aspect,  a  secure 
harbor  easy  of  access,  together  with  ]2;ood  ice  for  sledging 
operations— are  all  fulfilled  in  the  fifth  route,  via  Franz  Josef 

Land.  .        ,  . 

"  Ever  shice  my  attention  was  6rst  drawn  to  Arctic  work  1 

have  regarded  this  as  the  true  route  to  the  Pole.    The  voyage 

^_j -f— : —  of  T  ^lo-K  Sn--;«-^»  ''n  - '-'^o  tRRt.  and  1882.  leave 

no  doubt  that  at  some  season  of  every  year  Franz  Josef  Land 


FVTURE   EXPEDITION& 

may  be  reached  bv  a  well  fiff  ^  ^^^ 

Era  Harbor  in  the'  wim  r  of^Tsr:!,  "''^  ^''P^"^"-'  at 
can  depend  to  a  certain  extent  on  T^'  "^  **'  "'^  explorer 
a  means  of  sustenance  Ue.J  "'^|^'"«  "f  the  country  as 
1884  indicate  a  much tre^f^  ""'  ^""y^''^  s'edge  trioTof 
has  been  found  in  a'„7ot,fe rroCP^f  "k"^  ^moofh  i^^'^ la„ 
a  round  trip  of  about  325  miles  re-Vh'  '^''X'^'^y^  he  made 
Fedgely,  82°  05'  N    cS"  P      k  '^"'"'''•"S,  April  i,  1874  CaZ 

open  water  of  no  great  extPn^T  "'^^  P°'«  he  oWed 
ice  reaching  in  a  nS'an'd  t  thlTsfe^r^^'  ^-de^e'd^by 
of  and,  whose  mean  distancrfrom  th^'\'^'';^«'°"  '°  "'^''^es 
be  from  s.xty  to  seventy  miles  '^'^  '"e'''=«  P°int  might 

laid  dX'n  ry\Tmt%T"  T"''"tP°''«^^en  by  Paver  i, 

Tlie  distance  from  the  soutliern  cS.?  .f  p"'"^'  P^blematical. 
he  northernmost  point  of  Nova  7 ''m   ^'^"l  ^"'"^  I^nd  to 
In  case  of  disaster,  a  retreat  bit        ?  '^  ^^"""^  '80  miles 
frecht,  in  ,874,  after  the  aSnd/    ""  '^ Practicable.     We'-' 

Vf  l^''"''  ^^'^'^ating  in^fss °tT^       "'^  Tegetthof  and 
Th^'Su^eter  ^°--y  -ces^f^?,;!''"--  °^  "'^  '^  ■ 
^^e  mim-mr  O^IPP"'-"--!  ch/nces  o."  success  Wth 
English  expedition  wf  enter  ,1,    "'■^  "'^"  P°=«ihle  that  an 

-*  him  as  a  mt  p  ™  farSfo^"?,  ■"^'='■^'8^6^  en'e^ 
fore,  to  be  hoped  that  1  e  w^'ll  b»     •   "'"  r'''^-     Itis,there- 
ta,ty.    Two  ships,  wi  h  aho      ^■\S<v<^"  'he  desired  opnor 
Ik  needed.     One  vesTl. if    ,i  ^'•'''y '"'="  and  officers  wn,?W 
secure  point  near  b"  Jhtte'"^'"'  ?^^  "arbor  or  some 
arnorthward  as  pos  ible  preferaWrK  '.^°"'''.  ^  P^'^hed  "s 
»ns  Sound,  but,  if  that  is  no   n„    ^"-^^  ^       '^  """^  '^^"'h-n. 
"fFranz  Josef  Land  beyond  CaDe?'!,^''''  '''"n?^  *^  "est  coast 
e  provisioned  for  thre^  yearsPand  A  ""'•    ^''"  ^<=^^^'^  should 
«-ed,n  tempora^houses  to  be  e    *edT^'''°""  ""=  ^n- 
,»n  land  are  recommended  a=  il-      r       ""  ^hore.     Quarters 
's  possible  on  shipboard  a  Z^J  t"  ^'°"'  moisture  than 

r?or^""«°"  '''"tei^^nt'tl^r^T'-"''  "as  ant 
piles  tor  use  in  case  of  disp^f^r  „  •  ,  ^^^-     A  depot  of  sud- 

°^  oe  indispensable,  1 


none  the  less 


vessel 
wise  and  prudent. 


would 


524 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


"Although  not  a  seaman,  I  think  the  following  views  fairly 
cover  the  essential  points  regarding  vessels  and  navigation : 
Small,  easily-handled  steam-whalers,  of  good  speed,  should  be 
selected.     I  have  nothing  to  say  as  to  the  best  method  of 
strengthening  them,  but  presume  those  adopted  in  regard  to 
the  vessels  of  the  recent  relief  expedition  leave  nothing  to  be 
desired  in  that  direction.     It  is  essential  that  each  vessel  have 
a  steam  whale-boat.     It  is  universally  admitted  that  naviga- 
tion  is  impossible  through  close  pack  ice.     In  consequence, 
the  utmost  care  should  be  taken  to  avoid  besetment.     Ross 
has  truly  said,  that  patience  and  caution  are  indispensable  to 
an  Arctic  navigator,  and  to  no  greater  advantage  can  these 
qualities  be  exercised  than  in  avoidance  of  dense  pack  ice. 
A  ship  should  maintain  almost  constant  motion,  and  only  moor 
when   absolutely  necessary,  and   then  only  to   an   iceberg. 
Careful  observations  of  the  currents  and  of  the  ebb  and  flow 
of  the  tide  are  of  the  greatest  importance.     Marked  move- 
ments of  the  ice  are  more  liable  to  occur  after  the  turn  of  the 
tide,  and  the  probable  effect  of  such  changes  must  be  foreseen 
and  discounted.     It  was  mainly  by  increasing  watchfulness  of 
winds,  currents,  and  tides,  and  by  sound  judgment  regarding 
their  effects,  that  Sir  George  Nares  succeeded  in  working  his 
vessel  from  Sabine  to  the'Polar  Ocean  and  back  duri.ig  two 
unfavorable  ice  seasons.     It  was  from  similar  observations 
that  I  was  enabled  during  the  retreat  in  1883,  in  a  like  un- 
favorable year,  and  on  the  same  coast,  to  bring  my  boats  in 
safety  from  Discovery  Harbor  to  Cape  Hanks. 

"The  expedition  should  receive  its  final  supplies  from 
Tromsoe,  and  should  not  leave  that.port  before  the  latter  part 
of  July.  August  and  September  there,  as  in  Smith  Sound, 
are  undoubtedly  the  n  "st  favorable  months  for  ice  navigation. 
In  case  of  a  bad  year  for  ice,  the  vessels  should  rather  return, 
to  renew  the  expedition  the  year  following,  than  adventure 
the  experiences  of  the  Tegetthof.  The  question  whether 
dogs  or  men  should  be  employed  in  hauling  is  debatable 
among  Arctic  men.  I  unhesitatingly  assert,  that  with  dop 
nearly  double  the  distance  can  be  made  that  is  possible  vyith 
men.  Shelter,  fuel,  drink,  sleeping-gear  and  extra  clothing, 
which  form  so  large  a  proportion  ot  constant  weight,  are  not 
needed  for  dogs.  Lockwood's  great  northing  was  made  by 
a  com.bi nation,  the  supporting  sledges  being  drawn  by  men, 
the  advance  sledge  by  dogs.     He"  travelled  far  enough  in 


FUTURE   EXPEDITIONS 

turn,  had  it  been  in  a  sSitht  ?  "^T^"'^  *e  Pole  and  re! 
dog:s  alone,  he  reached  th^f'i'fv  '"  '««i-  dependi,"g  o„ 
;- ^.r  the  .„e  ..e„^  tranl  ^ZS^:^^ 

no;T^dK"tul'traS^°^-  '^^'"-""^  need 
pensable  but,  in  addition,  1^  sho^M  fr'°"'  '"."<^^  ''^  '"''is- 
fuliy  s  udied  the,plans  and  eauiDml^    f  li^"  "''°  has  care- 
.nactrve  worlc/He  should^  0^^' °[  ^" ''I?  P'^'^decessors 
Subordmate  officers  should  be  under  fhfr«  '^"'^  '''"'^  f°«y- 
forid  of  field-jervice,  and  thom^^W    '.'"'■'>'-five.  enterprisine 
will  work  loyally  and  faithfnlN,  «^'''X  dependable-men  who 
stances,  and  never  give  mere^n^'^"'  ^"^  ^"^  «"  circum° 
wtth  varied  talents  It^d  sS '^^^"' -^  obedience.    Officers 
One  should  be  a  photogSe '     Tl"!"^  '^°"l'^  ^<=  ^-'ected 
as  practicable  cf  one  natToS  ofl!  ■  T,^"  '''°"''^  ^e  as  far 
position   intelligent,  obsemnt  '^^Ir    'i'-*'''^  ""*""•«■  ="nny  dis- 
"«,and  njprafand  of  that  "Ls  tht'^"!,''  P^""«'  P^^^^ve  - 
semce.    They  should  be  unlearned  »?^  k^'  ^^e"  =°"e  hard 
and  thirty-five  years  of  ajre      No  1     ^''^'r^"  twenty-five 
l.as  ever  been  addicted  t/the  use  of  «•  '''?"'^  ''e  taken  who 
ceptional  cases  should  a  man \»      r  "™"'ants.     Only  in  ex- 
previous  expedition.    Tl"vsht,T^'i  ^^o  had  ser/ed  in  a 
discipline  some  time  befoTe  iL^r  '^  ^  ^^'^'^^  and  kept  under 
«i«l.t  be  xveeded  out.   t.Z^^t^uT"^^'  ^at  those  unfit 
many  useful  trades  represented  ,      "'^  C?'' hunters,  and  as 
IS  necessary,  but  espedKmbn  ,fn  u'^""   -^^''^'^  heahh 
xammation  to  the  condittwZt    '""> ''^  S'Ven  ■"  medical 
1«  of  blood,  and  as  to  rheumatic  te^d''  '""S"'  "^«h,  circula- 

"Regarding  food,  there  sh^MK^""^'- 
«  programme  as  to  the  order  in     ^•^'■^?'  ^''"<='>'.  and  no 
Caculations  should  be  made  for  L!'"'''  ",  '=  '°  be  issued 
done  and  one-half  pou„dVnerdnP°"?>'^' P^-"  "an  daily 
fed    beef,  ham,  and  pemmir,^      ^-  .^^^°"-  <^orned  fnot 
Freshly-killed  meat  should  bTTakerin"".'  "'"'^^'•<'  "^aTs 
%'erators.     Birds  killed  by  us  in  In Iv  ■     P  ''"="«■"''«=  in 
Men  the  next  June  at  ConLr     %^    ^  '"  Greenland  were 
frmts  and  vegetables  of  M^f'^    ^°"P''  ''anned  and  dried 
Fresh  bread  ■3,o.,!dt_°'-  V\  l^'n^s  are  especiallv  ;„„„..".. 


526 


ARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


and  tobacco  should  be  liberally  provided.  The  regular  use 
of  highvvines  should  he  discountenanced.  About  one  gill 
weekly  p  ■  n  was  consumed  by  my  party,  but  I  should 
recommefici  nci  *.\ceeding  half  a  gill  more,  or  preferably  half 
a  pint  of  vin  ordinaire.  For  dogs,  dried  fish  or  meat  must  be 
provided ;  they  will  not  eat  dog  or  ciher  biscuit  utiless  nearly- 
starved.  While  working  meat  should  always  be  fed  to  them. 
The  value  and  utility  of  skin  clothing  has  been  largely  over- 
rated.  Thick  woollen  ^.i:  :.(e!,*^s  of  smooth  finish,  and  heavy 
flannel  underclothing  of  excellent  quality,  are  enough  for  all 
ordinary  travel.  For  unusual  exposure,  an  overcoat  slightly 
lined  with  dogskin  or  a  heavy  woollen  temiak  (a  hooded 
shirt,  generally  of  sealskin)  is  sufficient.  Any  well-lined  skull- 
cap, with  ear-flaps,  will  do  for  head  covering.  No  satisfactory 
means  of  protecting  the  face  is  known.  Woollen,  with  outer 
sealskin  mittens,  form  fitting  hand-gear.  No  single  kind  of 
foot-gear  is  suitable  for  all  conditions.  Moccasins  and  Es- 
quimau seal  boots  should  be  taken  in  quantities.  Leather 
boots  do  well  in  summer  only.  Heavy  woollen  stockings, 
half  short  and  half  reaching  to  the  knees,  are  best  for  general 
use.  Sleeping  socks  should  be  of  dogskm.  Well-tanned, 
selected  buffalo  robes  made  into  two-men  sleeping-bags  are 

best. 

"The  Greenland  and  the  Siberian  sledges  are  recommended 
for  dogs.  In  case  hauling  is  to  be  done  by  men,  then  the 
McClintock  and  Hudson  Bay  sledges  should  be  taken.  The 
Melville  sled  is  excellent  for  retreat  where  heavy  boats  are 
to  be  hauled.  Sledges  are  inexpensive,  and  conditions  of 
travel  so  vary  that  all  contino^encies  should  be  provided 
against.  Alcohol  is  the  best  field  fuel.  Copper-bottomed, 
fireproof  cooking-pots,  with  cylinder  in  centre,  are  excellent 
for  sledge  trips.  There  is  but  little  choice  regarding  tentage, 
but  rubber  tent-cloths  should  be  taken. 

"  Regarding  medicines,  iron  was  most  in  demand  with  my 
party,  except  lime-juice  daily  issued.  I  doubt  governmental 
aid  being  extended  to  Arctic  exploration  for  years  to  come, 
but  none  the  less  believe  in  the  propriety  and  certainty  of 

future  Arctic  work.  /  t^       tt  •  j 

"The  expedition  suggested  by  Lieutenant  Ray,  United 
States  Army,  at  the  meeting  of  the  British  Society  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science  at  Montreal,  should  receive  the 
attention  and  support  of  scientific  men.     The  magnetic  pole 


FUTURE   EXPEDITIONS. 

of  Bothnia  Feli  ■  1  inr?  i«    .    i  ,  ^*'' 

changed  its  po;i^"'in^r'  s^  ^^  "  ^'^''  ^^  P-^ably 
would  be  an  important  contrlf^f.-  ^^  y?^**^'  ^^^  re-location 
statin  at  RepuLe  Bay  ""&  RirT^K  r^"^  ^^oml 
could  be  done  withoufWeat  exDln..  ''  ^^^'^^^  ^h..  work 
benefits  to  be  derived  fmm  ^""Pf  "^^  o*"  serious  danger  Thf 
confined  to  terreS^T'ne  .^^J?  '"asT'^T  T"^""-  be' 
botany,  and  natural  histoi|?theTounV^  .^^'^j  S^  ethnology. 
I-and  ,s  substantially  a  blZnk      '^""''^y  ^''0""^  King  Willifi' 

"A.  W.  Greely,  U.  S.  a." 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

^XPEDmoNS  TO  THE   ANTARCTIC   KEOrONS. 
The  South  Polar  Reeionn  i>v«n  «.        t  . 

d,.,on  ,0  Df.co,„  .h,  No„h„,.,  liT-M  °T     T  """-'^-P'""  Cook',  Exp 

The  cause  why  the  Smi^h  p^i    u 

tion  which  has  b.en  lavished  o^  Z  "m  'fr''  *«  ='"en. 

foiinclm  the  fact,  that  whTe  the  Arri.^  •'■'''    f°'«  '=  '°  be 
many  attractions  for  trarpl  nL  "^fgions  do  not  present 

settlement,  the  AntarcS  r tw  Trfs  ilP  '"'"'  ''-'''--'or 
and  unattractive  in  both  particular,     Tl        "'""^  ""P^mising 
Ant,irct,c  cold  commences  at  an  .th  ^.'!^'''"7"'e  intensity  o? 
the  Northern  hemisphere      In  T  a  ^'^^"^  '="''"''«  'han  in 
are  rarely  found  till'^the  70th  n^^±Z  ?'"=  'r«^  '^'^bergs 
«liile  stationary  fields  ar/  n„I  P"*^""'?'  °f  latitude  is  reached 
In  the  South  Padfic  both  occu  ^arfro,'"  "  t""  ''^^er  latitude 
lawude      The  mountains  of  Cape  Hol^°rx^°  °f=°"'''ern 
and  outlymg  islands,  are  covered  wW    '       ^""  <^'^'  ^uego, 
to  tor  sea-coasts.     "  tI.Is  contrlsT"     ^''T"/'  ''"°"  qmte 
son,  m  one  of  the  few  generl°  wort       ^''  ^"^^^'^o^  Tomlin- 
ject.  "has  been  ascribed  to    he  shorr  P°""\°"  *«  ^"b- 
yakes  m  the  southern  hemisphere  ,L-  "^^  ^'''"^  ^be  s,m 
fa  difference,  amountin^to  scarce!  "  '"  f  ^"°«''e'-n-    But 
roved  to  be  exactly  comp^en^ted  hv  X,    ^^'"  ''^y^'  ''^^  been 
'lie  earth  to  the  sun  durin"   th,  ^   f  S'^''"^''  "earness  of 
•ortliern  summer      Ann,r^  *^  southern  than  durin<r  the 

f  -  it  is  a  fa«  thatv:ferb?comeTr '  1"''^  ''^  -"^» 
jmoont  of  sunshine  than  a„v  .T/l'?''  '"=^'«>'  -''y  *«  same 
*  found  in  the  vast  extentVfX  a ^'""V<='  ""«  cause  will 

tent  ot  the  Antarctic  seas,  the  total 

{■) 


*4yv^ri\ 


2  ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

absence  of  any  crreat  si-rface  of  land,  and  the  form  of  the 
continents  which  terminate  towards  the  south  almost  m  points, 
thus  openincr  a  free  and  unencumbered  field  to  the  currents 
from  the  Potar  seas,  and  allowing  them  to  push  forward  the 
icy  masses  in  every  direction  from  the  South  Pole  towards 
the  southern  and  temperate  zone."  • 

Winter  in  the  Antarctic  corresponds  to  summer  in  the 
Arctic  and  vice  versa.  When  the  Arctic  circle  is  delighting 
\i\  one  long  summer  dav,  the  Antarctic  regions  are  oppressed 
bv  the  darkest  gloom.  When  we  are  enjoying  the  bright 
days  of  midsummer,  the  southern  Polar  regions  are  pitchy 
dark,  while   at  our  -Christmas-tide  that  part  of  the  earth  is 

bathed  in  floods  of  sunshine.  r  .1     v    .1   t>  i 

It  has  been  seen  that  our  knowledge  of  the  North  Polar 
seas  has  been  largely  the  result  of  explorations  in  search  of 
a  northwestern  or  northeastern  passage  or  strait  to  the  Pacific. 
The  exploration  of  the  Antarctic  regions  is  mainly  due  to 
quests    after  a  continent   in  the   southern    seas--the   Terra 
Australis  incognita  of  many  old  greographers      Ihe  belief  in 
the  existence  of  such  a  land  can  be  traced  back  as  far  as  1576, 
when  Juan  Fernandez  is   r.^ported  to  have  sailed  southward 
from  Chile,  and  to  have  ariived  after  a  mo.ith's  voyage  at  a 
charmino-  fertile  land  inhabited  by  friendly  and  almost  civilized 
natives  "^  If  the  story  be   not  altogether  apocryphal,  it  may 
possibly  have  been  some  part  of  New  Zealand.     At  the  same 
■neriod  there  were  wild  reports  in  circulation  concerning  the 
discovery  by  Alvaro   Mendana  de   Neyra  of  some  southern 
islands  abounding  in  silver.     That  navigator,  however,  could 
not  find  them  at  all  in  a  later  voyage,  and  perished  miserably, 
with  many  of  his  companions,  at  Egmont,  or  Santa  truz 
Island      His  pilot,   Pedro  Fernandez  de  Quiros,  in   1605-6 
made  a  professed  voyage  in  search  of  the  southern  continent, 
his  voyage  resulting  in  the  discovery  of  Pitcairns_  Island,  the 
New  Hebrides,  and  other  lands,  while   one  of  his  captains, 
Luis  Vaes   de  Torres,  passed   through  the   strait  between 
Australia-and  New  Guinea  now  named  after  him.     ihe  tirst 
actual  approach  to  the  then  unknown  soutliern  polar  Ian  s 
appears  to  have  been  made  by  one  Dirk  Gerritz  a  Dutcl. 
man  in   lanuarv,  1600.     This  vessel  was  in  the  Fact  India 
service,  and  was  driven  by  a  gale  from  the  inimediate  latitude 
of  the  Straits  of  Magellan  far  lo  the^  south,  ^yhere  he  dis- 
covered a  barren,  craggy,  saiow-cuvc.  eu  coast,  simwar  to  tn_. 


THE   ANTARCTIC   REGIONS. 


of  Norway.     Hie  n^o^     .  ^ 

proved  ,ol,ave  bel^ZZaT^J'T'^''',^-  ^"'  '«ve  since 
known  as  Ne,v  So.,th  Shet  and  an<)  f,  '  f'^  "'^  '«"<'  is  Tow 
the  Hntarct  c  circie      Tli»  I        ?  ■    ''"•''  '"^en  proved  to  rr^. 
.or  the  purpose'^of  JlZiTtT  ?!  '<-^-'-. -n   o 
only  .n  the  discovery  of  tl,?5roun  TY''",  ""S'""''  ''""'"ed 
..'  name.     It  is  to  the  cek b?atTr      ''^"'^'  "o*  known  bv 
the  earhest  careful  exploraS  of^h^e'"'"  ?°^  *«  «'«  ovv^ 

The  States-General  of  the  NpA    ','"=i°"*  Polar  regions 
profits  of  tlie  trading  con  nanv  H^     f  "^'  *^~  sharer!  °n  the 
orda,ned  that  none  but  Z  servan^tJ'^f  established,  and  I  ad 
go  to  the  Spice  Islands      As  an?!     ?^  ""=  company  should 
h-  the  Cape  of  Good    Hope  ,nd  1    P™'«'i°n.  'hi  routes 
"■-•re  by  law  reserved  for  '^^Lf  "^  *^  S^-aits  of  Ma..eilan 
.nerchauts  mi„ht  traffic  a»  the  worldt"'"  -"f '     The^'he" 
restrictions,  but  to  steer  the  rl!?   1  °'"=''  *'*  'I'ese  triflin,; 
enmiled  the  penalty  of  confeea^io^of'^f'*"^  "'  ">ese  route! 
of  the  owners.      Schonten    a  nf  •       ""=  '''='^'^'s  and  arres? 
.Ahty,  conceived  the  profect  of  fi„d'^''''°''  °''  ^-xperience  and 
Straits  of  Magellan.  VSed  infc^  ^''''^S^  south  of  the 
"lio  aiso  accompanied  him  as  sunetl  '^""=''P"se  by  Lemaire 
tain,  of  one  of  the   vessels    a  nT       8^"'  °''  P^^'aps  as  can-' 
Horn  in   Holland,  Schonten,  L:iTtnT'  merc^hantsTf 
md  made  the  first  voyarrg  bv  „,.  ^'  ?^!"^  °"'  '"o  vessels 
«l"ch  he  called  Horn,  in  fenor  rT]l'  °'^  *^  ^^'^'-i'^'"'  Cape' 
.1.0  expedition  had  bel-n  o  gan Led        '°™"  '"  "°"^""  -i> 're 
Tl  e  .strait  between  Terra  del  F, 

•at  IS,  island  of  the  States  t  HoH^"/"'^  S'^'«'  Island- 
c»„ten-he  named  in  1  onor  of  °  •?''•  ^''°  ?°  "^'"-dby 
">.  for  ail  that,  it  appears  was  htijlf  ?°"'P^"'°n.  Lemaire 
Alter  many  adventures  and  disc^    •     "  ^""«'  discoverer 
Pacific,  they  arrived  in    safetv  at  t7"\r  ,"'^ '»'^"d.  of  the 
:;™,tl>s  front   d,e  day  ol     hel    I ''"=    Moluccas,  in  sixteen 
ll'f"-  vessels  were  confisr.fi     i  ''«Pa«"re  from    the  Tpv! 
-  tl.e  officers  ancl     r^T 's^t^^ '^  "f^'  '"''^  CompJ^T; 
^appointed  and  e.cessiveK  .^       ■  "";   '°''   fial.      I  en  ai  i' 
'l'"ervices  rendered  and    h!,?"""'^  ="  such  a  rerarcf  for 
-companion,  died  on"  4  :ovrT""  "'^'^  "^^^ 
'«■    Schouten,lesssensiti>.e2°f-''°"^<='«'  Mauritius  i„ 
H  a,s  an  experienced  cam'^,^    ""  '"'  P^'™".  the  merclni  t 
["O'P^ceedlngs  of!he  n'ffi^,"l™?^e  ''^^custonied  to  ti'e  a^bl^ 
--  '0  perforn,  severarrouti;:\:o;aee';^'.„^;!'^.'> --pany, 

•^^^^  to  the  East,  and 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


died  in  1625,  in  the  Bay  of  Antongil,  on  the  east  coast  of 
Madagascar,  where  he  had  taken  refuge  from  tempestuous 
weather  on  his  last  return  voj'age — a  hero  of  maritime  explo- 
ration not  so  celebrated  as  some,  but  worthy  of  being  rescued 
from  oblivion. 

Phipps'  failure  due  north  did  not  extinguish  the  hope  of 
finding  a  route  from  the  Adantic  to  the  Pacific  in  the  north- 
west. The  famous  Captain  Cook  had  won  fresh  laurels  as  a 
navigator  in  1772,  and  had  been  awarded  the  Copley  medal 
for  his  success  in  preserving  the  health  of  his  men  during  his 
voyage  arourd  the  world.  His  courage,  sagacity  and  ex- 
perience pointed  him  out  as  the  man  for  the  contemplated 
search  voyage ;  and  having  volunteered  his  services  he  was 
gladly  appointed  to  the  command.  His  instructions  were  to 
proceed  to  the  North  Pacific,  to  commence  his  search  on  the 
northwest  coast  of  America  in  latitude  65°,  and  to  waste  no 
time  in  inr .'anting  researches  in  lower  latitudes.  The  Res- 
olution an  .  E-  .covery  were  speedily  fitted  out,  and  the  latter 
placed  under  llie  subordinate  command  of  Captain  Edward 
Clerke.  Bayley  and  Anderson,  companions  of  his  former 
voyage,  accompanied  Cook  as  astronomer  and  naturalist. 

July  1 2th,  1776,  Captain  Cook  left  Plymouth,  England, 
and  was  joined  by  Captain  Clerke  in  Table  Bay,  near  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  some  weeks  later.  It  was  the  last  day 
of  November  before  they  left  the  Cape,  whence  they  pro- 
ceeded eastward  through  the  Indian  Ocean,  passing  Prince 
Edward's  Island  December  12th,  and  reaching  Kerguelen 
Land  on  the  24th,  ascertained  it  to  be  an  island,  and  charac- 
terized it  as  the  Island  of  Desolation.  For  three  hundred 
leagues  east  of  Kerguelen  they  were  so  beset  by  fog  that  it 
was  necessary  to  fire  signal  guns  to  avoid  getting  separated 
in  the  dark.  They  arrived  at  Adventure  Bay  on  the  south 
coast  of  Van  Diemen's  Land,  now  Tasmania,  on  the  26th  of 
January,  1777,  and  in  Queen  .Charlotte's  Sound,  New  Zea- 
land, on  the  1 2th  of  February.  On  the  25th  they  proceeded 
northward,  reaching  Mangaia  and  Atioo,  two  of  the  Cook 
Islands  or  Hervey  Archipelago,  on  the  29th  of  March.  The 
season  was  now  considered  too  far  advanced  to  venture  into 
unknown  seas  with  the  prospect  of  achieving  anything  impor- 
tant, and  Captain  Cook  decided  on  further  exploration  in  the 
tropics,  postponing  his  northward  trip  until  the  following  year. 
They  spent  nearly  three  months  In  peaceable  intercourse  wiui 


THE   ANTARCTIC   REGIONS. 

the  natives  of  the  Tono-a  anrl  i?^^- 

gave  the  collective  naVe ''of  Frre^'dTy  fS  'T'^t  ^°°'' 
of  August  they  arrived  at  TMtin.A;,"  °"  '*>«  '^th 
ciety  Islands,  to  the  souftheas  nf^h  1?^"^,°"<=  "^  '^e  So- 
.he  8th  of  December  they  a'andire«  /T^''  '''""''^-  ^n 
northward  fron,  Bolaboh'  ute  .'rnortl  erT  0"?^^%'°  -""^ 
group;  and  on  tlie  i8th  of  Januar/i77S  *»  r  '  ^V^V 
islands  of  the  Hawaiian  Archipelago  "-^^^^ ''"'rf^''  *^ 
Sandwich  Islands,  in  honor  oTthefrst  lord  n?'^' p' '"?  "'« 
miralty,  John  Monta-rue  Earl  of  S^nH  •  ,  ?^  '"^  ^"^""^  ^d- 
of  the  voyage  in.  whw/he  wl^nfret:!:' ^'  ^''-f  P™™oter 

foAt^^:LTa°:iTfT::ri:a'%Scf •  "'^V'T^^' ''--- 

Drake,  in   latitude  44°^3'  ori  March'if  '  r '"  ^"''<'"  °f 
-Le;.  arrived  at  N00IL  tZ.l^I'dt  .^^'TVu""'' 
habitants  were  found  clad  in  fnro  ,  i  •  ,     ,     49    35-      I  he  in- 
and  were  civil  to  the  st  aters      Th"      '  ''"=y/'*'--d  fo-  sale, 
lish  appreciation  of  tl  e  ri^?'  of  n,S^  '"l"'^''  ^"  =''™°^'  E"g- 
everything  that  was  takef  even  T/ZI^  ''Pf""'^  P^V  f°^ 
sary  for  the  ships.     Thevvverrn  J    ■      ^'^  ^^'^  *'"*='•  n«<:<:s- 
fer/ed  brass,  wLnce  i   cLTe  to  IZT^f.^"'  -I™"'  ^'  P^^" 
all  their  buttons  for  fur.      In  h^fn,         ^o''  f'"'""''^  "'^"'^'-'^d 
foand  to  resemble  thrEsquimaurotH'^       ■  "f  ^-^^  "•^''e 
guacre  as  well  as  in  ohvsS.i    ,nn         ""''^°n  =  Bay  in  Ian- 
grasping  in  their  deaE       n  XaM^'  ^"'^  r^'  "«  ^^ 
Cook's  Inlet  they  thought'  tr.h.r^'' ,'"""''  t'°«"  named 

Northern  Ocean,^',""?'  d  (t'oTne'Tr^teV  TT  '°  '''<' 
miles.  Cook  then  sailed  westward  an^  u  '^,  '"''"'"  =°° 
made  the  extreme  nortLeste^^p^t  "f"  A  '  ^- '  °^^"Sust 
fegave  the  name  of  Cape  PrMce  of  wfl  America,  to  which 
northeastern  point  of  Asia  ;.fr=„  p  ^"'"^f'  '''"^"'  f™m  the 
asascertainedVhim  Thev  hnTn  '  ""'^  "''"^^n  "'■agnes, 
Jid  not  tarry  lon<.  Ts  thev  vver.  t  ?"'°"«^  "''=  Tchuktcht  bu 
Wore  the  close  SfAe  season  '  '"  ^"'^  '°  ""^  "°«h 

«;"  t,\:'hid:the"f  fo^-iS  't"^  [,°:  **'•  '«ey  c-e  abreast 

tending  as  far  as  the  eye  cou  d    eacl^  ?^  °    "'*'  '"^^^\  ''"'^  ""■ 
rawred  with  walruses      Of  M,J1    I'         fPenefable  mass, 

*rable  number  glad  to  e« We  tt  '"'°''  ^"'«'  '^  ^°"- 
"»"s  for  the  fresS  but  coarse  flfl*?"'?""""^  °.f-'LP™- 

iiow  conchidpH  tr\  t,,fr^  f         ^i      • ""'*   '•^'^-'C  uiiunaib).      Cook 

-  -n  ."rnr  i^"a  t-^ti-tttr-i^:,^ 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


i   ii 


of  the  Sandwich  Islands.  On  the  26th  of  November  they 
arrived  at  Mowee  or  Maui,  an  island  of  that  group,  which 
they  had  not  before  visited,  in  latitude  20°  50',  and  on  the 
30th  the  large  island  of  Owhyhee  or  Hawaii,  which  Cook 
.spent  seven  weeks  in  circumnavigating  and  surveying.  Thev 
finally  anchored  in  Kealakeakua  Bay,  about  the  middle  of 
January,  1779,  and  were  visited  by  crowds  of  natives.  The 
relations  of  visitors  and  visited,  of  civilized  English  and  semi- 
barbarous  Hawaiian,  Avere  mutually  pleasant;  nothing  oc- 
curred to  mar  the  harmony  of  their  intercourse,  an^^  the 
opinions  formed  by 'each  party  of  the  other  grew  daily  more 
favorable,  as  weeks  of  acquaintance  passed  into  months,  and 
the  English  still  lingered  on  their  hospitable  shores.  Captain 
Cook  very  jusdy  felt  that  the  failure  to  penetrate  the  North- 
ern Ocean  was  more  than  compensated  for  by  the  discovery 
of  these  islands.  "To  this  disappointment,"  says  he,  "we 
owed  our  having  it  in  our  pc  A'er  to  visit  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
and  to  enrich  our  voyage  with  a  discovery,  which,  though  the 
last,  seemed  in  many  respects  to  be  the  most  important  that 
had  hitherto  been  made  by  Europeans  throughout  the  extent 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean," 

Provisions  were  procured  in  abundance  for  the  "floating 
islands,"  as  the  Hawaiians  called  them ;  and  Cook  was  quite 
successful  in  saldng  a  quantity  of  pork  for  sea  stores.    Finally 
he  prepared  to  sail  around  the  islands  to  make  an  accurate 
survey  of  the  whole  group,  an"'  'veighed  anchor  on  the  4th 
of  September.     But  a  storm  arose  soon  after,  which  seriously 
sprung  the  mainmast  of  the  Resolution,  and  they  re-entered 
the  harbor  for  necessary  repairs.     In  the  short  interval  that 
had  elapsed  the  better  disposed  of  the  nadve  population,  with 
most  of  their  leaders  or  chiefs,  had  withdrawn  into  the  in- 
terior.    The  crews  now  came  in  contact  with  i:  <:  more  thiev- 
ish and  unprincipled  of  the  Hawaiians,  and  qvarrels  became 
almost  incessant.     A  serious  feud  arose  through  the  theft  of 
a  pair  of  tongs  from  the  forge  of  the  ship's  smith  by  an  un- 
principled native.     The  English  sent  in  pursuit  of  the  thic! 
were  roughly  handled  by  a  mob,  and  on  the  heels  of  this  r - 
doubled  outrage  followed  the  theft  of  one  of  the  ship's  beats, 
Captain  Cook  hereupon  determined  to  seize  the  king,  Tereeo 
boo,  and  hold  him  as  a  hostage  for  the  good  behavior  of  hh 
oeonle  and  the  return  of  the  stolen  ijronerty. 

On  the  14th  of  February,  1779,  he  landed  with  a  body  of 


ig  oc- 


TKE   ANTARCTIC   REGIONS. 

Zli::ZTC,  Z^Z^:  ^^^°'"''°"-     ^be  ki„,  offered 
Ae  English  to  the  shore  „K  tlv"'  P?'f""^  accompanied 
in  crowds  and  prevented  tLembarlcJ^''  "/"""  S^^'hered 
opitated  the  impending  corflic       0„»    ?' ,  ^"  '""=''^'="'  Pie- 
men at  the  other  end  of  th"  bav  fiS.!         '''"  '"'"'"•^  English- 
canoe   that  was   about    o   nuU   the     /"" '°,f°P  ^  native 
t. rough  misdirection  of  pL^  nf.,  ^''"'-  r  Unfortunately, 
shot  that  wa.  intended  to  pass  ov?rhi/'?"n°'^  *'  ^^™<=.  *« 
Kareemoo.     The  natives  fak„,°  X  ?''  '""'=''  ^  '^'"''^f  "amed 
pared  for  war,  brandished  thai  l'-"  ^°'  ^^^S'^  "^ battle,  pre- 
m^ts.     Captain  Cook  restra  nXl  I?       '  ""''  P"'  ™  their  war 
theirfire  till  it  was  tooTat' "xhr'atS  T'  '''''  '"'''  l^^^ 
hmself  fired  his  musket  ImrUH     %      ^  n^  ""  native.  Cook 
rendered  his  assailant  more  triou       'n""  ^''°?'  "'''^^  only 
crew  now  fired  on  the  mob  but  fhl.t  "'"""'"^^  ^nd  the 

a.  the  waters  edge  that  tTey  crowded  Tacro^lT'""'^'  ^"''""^ 
their  assiilarts,  and  in  the  m„l2     r  .  °*'=''  °"  lov/ard 

killed.  The  jam  became  soTr  Tl  %Z  f  ""=  ^"°""^''  "-« 
little  use,  and  Cook  was  at  the-mercv  of  l,;''"™'  '''"''  °^  ^ut 
seen  to  make  an  effort  to  reach  ,Uk  ""''"'."''■  "«  «'as 
natives  m  close  pursuit,  who  dea  L"  h'  """  °^  '^^ 

tlie  head  with  a  ciub  prec^;,!^^  ^     ""  ""  ^'^-nning  bl.w  on 
one  knee  and  dropped  Ku  ket'a^T^^"^^-     ^^^^k  fell  on 
other  native  stabbed  him  inZ  it.l.    r  ','"  ''"  ™-'  "^ing,  an- 
He  then  fell  into  the  vvater  when  .M     "'"  """^  ^"'^  ^  <Ja??er. 
keep  him  down.     He  was  ^hlfr,  ?    "'  "/""''^d  "P°n  hfm  to 
the  mass  of  his  ass"w  was  "  7"'"^  ^^5'  ^^  ^bi  boat,  bu° 
fused  and  panic-stricken  t"at  he  '^"u'  ^"^'^^  ""^'^  ^°  ^on- 
struggled  bravely  with  lis  fols  anH       .  v"'.''"  "''""'•i-     He 
when  they  again^  pounced  upon  ?,i'?°v^;^  '''"^  '^"^'^  ""<=■■■ 
pushmg  him  into  deeper  water      Z\-    \     F"''''''  violence, 
the  surface,  but  only  to  be  rtrud-  rt"      ''1  ^"''''^  '"'=  ^^y  to 
mmated  tli-     .-^J^      ti,       ,     ''°"n  with  a  c  ub,  which  ter 
asho^  an.  vecl^H  ^f  :^;;;::;^?;;^^^ '?'^  ^^^^-s  r^^ 
wounds  upon  meir  fallen  victin  "'^''""^^  unnecessary 

elapsed  before  CaplaincLke  cm  u'nl.f-^^  Sometime 

niains  for  burial.     Thev  wel  ..       •  "^^Z^^"  ^^'^  mutilated  re- 
riKfnm.^,.  _^     ,  ,     "^/  ^^^^e  committed  tn  t-Ko  --?^„„  „  •  ,     , 

.  ,,ry  naval  honors  -  Nd  ^^mJ-i  *i  '•"  ■'"'"  ""P  ^^'^h  the 
0  tie  afrticted  crews,  rantlin Til  ""'"'^  lamentations 
Of  the  weilare  of  his  men.  '™'  speciallv  solicitous 


8 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLOITATIONS. 


Captain  Gierke  now  assumed  command  of  the  expedition, 
intrustmg  his  ship,  the  Discovery,  to  the  immediate  command 
of  Lieutenant  Gore.  They  proceeded  to  the  Northern  Ocean, 
touching  at  Petropaulovsky,  in  Avatcha  Bay,  on  the  coast  of 
Kamschatka,  where  they  were  received  by  the  Russians  with 
marked  hospitaUty.  Passing-  thence  through  Behring's  Strait, 
they  reached  latitude  70°  t,t,\  where  they  encountered  the  ice 
some  twenty  miles  lower  than  on  the  previous  occasion. 
They  relinquished  all  further  attempt  in  that  direction,  and 
set  sail  for  the  homeward  voyage.  Wher  they  again  reached 
Kamschatka,  Gaptain  Gierke  died,  and  was  buried  on  shore. 
The  commanti  of  the  expedition  then  devolved  upon  Gaptain 
G'^re,  with  Lieutenant  King  in  charge  of  the  second  vessel. 
They  arrived  at  Macao  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ganton  river,  in 
Chini,  December  3d,  .vhen  they  learned  of  the  war  between 
England  and  her  Amti.can  colonies,  aided  by  the  French; 
and  at  the  same  time  of  the  generous  order  of  the  latter  gov- 
ernment that  the  vessels  of  Gook's  expedition  should  be 
treated  as  neutrals  by  the  cruisers  of  France. 

In  Ganton  the  English  seamen  enjoyed  an  episode  that 
forMed  an  agreeable  contrast  to  their  late  experience.  They 
found  an  unexpected  market  for  the  furs  for  which  they  had 
bartered  knives,  trinkets,  and  even  their  brass  buttons  two 
years  before  on  the  northwest  coast  of  America.  "  One  of 
our  seamen,"  says  Lieutenant  King,  "  sold  his  stock  alone  for 
jpoo ;  and  a  few  prime  skins,  which  were  clean  and  had  been 
well  preserved,  were  sold  for  $120  each.  The  whole  amount 
of  the  value,  in  specie  and  goods,  that  was  got  for  the  furs  in 
both  ships,  I  am  confident  did  not  fall  short  of  ;!^20oo  sterling; 
and  it  was  generally  supposed  that  at  least  two-thirds  of  the 
quantity  we  had  originally  got  from  the  Americans  were 
spoiled  and  worn  out,  or  had  been  given  away  or  otherwise 
disposed  c(  in  Kamschatka.  When,  ir»  addition  to  these  facts, 
it  is  remembered  that  the  furs  were  at  first  collected  without 
our  having  any  idea  of  their  real  value ;  that  the  greater  part 
had  been  worn  by  the  Indians  from  whom  we  had  purchased 
them  ;  tliat  they  were  afterward  preserved  with  litde  care,  and 
frequently  used  for  bed-clothes  and  other  purposes  ;  and  that 
probably  we  had  not  received  the  full  value  for  them  in 
Ghina;  the  advantages  Uiat  might  be  derived  from  a  voyage 

to  iiicn.  ^di  L  \ji    Liic  ramcin_an  v^utuai,  Unuciv.ir»cn   vviiiz  CwHliTici- 

cial  views,  appeared  to  me  of  a  degree  of  importance  suffi- 
cient to  call  for  the  attention  of  the  public." 


TKE   ANTARCTIC    REGIONS. 

A  few  of  the  seamen  were  so  ,I„     >    •  ^ 

rt  ™"y'«;on  that  they  dlslnedZ  l™^'''^''''^  ""''  "'e 
the  firs  tnglishmen  to  en^aJ;„„D '"€'*•  """^  ""^^  amon! 
.  Leavm;;  Canton  with  rep^effsl  oH    '  ^''"^?  ^^  f^de.        ^ 

'^^et'or  ft  t?et;s  -   ''-  t^orSSb  r^«;fc^^ 
Five  nien  had^di^d^n  tt  rTsI'L^"'',  --'/-'h-e' dav? 

brig  Wilira°nl"sailfn7::;^f;9  that  the  commander  of  tl,e 
Horn  noted  in  latitude  dT^o^JjZ  "]'',  '^"'"<^«  °f  Cape 
an  extens.ve,  snow-covered  Jand  on  ;i     '^  '°"S''"d<^  «o°  we*^? 
were  abundant.     As  he  w-,J  i         , ''""  ''"^^'s  of  wliich  sp^l« 
ra.so  he  could  not  fo  low'^p  l^^'lf,  "'*  \cargo  to  Kfpt 
hat  port  mformed  the  British  !^^  ^'^overy,  but  on  arrival  at 
act  he  had  ascertained  and  \l°'offi'  -S^P/-"  Sheriff  of    he 
Barnsfield,  master  of  tlie  fri  Jl,l%     , '^'  despatched  Edward 
newfound  land.    It  wa    found  1  ^"'^.'"'^^d,,,  to  e..plore  thf 

;— enn.  twelve,  vWth  in"nu,  ° X"  ro^'l' ^-7^  °''^'-t 
'"•"•.  1  here  was  h'tde  doubt  th.f,',  ''^^  "^''^'^  between 
and  sighted  by  Gerritz  more  than  t    '™'  ^  P^«  °f  the  sante 

Zd"°""/^  ",e  South  ShetandsTl'"'""'^^  before,  and 
Med  m   ,820  by  Mr.  Weddell    „'t  ""^  '^"'"^  '"a«ber  ex- 

m  mense  number  of  seZ^^rhL      °'S  """^^  obtained  an 
■slands  are  nearly  inaccess  b  i^  if "      """^    '"'"  ^eals.      These 
any  part  of  themf  other  than' oe;^''S^5e-bound,  while  a  most 
a  ly  snow-covered.     There  L'^ff"*'^"'^'-  cliffs,  is  pern"?u 
,?hn§:  grass  where  thereTs  amf    •[  "  ','"''"  P^'ehes  of  s^ra" 
»>'nd  in  Iceland.     1^8'  othe'rl'A"'^  "  ""«^  similar  ,0  tTft 
knowledge  of  islands  ad  acenf  ^  1"°"'  ^'^''e  "ade  to  our 
Capt.,ns  Powell  and  Palmer  the  ?=-        ^°".*  Shetlands  by 

fahners,  a^d  AleJanXrl'/aT^^r'^  '^■'°"n  "s'  Tri^f;; 

r:?-- -  ■•vi''^\'°  -'■^"'^t  retrra'"  '^"™- 

-acrerortweIttvoUr;l^-'''.4--n™V^^^^^^^^ 

I'f '  '^;'  ■'"  Septemb^of  tha?  v'"""' ^"""P^nied  by  a 

^^S«''^f°'•  the  purpose  of  1'"'  ^1^"^  "i'  ^  voyage  to  the 

■,5';""iigoi  January  lA^'^  tul.^'"'    ,  ^  lur  seais.     At  fh^ 

•'--of.el4^-ti-S-^^^^^^ 


lO 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


reached  the  South  Orkneys.  The  tops  of  the  islands  mostly 
terniiniited  in  cragj^y  peaks,  and  looked  almost  like  the 
mountain  tops  of  a  sunken  land.  Proceeding  southward, 
they  one  evening  passed  very  close  to  an  object  which  ap- 
peared like  a  rock.  The  lead  was  immediately  thrown  out, 
but  no  bottom  could  be  found.  It  turned  out  to  be  a  dead 
•whale,  very  much  swollen,  floating  on  the  surface.  Weddell 
obtained  at  South  Georgia  a  valuable  cargo.  From  the  sea- 
elephant  no  less  than  20,000  tons  of  oil  were  obtained  in  a 
few  seasons,  the  cargoes  always  including  a  large  number  of 
fur  sealskins.  American  sealers  also  took  large  cargoes  of 
these  skins  to  China,  where  they  sold  for  five  or  six  dollars  a 
skin.  The  Island  of  Desolation,  described  by  Cook,  was  also 
a  source  of  great  profit.  "  Tiiis  is  a  striking,  but  by  no  means 
uncommon  example  of  the  commercial  advantage  to  be  de- 
rived  from  voyages  of  discovery."  In  1830,  Captain  Biscoe, 
commanding  the  sealing  brig  Eliza  Scott,  made  the  discovery 
of  another  range  of  islands,  since  named  after  him.  In  1839, 
Captain  Bailey,  in  a  ship  belonging  to  Messrs.  Enderby,  the 
r-  mers  of  the  last-named  vessel,  discovered  land  in  latitude 
t  44'  S.,  which  was  in  all  probability  a  portion  of  the  same 
tei.  .ory  sighted  by  Wilkes  and  D'Urville  a  year  afterwards. 
Thus,  while  America  and  France  claim  the  honor  of  having 
discovered  an  "Antarctic  continent,"  Bailey  seems  to  have 
forestalled  them.  It  is  extremely  doubtful  whether  the 
patches  of  land  seen  by  these  explorers  can  be  considered  to 
form  a  great  southern  continent. 

Captain  Dumont  D'Urville  commanded  an  expedition 
despatched  by  France  in  1837  for  the  express  purpose  of  ex- 
ploring,^ the  Antarctic,  and  Lieutenant  Wilkes,  U.  S.  N.,  had 
a  simifar  commission  the  same  year.  Wilkes  and  D'Urville 
sighted  each  other's  vessels  on  one  occasion,  but  through  a 
mistake  did  not  communicate. 

D'Urville,  after  describing  the  "  lanes  "  of  tall  icebergs  by 
which  his  ship  was  enclosed  and  impeded,  states  that  they 
sighted  land,  some  few  miles  off,  with  prominent  peaks  3,000 
feet  and  upwards  in  height,  and  surrounded  with  coast  ice. 
Some  boats  were  sent  off  to  make  magnetic  observations, 
and  one  of  the  officers  succeeded  in  landing  on  a  small  rody 
islet,  on  which  the  tricolor  flag  was  unfurled.  Not  the  small- 
est trace  of  ve-'^etable  life  could  be  discovered.  Numerous 
fragments  of  the      >ck  itself  were  carried  off  as  trophies. 


THE   ANTARCTIC   KEGIONS. 


II 


Close  at  hand  wer^  t^'tr^u*. 

discovered  was  na,L7Ade°[e  rL°d  T/f,"'?^  .'^'-  '^"^  ">"s 
w.fe).  A  projecting  cape,  vhTcll.adh  '''""■=''  '^'U-'ville's 
day,  was  called  Cape  lyiscoverv  IZl  ^,  "•  f  ^"  <='"''y  in  the 
landing  was  effected  was  nameTp^Cf.  C^  ,'''"  °"  *'>'^h  the 

Wilkes  describes  his  discoveries  ,"n  '^.''°}°Sy. 
of  previous  explorers   alrM.t,?  "  ^""''^■'  "^rms  to  those 

sand,  mud,  etc/werrnorj  onVl\'""°".'''-  Atones,  g^av^f 
■stence  of  land  someXre  about  w'v'^'"^'  '^™^'"S  '''«  «' 
m.nd  that  a  landing  on  anythf„.°  b',,^-  '  ''  "'"''  ^e  borne  in 

An  attempt  on  The  part  of  dantin  /  r™"  ""'  '^«<^«'-'J- 
Ross  to  establish  magnetic  observSonl'T"'''^  Sir  James) 
.sphere  was  unsuccessful,  but  resuTd  '      ">!.=°"'l«r„  hem- 
portance.     On  January  i   th  .s!^        ,'"  ^  *=^covery  of  im- 
lofty  snow-covered  peak      he  eW'n    "''  T'  "?'"«''.  'i-^ing  i„ 
stated  to  be  from  .  2,000  feet  .oT.T"  f  ^"""^  "f  which  was 
were  named  after  Sabh^and  o  h    '*'?^  "^"^     Va'™"s  peaks 
who  had  advocated  the  cau"!  of   L  :xn^;'^'"=^  Philosophers 
difficulty  they  landed  en  an  fslanr  ^  '^^Pedmon.     With  some 
flag,  and  drank  a  toast  to  tl,e  hea1'trn;t''k""^y  P'««ed  o™r 
Albert.     It  was  named    Possesstn   r  /'''.^"een  and  Prince 
vegeation,    but   " inconceivalX  ''I''"''-     ^here  was   no 

petelyand  densely  covert  tf   '"i!",'"^^   "^  Penguins  com 
;;ong  the  ledges  of' Ae  p/e'i;  ees  and   ^"^'■^^  °f  *e  island 
«fthe  hills,  attacking  us,"  saysTo'?.-^™  to  the  summits 
;rough  their  ranks^and  peckin..  .f '    "'^TY^h  as  we  waded 
disputing  possession  ;  wWch    nl^  "'  ''"'  "i^'''' sharp  beaks 
notes,  and  the  insuppombi;  'T  r"".™"''  "'«'■•  'oud,  coarse 
8-no.  which  had  bTn  for    ;„??!?  f  °"'  "'e  deep  bed  of 
some  penod  be  valuable  to  th^^         ?•'■'''?•  *"d  *I'ich  may  at 
f»"  colonies,  made  us  gad  tofet"  '""''' "f""-- AfstrLa- 
«ded  our  boats  with  g^olo<rcaF  '  ""^'^y  "«^^'"' ^f'er  having 
Whales  were  very  nuierous       h  f ""'™-'  ^"<^  Penguins" 
"■"p^  .n  various  directio^f  "' '    """y  "'^'"'^  runted  ft  one 

^"-"ti^Htt7t!r:?^^^ 


— ^^rnoon 
us  was  observed  to 


12 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


emit  smoke  and  flame  in  unusual  quantities,  producing  a  most 
grand  spectacle ;  a  volume  of  dense  smoke  was  projected  at 
each  successive  jet  with  great  force,  in  a  vertical  column,  to 
the  height  of  between  1,500  and  2,000  feet  above  the  mouth 
of  the  crater,  when,  condensing  first  at  its  upper  part,  it  de- 
scended in  mist  or  snow,  and  grp dually  dispersed,  to  h-.  suc- 
ceeded by  another  splendid  exhibition  of  the  same  kin..!  in 
about  half  an  hour  afterwards,  although  he  intervals  between 
the  eruptions  were  by  no  means  regular.  The  diameter  of 
the  columns  of  smoke  was  between  two  and  thrc(^  hundred 
feet,  as  near  as  we  could  measure  it;  whenever  tlie  smoke 
cleared  away,  the  bright  red  flame  that  filled  the  moutli  of  the 
crater  was  clearly  perceptible ;  and  some  of  the  officcis  be- 
lieved they  could  see  streams  of  lava  pouring  'lown  its  sides 
until  lost  beneath  the  snow,  which  descended  from  a  few 
hundred  feet  below  the  crater,  and  projected  its  perpendicular 
icy  cliff  several  miles  into  the  ocean." 

The  whole  of  the  land  traced  to  the  seventy-ninth  degree 
of  latitude  was  named  Victoria  Land.  Ross  "  restored  to 
England  the  honor  of  the  discovery  of  the  southernmost 
known  land,"  which  had  previously  belonged  to  Russia,  as 
won  twenty  years  before  by  the  intrepid  Bellinghausen.  A 
second  and  a  third  visit  was  made  by  Ross,  on  the  latter  of 
which  he  made  some  discoveries  of  minor  importance. 


CHAPTER   ij, 

THE   LIFE   OF   C\PTArM    r 

CAPTAIN  JAMES   COOK. 

The  Parents  of  Captain  James  Cool-     A 

Captain  James  Cook  hpri  n^    i  • 
of  the  lustre  of  hi^b   th  "oV  he"  r'  ^'^'"5^'°"  «"  ^-ount 
His  father,  James  Cook,  was^-n    h.    '^"'f^  "^  ^'^  ancestors 
vant  m  husbandry,  and  nrrrcd  n  '^^'  station  of  a  ser-" 

^v'th  himself;  whose  Christhn  r;        ''°"''''"  °^  ^^^^  same  rank 
were  noted  in  their  J^LohS^  ^°^'^  of  tSm 

and  dihgence.  They  first  J  ved  nf  '^n"  ^^°"^^^^3'  ''^obrietv 
and  then  removed  to  Mart  n  ^^^  ^'^^^^gfe  called  Morton 
nd.n.^  f  Yorkshire      aTh^,""^^^^^^  in  the  &' 

he  2;th  of  October,  1/28  and    ,  ^'P^^'"  ^ook  was  born  on 
the  vicar  of  the  panW,who;cn;anr''''^>'  ^^  ^^^«  ^"stor"  o? 
soon  after  their  birth,  he  v^s  banti 'ed  ''  ''f  '°  ^^P^'^^^  '"fant 
lollovving      The  first  rudiment?  J     '" 'H^^  °^  November 
were  received  by  him  at  TMa  ^n    v^l""""^,  ^^^'^'^  ^^^^'cation 
read.     \Vk,n  he  was  eight  yea's  of     "'"i    '^  '"^^^  ^^"ght  °o 
quence  of  the  character  he  had  of    ^^^"^  ^' '  ^^^^er,  in  conse 
f  skill  in  ]H.sbandr>^  1  ad  a  In   "'"'"^  ^"'  '"^"^^O  fru' a^i^y 
l»m,  which  was  thit  nf  1    •  "''  Promotion  bestowednr.  ^' 

-fa™  belong  to'  *:t.:PC,'-<^  ^^^~  '''"d" 
Airy  Holme,  near  Great  Avfnn  ^™"^3,^SkottoH-,  Esq.,  called 
removed  with  his  fanX  3  w',  r''"'  ?'=■«■  "'erefore  he 


^'evei,  wj 


un- 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


2.2 


"  lis  |i|M 


1.8 


U    lill^ 


6^' 


V 


CM 


^^v- 

-^Y* 

^ 


^  ^^ 


r\    • 


baences 
Corporation 


n  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  8>  1-4503 


14 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


suitable  to  young  Cook's  disposition.  The  sea  was  the  object 
of  his  inclination,  and  his  passion  for  it  could  not  avoid  being 
strengthened  by  the  situation  of  the  town  in  which  he  was 
placed,  and  the  manner  of  life  of  the  persons  with  whom  he 
must  frequently  converse.  Some  disagreement  having  hap- 
pened between  him  and  his  master,  he  obtained  his  discharge, 
and  soon  after  bound  himself  for  seven  years  to  John  and 
Henry  Walker,  of  Whitby,  principal  owners  of  the  ship  Free- 
love,  and  of  another  vessel,  bodi  of  which  were  constantly 
employed  in  the  coal  trade.  .The  greatest  part  of  his  appren- 
ticeship was  spent  on  board  the  Free-love.  After  he  was' out 
of  his  time  he  continued  to  serve  in  the  coal  and  other 
branches  of  trade  in  the  capacity  of  a  common  sailor,  till  at 
length  he  was  raised  to  be  mate  of  one  of  Mr.  John  Walker's 
ships.  During  this  period  it  is  not  recollected  that  he  exhib- 
ited anything  very  peculiar,  either  in  his  abilities  or  his  con- 
duct; though  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  he  gained  a 
considerable  degree  of  knowledge  in  the  practical  part  of 
navigation,  and  that  his  attentive  and  sagacious  mind  was 
laying  up  a  store  of  observations  which  would  be  useful  to 
him  in  future  life. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1755,  when  hostilities  broke  out 
between  England  and  France,  and  there  was  a  hot  press  for 
seamen,  Mr.  Cook  happened  to  be  in  the  river  Thames  with 
the  ship  to  which  he  belonged.     At  first  he  concealed  himself 
to  avoid  being  pressed ;  but  reflecting  that  it  might  be  diffi- 
cult, notwithstanding  all  his  vigilance,  to  elude  discovery  or 
escape  pursuit,  he  determined,  upon  further  consideration,  to 
enter  voluntarily  into  his  Majesty's  service,  and  to  take  his 
future  fortune  in  the  royal  navy.     Perhaps  he  had  some  pre- 
sage in  his  own  mind  that  by  his  activity  and  exertions  he 
might  rise  considerably  above  his  present  situation.     Accord- 
ingly he  went  to  a  rendezvous  at  Wapping,  and  entered  with 
an  officer  of  the  Eagle  man-of-war,  a  ship  of  sixty  guns,  at 
that  time  commanded  by  Captain  Hamer.     To  this  ship  Cap- 
tain Palliser  was  appointed  in  the  month  of  October,  1755, 
and  when  he  took  the  command,  found  in  her  James  Cook, 
whom  he  soon  distinguished  to  bean  able,  active,  and  diligent 
seaman.     All  the  officers  spoke  highly  in  his  favor,  and  the 
captain  was  so  well  pleased  with  his  behavior  that  he  gave 
him  every  encouragement  which  lay  in  his  power. 

In  the  course  ot  some  time  Captain   Palliser  received  a 


LIFE   OF  CAPTAIN  JAMES   COOK. 

letteracquaintino-him  1-h-f  o^  5 

ship.     They  had  heard  chat  C^n^^  ^  ?,"  ^""^  the  captain's 
of  him,  and  they  requested  ?(T   u  '^^"''<^'-  ^^'^  taken  n?tL 
iUhat  he  woul^  point  out  in  wllf°"«'"  ^""^  deservingoF 
might  best  contribute  his  assi,^        ^^""'"^  ^•■-  Osbaldefton 
young  man's  promotion  '  The totain  " ™K^^  forwarding    he 
to  Cool<'s  merit;  but  as  he  l,L  '^i   "l  '"  ^'^  ""^Ply.  did  justice 
navy  informed  Mr    bsbajdeston  tt^,'"  ^  ='',°«  '™eC the 
moted  as  a  commissioned  officer      A  „  '  ""■'^'^  "°'  ^e  pr^ 

the  Grampus  sloop    b,ftlLe      °"  ""=  '°'^  "^  May,  .7.0  for 
edly  returned  to  h;r     I'e  Lr-^"'  "'^''^'  '^ving'^'un^expec, 
Pour  days  after  he  was  mad?    """'"'  '"^  "°t  take  pVace" 
upon  inquiry,  it  was  f«,„d  thl,  he ''"'u°^  "'"  Garland,  Xn 
*P  had  already  sailed.     On  the  n'°"''",  "«  J<"»  her,  as  d,e' 
l>e  was  appointed  to  the  Mercu  y  """  ''"y-  "^^  '5th  of  Ma  f 

ine  destination  of  the  ivr^ 
where  she  joined  the  fleerun^'if^  "^^^  ^°  ^o^th  America 

£«X:&i  ."i  sir  "•" "- ^^  ■ 

channel  of  the  river  St  Lawre^Jt '^''^  *^  =°"ndings?n  the 
eans  and  the  north  shore  directW    "T'"  "'^  '='=tnd  of  Or! 

' '"  the  most  complete  manner  V^V  ^"^  he  performed 
"iployed  during  the  nLh  timfr  ^"  ""=  ''"^''less  he  wis 
At  length  he  wal  discovfred  L  ^°'  '"""^^  "-ghts  to4tW 
feat  number  of  Indent  Id^  '^  ^"^'"y'  «'«>  colle°cted  a 
«ter-side,  which  wereTaunchel'-"°f'  *"  =>  """d  near  the 
rf  ^rrounding  him'nVa,  .tA.'m  off  "f'  '^r  '^e  purpose 
laa  a  very  narrow  escan^      u  '     ^"  ^^'s  occasion  h^ 

»^  P"shed  on  shorert^^e  is^d^oSf n!lT-  ^"  ' 


i6 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


of  the  English  hospital.  Some  of  the  Indians  entered  at  tlie 
stern  of  the  boat  as  Cook  leaped  out  at  the  bow,  and  the 
boat,  which  was  a  barge  belonging  to  one  of  the  ships  of  war, 
was  carried  away  in  triumph.  However,  he  furnished  the 
admiral  with  a  correct  and  complete  draught  of  the  channel 
and  soundings. 

Another  important  service  was  performed  by  Cook  while 
the  fleet  continued  in  the  river  St.  Lawrence.  The  navi- 
gation of  that  river  is  exceedingly  difficult  and  hazardous. 
It  was  particularly  so  to  the  English,  who  were  then  in  a 
great  measure  strangers  to  this  part  of  North  America,  and 
who  had  no  chart  on  the  correctness  of  which  they  could 
depend.  It  was,  therefore,  ordered  by  the  Admiral  that 
Cook  should  be  employed  to  Survey  those  parts  of  the  river, 
below  Quebec,  which  navigators  had  experienced  to  be  at- 
tended with  peculiar  difficulty  and  danger ;  and  he  executed 
the  business  with  the  same  diligence  and  skill  of  which  he 
had  already  afforded  so  happy  a  specimen.  When  he  had 
finished  the  undertaking  his  chart  of  the  river  St.  Lawrence 
was  published,  with  soundings,  and  directions  for  sailing  in 
that  river. 

After  the  expedition  at  Quebec,  Cook,  by  warrant  from 
Lord  Colvill,  was  appointed,  on  the  2  2d  of  September,  Master 
of  the  Northumberland  man-of-war,  the  ship  in  which  his 
lordship  stayed,  in  the  following  winter,  as  Commodore,  with 
the  command  of  a  squadron  at  Halifax.  In  this  station 
Cook's  behavior  did  not  fail  to  gain  him  the  esteem  and 
friendship  of  his  commander.  During  the  leisure  which  the 
season  of  winter  afforded  him  he  employed  his  time  in  ilie 
acquisition  of  such  knowledge  as  eminently  qualified  him  for 
future  service.  It  was  at  Halifax  that  he  first  applied  him- 
self to  the  study  of  astronomy  and  other  branches  of  science. 

While  Cook  was  Master  of  the  Northumberland  under 
Lord  Colvill,  that  ship  came  to  Newfoundland,  in  September, 
1 762,  to  assist  in  the  recapture  of  the  island  from  the  French, 
by  the  forces  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Amherst.  When  the  island  was  recovered  the  English  fleet 
stayed  some  days  at  Placentia,  in  order  to  put  it^  in  a  more 
complete  state  of  defence.  During  this  time  Cook  mani- 
fested a  diligence  in  surveying  the  harbor  and  heights  of  the 
place,  which  arrested  the  notice  of  Admiral  Graves,  Com- 
mander of  the  Antelope,  and  Governor  of  Newfoundland 


UFE   OF   CAPTAIN  JAMES    COOK 

L^^Ts  r,eL°rr  "^"''"S.^!  -Tten"-^" 

"ic  more  he  saw  of  P^^i  »  ,    ^  opinion  w^q 

ever    hey  went,  continued  to  H^^J" '  conduct;  who,  wher 
attention  to  every  object  th.^     f^^Z  ^^'^  "^^^^  unrem  thW 
t  e  coast,  and  whfch  w'as  c^IaTed' ^'  ?  '^'  knowi:dTof 
of  navigation.  calculated  to  facilitate  the  prfctici 

In  the  latter  end   of   r.g.   r     t 
and  on  the  21st  of  December  b^^    '"'"'""^  ^°  England- 
Barking  m  Essex,  Miss  Ehzabe  h  R  .  "^""^  y^^^'  Carried  at 
serving  woman,  .who  was  ;  !fi  ?f"^'  ^"  amiable  and/ 

tenderest  rega;d  and  affeS>^  '^It''''  ^"^  -"Joyed  t 
he  high  duties  to  which  he  wa  "  catd  dM^'^'°"  '*"  ^^'^  '^^^ 

Kt^ttr ""^^"'^'-  ^^^^-y  -^^ou'tt'an^'ardTi^^^^  ^^ 
Early  in  the  year  1765      r  >^  ^0"g 

been  an  object  of  ereat  rZr      ?  commercial  view   and\^ 

wMch  he  readily  aTceded      A  P™'!?'^'^  "'^'■<=  made  to  h;  Jf 

Graves  had  reached  fI,oI^    certain    period.      When    Po  7  • 
fcT/'' '  '-5ters'e°f  t^e  w    M  ^Vhen    Cap,.^ 
^cuiers  and  his  own  fam.'l,.  1       ^  France,  with  nil  <-i,^ 

«^was  finished  the  Fmn^h  „  ""''^^y-  When  the  fm?f 
"•>  islands,  and  left  fn  th.  „  "'■''  ^"^ '"'°  Possession  of  thL" 
7  r fe-ion  of  ciJi^t^"  ''"'"  ^"J"^"-^  of  them?  ,^h         : 

1'  me  end  of  the   season  r    i 

season  Cook    returned  to  England, 


i8 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


but  did  not  long  continue  at  home.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1764  his  old  and  constant  friend  and  patron,  Sir  Hugh 
Palliser,  was  appointed  Governor  and  Commodore  of  New- 
foundland and  Labrador ;  upon  which  occasion  he  was  glad 
to  take  Cook  with  him,  in  the  same  capacity,  that  he  had 
sustained  under  Captain  Graves.  Indeed,  no  man  rould  have 
been  found  who  was  better  qualified  for  finishing  the  design 
which  had  been  begun  in  the  preceding  year.  The  charts  of 
the  coasts,  in  that  part  of  North  America,  were  very  erroneous; 
and  it  was  highly  necessary  to  the  trade  and  navigation  that 
new  ones  should  be  formed,  which  would  be  more  correct  and 
useful.  Accordingly,  under  the  orders  of  Commodore  Palliser, 
Cook  was  appointed,  on  the  i8th  of  April,  1764,  Marine 
Surveyor  of  Newfoundland  and  Labrador;  and  he  had  a 
vessel,  the  Grenville  schooner,  to  attend  him  for  that  purpose. 
How  well  he  executed  his  commission  is  known  to  every  man 
acquainted  with  navigation.  The  charts,  which  he  afterwards 
published  of  the  different  surveys  he  had  made,  reflected  great 
credit  on  his  abilities  and  character,  and  the  utility  of  them  is 
universally  acknowledged.  It  is  understood  that,  so  far  as 
Newfoundland  is  concerned,  they  were  of  considerable  service 
to  the  king's  ministers,  in  setding  the  terms  of  the  last  peace. 
Cook  explored  the  inland  parts  of  this  island  in  a  much 
completer  manner  than  had  ever  been  done  before.  By 
penetrating  farther  into  the  middle  of  the  country  than  any 
man  had  hitherto  attempted  he  discovered  several  large  lakes, 
which  are  indicated  upon  the  general  chart.  In  these  services 
Cook  appears  to  have  been  employed,  with  the  intervals 
of  occasionally  returning  to  England  for  the  winter  season, 
till  the  year  1 767,  which  was  the  last  time  that  he  went  out 
upon  his  station  of  Marine  Surveyor  of  Newfoundland. 

The  invention  of  the  compass,  seconded  by  thr  ardent  and 
enterprising  spirit  of  several  able  men,  was  folk  zed  by  won- 
derful discoveries.  Vasco  di  Gama  doubled  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope »  and  a  new  way  being  thus  found  out  to  the 
East  Indies,  the  countries*  in  that  part  of  the  earth  became 
more  accurately  and  extensively  known.  Another  world  war 
discovered  by  Columbus  ;  and,  at  length,  Magalhaens  accom- 
plished the  arduous  and  hitherto  unattempted  task  of  sailing 
round  the  globe.  At  different  periods  he  was  succeeded  by 
other  circumnavigators,  of  whom  it  is  no  part  of  the  preseni 
narrative  to  give  an  account. 


LIFE   OF  CAPTAIN  JAMES   COOK. 


i.:^'^  11ss''at't;r  r  ^^-°-  ^-'-n.  th! 

teenth  century,  began,  soon  after  the^^.  '^'  ^^°^^  «f  thf  Jix? 
seventeeth  century,  to  decline  r  ^«"^.'"encenn,nt  of  the 
occasionally  undertaken  anS;^,,^,^,^  navigations  were  on^y^ 

pies.     But  of  late  years  tiiev  haZht  .l?enerous  princi- 

larP:ed  and  benevolent  deS  of  n  ^^^"/^^'^ed.  with  the  en- 
the  human  species.  ^^"  °^  Promoting  the  happiness  of 

A  beginnine  of  this  t.'r,^ 
George  the  Secon^of  e"1S  T"^-^  ''"  5.''^  ^<='?"  °f  Kin. 
were  performed ;  the  first  „^^'    T"^  *''"^''  tvvo  voyage! 
Middleton,  and   the  n^vf      f^"  '''*  <:omrnand  of  cI^F^ 
Smith  and  Moore  in      J    ""'^"  ">«  direction  of  V.??'" 
through  Hudson^'  Z     [t"  *'^°^^^  ^  NorXvet  pafsr/ 
^lory  of  his  successo?^to  car^  V'^'"'^^'  '-"-^ver^for  fhe 
h^^ht-  "^^"^  ">«  ^P'nt  of  discovery  to  its 

designfengai^d  ^he^Ki^vrpati."  'Z^'''  "'^"."'ese  laudable 
round  the  world   had    been    .'""[''F '    *"''  two  vova<^es 
o..t  on  his  first  command.  'VectnT'T'  '^^'■°-'-"   Cooffe 
were  the  Captains  ByronVValhs  and  r    "■'  "'  ""=^<=  ™ya?es 
eral  discoveries  were  madJ  ,  k^  ,       Carteret,  bv  whoni  sfv 
V^e,  to  increase  the  k,'owled'''  ""'"bated,  'in  no  smaH 
"on.     Nevertheless,  as  the  pumf,e°f  ^^T^P'')'  «nd  nav"  a 
oiit  appears  to  have  had  a  nri?-     i  °'',"''"<^''  "'^y  were  s?nf 
object  in    the   South   Atlan'^rX   j^f^rence  to  I  pa^c^Iar 
oblsed  to  hold,  on  their  way  home      Tl  ''^''^   '^ey  were 
prevented  them  from  doinrso  mTt  "''''  ^^  "'«  East  Indfe? 
een  expected  towards  gKl^'lo'^'^'''  o"^-rwise  have 
;-n^ense  expanse  o^ocea^n  t^Zlfe  VoXi^.t^f 

-^^^^:^^::^'=^P-^'^  Carteret  had  r^urned 
the   mprovemen/  ^f        voyage  was  resolved  nnon  r^     u"  , 

".ediate' ocS    t  havT„'"br '  ^^1-  fe'^he" t' 

tea  transit  of  Venu    o^ef  the  s,'''™^',"''  "^^  ='«ronom™s" 

'7  9.  .t  was  judged  that°he  bSt  oT"  ^''''^'™"'''  ''appen  L 

iKM  some  part  of  the  South  c;»^,'°''  ""'servin,-.  it  would 


20 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS, 


being  a  matter  of  eminent  consequence  in  astronomy,  and 
which  excited  the  attention  of  foreign  nations  as  well  as  of 
our  own,  the  affair  was  taken  up  by  the  Royal  Society,  with 
the  zeal  which  has  always  been  displayed  by  that  learned 
body  for  the  advancement  of  every  branch  of  philosophical 
science.  Accordingly,  a  long  memorial  was  addressed  to  his 
majesty,  dated  February  the  15th,  1768,  representing  the 
great  importance  of  the  object,  together  with  the  regard 
which  had  been  paid  to  it  by  the  principal  courts  of  Europe; 
and  entreating,  among  other  things,  that  a  vessel  might  be 
ordered,  at  the  expense  of  government,  for  the  conveyance 
of  suitable  persons,  to  make  the  observation  of  the  transit  of 
Venus  at  one  of  the  places  before  mentioned.  This  memorial 
having  been  laid  before  the  King  by  the  Earl  of  Shelburne, 
one  of  the  principal  Secretaries  of  State,  his  majesty  graciously 
signified  his  pleasure  to  th^  Lords  Commissioners  of  the 
Admiralty,  that  they  should  provide  a  ship  for  carrying  over 
such  observers  as  the  Royal  Society  should  judge  proper  to 
send  to  the  South  Seas ;  and,  on  the  3d  of  April,  Mr.  Stephens 
informed  the  Society  that  a  bark  had  been  taken  up  for  the 

purpose. 

The  man  who  had  originally  been  fixed  upon  to  take  the 
direction  of  the  expedition  was  Alexander  Dalrymple,  an 
eminent  member  of  the  Royal  Society,  and  who,  besides  pos- 
sessino-  an  accurate  knowledge  of  astronomy,  had  distin- 
guished himself  by  his  inquiries  into  the  geography  of  the 
Southern  Oceans,  and  by  the  collection  he  had  published  of 
several  voyages  to  those  parts  of  the  world.  Dalrymple 
being  sensible  of  the  difficulty,  or  rather  of  the  impossibility, 
of  carrying  a  ship  through  unknown  seas,  the  crew  of  which 
were  not  subject  to  the  military  discipline  of  his  Majest)^'s 
Navy,  he  made  it  the  condition  of  his  going  that  he  should 
have  a  brevet  commission  as  captai.  of  the  vessel,  in  the 
same  manner  as  such  a  commission  had  been  granted  to  Dr. 
Halley  in  his  voyage  of  discovery.  To  this  demand  Sir  Ed- 
ward Hawke,  who  was  then  at  the  head  of  the  Admiralty, 
and  who  possessed  more  of  the  spirit  of  his  profession  than 
either  of  education  or  science,  absolutely  refused  to  accede, 
He  said  at  the  board  that  his  conscience  would  not  allow  him 
to  trust  any  ship  of  his  Majesty's  to  a  person  who  had  not 
regularly  been  bred  a  seaman.  On  being  further  pressed 
upon  the  subject,  Sir  Edward  declared  that  he  would  suffer 


LIFE   OF  CAPTAIN  JAMES   COOK. 

his  right  hand  to  be  rnf  ^«-  u  r 

commission.     In  this  l,e  was  inlom.^H  ^""'"^  •  ^«"  '"V  ™ch 
mutmous  behavior  of  Halle/s  crew  wnf^'?' •<"/" ■''^''  ^V  '''« 
edge  the  legal  authority  of  their  1        '^i'"""'^  to  acknovvl- 
h.m  ,n  a  dispute  which  was  attendedTth"''''  '"''  '"^'^-^^ 
quences.     Mr.   Dalrymple    on,hTZu^J'""""°"^  conse- 
-teady  in  requiring  a  compliance  wiAt^  .    "'''  ^'^  ■^l^^'Hy 
posed.     Such  was  the  sta  e  nf  ^     *^,««™s  he  had  pro- 
Secretary  of  the  AdmS^thordirc' •"•'''":  ^'^P''-- 
numerous  characters,  with  whfch  hv  ?■      '""P^^'""   "f   the 
versant,  reflects  as  much  credit  o„  hiJ       T"°"  ^^  '"  ~"- 
upright  and  able  conduct  does  on  ^he  nffl      7"l"*"S  ^^  ^'^ 
so  many  years  and  under  sn  m,^    ■  j  °-       ''<=  has  filled  for 
■0  himself  and  advanmte   o  Se  o'Lhn^'T"'""™^'  ^'^'^  honor 
that   smce  Sir  Edward    Hawke'^anj' °M^«T-f 'I  '"  ""=  ^oard 
qually  mflexible.  „o  method  remained  K  Pfy"?^^  were 
out  another  person  caoable  of^      ^  ^"'  '*">'  "f  findino- 
said,  a  Mr  Cook,  who td  been  en'oirT'     'l.^  ^"^"^  h? 
veyor  of  Newfoundland  who  h  J  i  f  "'P'°yed  as  Marino  Sur- 
.e  Navy,  i       ,,i,h  he  w^ra^ntte';:"  r|;,''-'>;  ^''•"^^'^'"^ 
be  fully  quahfied  for  the  direct  on  of  r»        "^  '"'    "'^S^'i  to 
Mr,  Stephens,  at  the  same    °n^e     '.  '"'''"^"i  ""derttking. 
board  to  take  the  opinion  of  S,r'  H,?7Tn^"'*    '"   '"   'he 
lately  been  Governor  of  NewfonnHI     3     Palhser,*vho  had 
acquamted  with  Cooks  characte  '     sir  h''"^  "?^  ^""'"^'y 
opportunity  of  serving  his   fnend  %^"Si>  rejoiced  in  the 
Stephens' recommendation  to    h  "^   strengthened   Mr 

added  many  things  in  Cook's  f:vo"'r-  -"^ 'f  P°«e^.  and 
ticular  knowledge  which  he  h=,  r ',  ?"^'"-  f™™  the  par- 
Accordingly  Cook  wa  appointed" L  '.r^""'^^  ^"'^  "-' •  ' 
expedition  by  the  Lords  of  He  A^ '°  '^  command  of  the 
casion,  he  was  promoter  to  the  ranlTof"^;  -^"^  °"  'h'''^  oc- 
J^i  N^vy,  his  commission^le:t°L^te^---itr^; 

«":  ara-p'te'dlo'te"  "'^^^  '^<=  «-  ""i-  was 
pis  business  was  comm^Med  l?,  c-    £"''';''"«  of  the  voyage 
L«tenant  Cook  to  IS  asslsmnce  ""l\P^''''=^^' "''"^olk 
geHer  a  great  number  of  thl     J'  ''"l.'hey  examined  to 
jver  Thames.     At  lenJih  H,      /""?'  "^^'^^  'hen  lay  in  the 

^i  and  seventy  ton'sfS  whl^h  ^Is  "'?°"  "T  "^  ""■-''-- 
Endeavor.  •-         •  ^"  wnicn  was  givea  the  name  of  the 


32 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


While  preparations  were  making  for  Lieutenant  Cook's  ex- 
pedition,  Captain  Wallis  returned  from  his  voyaqre  around  the 
world.  The  Earl  of  Morton,  President  of  the  Royal  Society, 
had  recommended  it  to  this  gendeman,  on  going  out,  to  fix 
upon  a  proper  place  for  observation  of  the  transit  of  Venus. 
He  kept,  accordingly,  the  object  'in  view,  and  having  dis- 
covered, in  the  course  of  his  enterprise,  an  island,  called  by 
him  George's  Island  (Otaheite),  he  judged  that  Port  Royal 
harbor  in  this  island  would  afford  an  eligible  situation  for  the 
purpose.  Having,  immediately  on  his  return  to  England, 
signified  his  opinion  to  the  Earl  of  Morton,  the  captain's  idea 
was  adopted  by  the  society,  and  an  answer  conformable  to  it 
was  sent  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty,  who  had 
applied  for  directions  to  what  place  the  observers  should  be 
sent. 

Mr.  Charles  Green,  a  gentleman  who  had  long  been  as- 
sistant to  Dr.  Bradley  at  the  royal  observatory  at  Greenwich, 
was  united  with  Lieutenant  Cook  in  conducting  the  astro- 
nomical  part  of  the  voyage ;  and,  soon  after  their  appoint- 
ment, they  received  ample  instructions  from  the  Council  of 
the  Royal  Society  with  regard  to  the  method  of  carrying  on 
their  inquiries. 

Thouafa  it  was  the  principal  it  was  not  the  sole  object  of 
Lieutenant  Cook's  voyage  to  observe  the  transit  of  Venus. 
A  more  accurate  examination  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  com- 
mitted to  him,  although  in  subserviency  to  his  main  design; 
and,  when  his  chief  business  was  accomplished,  he  was  di- 
rected to  proceed  in  making  further  discoveries  in  the  great 
Southern  seas. 

The  complement  of  Lieutenant  Cook's  ship  consisted  of 
eighty-four  persons,  besides  the  commander.  Her  victualling 
was  for  eighteen  months,  and  there  were  put  on  board  of  her 
ten  carriage  and  twelve  swivel  guns,  together  with  an  ample 
store  of  ammunition  and  other  necessaries. 

On  May  25th,  1768,  Lieutenant  Cook  was  appointea  by  the 
Lords  of  the  Admiralty  to  the  command  of  the  Endeavor, 
in  consequence  of  which  he  went  on  board  on  the  27th  and 
took  charge  of  the  ship.  She  then  lay  in  the  basin  in  Dept- 
ford-yard,  where  she  continued  to  lie  till  she  was  completely 
fitted  for  sea.  On  the  30th  of  July  she  sailed  down  the  river, 
and  on  the  13th  of  August  anchored  in  Plymouth  Sound  i 
The  wind  becoming  fair  on  the  26th  of  that  month,  the  navi-j 


LIFE   OP   CAmiN  JAMES  COOK. 

Franciscan  convent  displayed  a  l,Kl\  r*"  '^'''"='  °f  "le 
wards  them  which  mi^ht  have  nnr  1,  ^  ^  °^  sentiment  to- 
tfuese  friars,  and  in  a  vLf  ,^hic|?',K"'"  '=^P«''='J  f™",  Portu- 
3-.  the  ladles  expresse^^ta;!]:^;!,^:..^-:^:,^^^ 

and:i^::e^^^r&iS„rf  ^;J1  -^^  o^^^^-  water 

,f  'I'MSeptember  and  ^eed^d  on"" I  '"  "'^■"'g'"of 
the  7th  of  November  several  nrMV  r  ^  '"^  voyage.  By 
began  to  fall  short,  for  vTi'h  e^^L  th  "r '"'P''  P'-°^'-°"^ 
mined  to  put  into  -lo  de  Janeiro  Th'  "='"?"ant  deter- 
to  any  other  port  in  Brazif  or  to  Falk  an,?  1'f  '"5  P?^^"^'^ 
he  could  there  be  better  supplied  wiM,  -  ''''"'''•  "^"^ause 
had  no  doubt  of  meetin?  with  if  •  "'""  '"=  "anted,  and 

At  Rio  de  JaneiroJn  1l  e  port  Tf     ^^  r??"""- 
came  to  anchor  on  the  nth  "^f  N^       f '"  Lieutenant  Cook 
wuh  the  polite  reception  tiat  pertn^t'I'  '',"  *''  "°'  ">«et 
expected.     His  stay  was  soenf  ?n     ^  '  ^^  '!'"'  '°°  sanguinely 

orth?lS'°  ---^^^  -■•^"Xfo7^£^!;'I 

an'sSdti:h^j„:rs:i^r  ^'^-°^'  l'--- 

of  water  and  other  necessaries  r,^u      '''^'^''^"on-     A  supply 
djese  were  gotten  on  Sd  bX^  Tsl  of  n'^"^^''  ^'""'"^ 
that  day  the  1  eutenant  sent  fn  ,K    v-      '  ""^  December.     On 
the  Endeavor  to  sea"  but    1  ^  wL  "'^^ '■'^''  ^  ?"«  '^  ^ar^ 
f  t,„g  out,  she  was  obhJed  tornrir^''™""»  ">=  '^'P  ^om 
the  harbor.     A  Spanish"  nark.Tf"^  """^  «™«  '""ger  in 
aneiroon  the  ^d  of  DecemberM"!;'"^  ^"'"'^'^  at  R?o  d" 
Ayres  for  Spain,  the  com''m"^der  offe.^dT'^''"^  f™""  "5"^"°'       ' 
of  tlie  English  to  Europe.     This  f^^r,°  """^^^  *^  '"'^'-s 
cepted,  and  gave  him  a  packet  for  the  V*""^"^"'  ^"ol^  ac 
"iiralty,  containing  copies  of  =11  ,lf  Secretary  of  the  Ad- 

^«»\«n  Himself  fndZ  Vice  oy      f,T,'^  "'^  ^'^  P'^^^d 
Pjetra."'^"'^  '"'«^'^-aM  't^mrlrhe^t^- 


H 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


•  great  astonishment,  two  shots  were  fired  at  them  when  thev 
had  gotten  abreast  of  Santa  Cruz,  the  principal  fortification 
of  the   harbor.     Lieutenant  Cook   immediately  cast  anchor 
and  sent  to  the  fort  to  demand  the  reason  of  this  conduct,  the 
answer  to  which  was  that  the  commandant  had  received  no 
order  from  the  Viceroy  to  let  the  ship  pass,  and  that,  without 
such  an  ordfer,  no  vessel  was  ever  suffered  to  go  below  the 
fort.     It  now  became   necessary  to   the  Viceroy  to  inquire 
why  the  order  had  not  been  given,  and  his  behavior  appeared 
the  more  extraordinary  as  notice  had  been  transmitted  to  him 
of  the  departure  of  the  English  and  he  had  thought  proper 
to  write  a  polite  letter  to  Cook,  wishing  him  a  good  voy- 
age.     The  lieutenant's  messenger  soon  returned,  with  the  in- 
formation that  the  order  had  been  written  several  days  and 
that  its  not  having  been  sent  had  arisen  from  some  unac- 
countable negligence.     It  was  not  till  the  7th  of  December 
that  the  Endeavor  got  under  sail. 

From  Rio  de  Janeiro  Lieutenant  Cook  pursued  his  voyage, 
and,  on  the  14th  of  January,  1769,  entered  the  Strait  of  Le 
Maire,  at  which  time  the  tide  drove  the  ship  out  with  so  much 
violence  and  raised  such  a  sea  off  Cape  St.  Diego,  that  she 
frequently  pitched,  so  that  the  bowsprit  was  under  water. 
On  the  next  day  the  lieutenant  anchored,  first  before  a  small 
cove,  which  was  understood  to  be  Port  Maurice,  and  after- 
wards in  the  Bay  of  Good  Success.     While  the  Endeavor 
in  this  station,  happened  the  memorable  adventure  of 
Banks,    Dr.    Solander,    Monkhouse,  the    surgeon,  and 
Green,  the  astronomer,  together  with  their  attendants 
servants,  and  two  seamen,  in  ascending  a  mountain  to 
search  for  plants.     In  this  expedition  they  were  all  of  them 
exposed  to  the  utmost  extremity  of  danger  and  of  cold;  Dr. 
Solander  was  seized  with  a  torpor  which  had  nearly  proved 
fatal    to   his   life;    and    two   black   servants   actually  died. 
When  the  men  had,  at  length,  on  the  second  day  of  their 
adventure,  gotten  back  to  the  ship,  they  congratulated  each 
other  on  their  safety,  with  a  joy  that  can  only  be  felt  by  those 
who  have  experienced  equal  perils;  and  Lieutenant  Cook  was 
relieved  from  a  very  painful  anxiety. 

In  the  passage  through  the  Strait  of  Le  MaIre,  Lieutenant 
Cook  and  his  ingenious  associates  had  an  opportunity  of  gain- 
ing a  considerable  degree  of  acquaintance  with  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  adjoining  country.     Here  it  was  that  they  saw 


was 
Mr. 
Mr. 
and 


"FE  OK  CAPTAIN  ;a„bs  cook. 

human  nature  in  Jtc  i  ^5 

about  the  IZJZl"-.  ,/''^-  lives  were  spent!  "'°''  f  "P'" 
i"k's  were  no  ml,      .^^  """  surround  the,,,  ■  ^     ''  """Bering 

wWch  no?  only  Z  r",  V '^''«''  ''°ve  of  'stick  ""■■''■;  ''"^"- 
They  were  Z^^^  ''":  *'"d.  l^ut  the  Low  /„ J";  S^^.^^' 
convenience  which  Y.f    '  ■  ?''  '°  '''=™icl  were  th^      r*"  '''""• 

p- acceptable  hut  b;:l/s:'e'".f  ^t:^'^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

'n  voyages  to  th.'  c      ,  ^"Perfluuy  of 

that,  in  the  freneml  ^  •  •      ^'articular,  was  sn  ,«?  u  ?'      ^^^ 

■'■■-"«'.>  "'e^'oridr ■,):/-  ""-  --  eSe'St"' 
ascertained  the  err^n     '^galhaens.      Lieuten;.n?  r-     ,    P^^s 

>l.ree-a„d-thirv  da™  '""'"'•''  °^  ""'^  oZjl  't?"""^  ^""y 
Fuego,  from  he  X  l"  f""""-  ™""d  the  and  n^T^"^'  ^"' 
te  had  advanced  /h  ""^"^"'^'^  of  the  Strlit  nf  ,  .T'^''"  '^"^ 
three  and  rimlf  L  h°"'  '*^'^«  degrees  to  if  ^^  "^^ire,  till 
»nd,  dunW  |1  °  ""=  fwhward  o*f  the  sl^  rT/'^'^rd  and 
Whereas,  ff  leVarco"''  ^""P  scarcely  recrived  ^Sj"^aens ; 
«?e.  he  would  not  hnT  l"'°  *«  Pacific  Qeell  l"^  famage. 

the  vessel  m     k-.  ^^^  ^"^hors,  caM^^Q     ^f  ^^^  '^^"^ci  have 
accur^te^scer?^  ^''^"'P'^  ''"  doublin.,  C.     "^^'<="'«"ant 

;-asont   :r"-''-'"-^ 

We  fro.  4'^,  "^January  that  the  Endeavor  took  her 

H^t  'oSrs"ev1^;~-  C0O.S  voyage  fro.  Ca 
*e  names  were  given  of  ""^''^  discovef^d  To  3?^ 

S         of  Lagoon  Island,  Thrumb'-Jap.t'w 


26 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Island,  The  Groups,  Bird  Island,  and  Chain  Island.  It  ap, 
peared  that  most  of  these  islands  were  inhabited;  and  the 
verdure  and  groves  of  palm-trees  which  v/ere  visible  upon 
some  of  them,  gave  them  the  aspect  of  a  terrestrial  Paradise 
to  men  who,  excepting  the  dreary  hills  of  Terra  del  Fuego, 
had  seen  nothing  for  a  long  time  but  sky  and  water. 

On  the  I  ith  of  April  the  Endeavor  arrived  in  sight  of  Ota> 
heite,  and  on  the  13th  she  came  to  an  anchor  in  Port  Royal 
Bay. 

One  of  the  first  things  that  occupied  the  Lieutenant's  atten- 
tion, after  his  arrival  at  Otaheite,  was  to  prepare  for  the  exe- 
cution of  his  grand  commission.  For  this  purpose,  as  in  an 
excursion  to  the  westward,  he  had  not  found  any  more  con. 
venient  harbor  than  that  in  which  the  E^ndeavor  lay,  he  deter, 
mined  to  go  on  shore  and  fix  upon  some  spot,  co'.nmanded  by 
the  guns  of  the  ship,  where  he  might  throw  up  a  small  fort  for 
defence,  and  get  everything  ready  for  making  the  astronom- 
ical  observation.  Accordingly,  he  took  a  party  of  men  and 
landed,  being  accompanied  by  Banks,  Dr.  Solander,  and 
Green.  They  soon  fixed  upon  a  place  very  proper  for 
their  design,  and  which  was  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
any  habitation  of  the  natives.  While  they  were  marking  out 
the  ground  which  vhey  intended  to  occupy,  and  seeing  a  small 
tent^erected  that  belonged  to  Mr.  Banks,  a  great  number  of 
the  people  of  the  country  gathered  gradually  around  them, 
but  with  no  hostile  appearance,  as  there  was  not  among  the 
Indians  a  single  weapon  of  any  kind.  Cook,  however, 
intimated  that  none  of  them  were  to  come  within  the  line  he 
had  drawn,  excepting  one,  who  appeared  to  be  a  chief,  and 
Owhav/,  a  native  who  had  attached  himself  to  the  voyagers, 
both  in  Captain  Wallis'  expedition  and  in  the  present  voyage. 

This  matter  being  finished,  and  Cook  having  appointed 
thirteen  marines  and  a  petty  officer  to  guard  the  tent,  he  and 
the  men  set  out  upon  a  litUe  excursion  into  the  woods  of  the 
country.  They  had  not,  iiowe^rer,  gone  far,  before  they  were 
brought  back  by  a  very  disagreeable  event.  One  of  the 
Indians,  who  remained  about  the  tent  after  the  Lieutenant 
and  his  friends  had  left  it,  watched  an  opportunity  of  taking 
the  sentry  at  unawares,  and  snatched  away  his  musket  Upon 
this,  the  petty  officer  who  commanded  the  party,  and  who 
was  a  miasaipman,  ordered  me  marines  \.\s  uic.  wiui  cquai 
want  of  consideration,  and,  perhaps,  with  equal  inhumanity. 


*.      '■■ , 


LIFE   OF    CAPTAIN   JAMES   COOrv. 

.tkro/Xl'^!^erttT'  """r  pieces  a^ong  th! 
hundred.  U  beinrobs:  °ed%Tat°the°?v"f!f-.°'  "°-  '^-"^ 
pursued  and  sho?  dead.  From  Ib"'?''''^  n^J^ll.  l.e  was 
happily  appeared  that  none  n^,!,  ^'^"^"'  information  it 
— ,  with  the  .cep-ti-  :/  Z  iSLralrea?!- 

inhabitants  were  seen  upon  the  hi  ?"'."«  ^ut  few  of  the 
came  off  to  the  ship.     Vl/itt  'L!^       '  ^'"^  "°'  ""^  "f  "'eni 
of  the  English  was'^that  e  :ro^'hlwP'wr  "'r,'.°  "'-  ■'^g'-" 
so  constant  in  his  attachment  and  whn'^l,^'^ '"'t"'°  ^^^" 
been  remarkably  active  in  e„L        "       '''*'  "^^X  before  had 
which  had  been^brolTen,  did  not  „ow"^  \°  T"'^"  "'«  P^^'e 
In  the  evening,  bowev.r  -Xn  the  He„T^^  '"'  appearance, 
with  only  a  boafs  crew  and  so-^e  nf,^    "''"',*^'"  °"  ^hore 
thirty  and   forty  of  the  nativeT'athet'/'"''^^"'  ''«'^ee„ 
trafficked  with  them  in  a  fri«,dly^manner  ^""'^  "'^"''  »"d 
other  fruit.  '"''  ""anner  for  cocoanuts  and 

On  the   17th  Cook   an^i   r- 

and  spent  tl^e  ni.ht  thert  fn'oTdeT'to"''.  "  '^"'  °"  ^''-e 
of.the  first  satellite  of  Jupiter .  but  ,t,  °^'"^?  =""  «lipse 
Point^ent  in  consequence'^f  the  weatfe  "k  '  "''•''  ^  *4- 
The  next  day,  the  lieutenant  with  as  ^=,  ^-^f^'PS  cloudy, 
r  ^"^'""^"^  ^P-^''  '•™'""He:?.:pTe^,,°/^J- as 

^^o^of  tlt '~J  --d  s,        ,,, 

'I'e  English,  by  siccus  'of  wf.     ^^""^  '  """^  O^h^w  informed 
-"M  |e  thefr  .^rea't  guns  '"P'""'""  "-'  '■"  '•o"rdayrth:y 

proof>rstgr;dto  jticetnltfi'^^'  ^^^«  ^  «'*-2 
inhabitants  from  iniur-  and  ;?r        ^"  '''"■«  '°  preserve  th? 

'Ated  on  the  buX/of  the  E„h"'"'  ^^  'l"  P""ishment  he 

aving  threatened  or  at.emotef  ^^^"1°  "^=  ^^-^  <>' 

"'=  wiie  o(    lubourai  Tomairle   =     I"  T  "  *'°™"  "lat  was 

attachment  to  the  navigators     TS 'k'1  r'""''='"«  ^^  Ws 

<,ators.     ...■,,;  butcher  wanted  to  pur- 


28 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


chase  of  her  a  stone  hatchet  for  a  nail.  To  this  bargain  she 
absolutely  refused  to  accede ;  upon  which  the  fellow  caught 
up  the  hatchet  and  threw  down  the  nail,  threatening,  at  the 
same  time,  that  if  she  made  any  resistance,  he  would  cut  her 
throat  with  a  reaping-hook  which  he  had  in  his  liand.  The 
charge  was  so  fully  proved  in  the  presence  of  Banks,  and 
the  butcher  had  so  litde  to  say  in  exculpation  of  himself,  that 
not  the  least  doubt  remained  of  his  guilr.  The  affair  being 
reported  by  Banks  to  Lieutenant  Cook,  he  took  an  op- 
portunity, when  the  chief  and  his  women  with  others  of  the 
natives  were  on  board  the  ship,  to  call  up  the  offender,  and, 
after  recapitulating  the  accusation  and  the  proof  of  it,  to  give 
orders  for  his  immediate  punishment.  While  the  butcher  was 
stripped  and  tied  up  to  the  rigging,  the  Indians  preserved  a 
fixed  attention,  and  waited  for  the  event  in  silent  suspense. 
But  as  soon  as  the  first  stroke  was  inflicted,  such  was  the 
humanity  of  these  people,  that  they  interfered  with  great 
agitation,  and  earnestly  entreated  that  the  rest  of  the  punish- 
ment might  be  remitted.  To  this,  however,  the  lieutenant  for 
various  reasons  could  not  grant  his  consent ;  and,  when  they 
found  that  their  intercessions  were  ineffectual,  they  manifested 
their  compassion  by  tears. 

On  the  first  of  May  the  observatory  was  set  up,  and  the 
astronomical  instruments  were  taken  on  shore.  When,  on 
the  next  morning.  Cook  and  Green  landed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  fixing  the  quadrant  in  a  situation  for  use,  to  their 
inexpressible  surprise  and  concern  it  was  not  to  be  found.  It 
had  been  deposited  in  a  tent  reserved  for  the  Lieutenant's 
use,  where  no  one  had  slept ;  it  had  never  been  taken  out  of 
the  packing-case,  and  the  whole  was  of  considerable  weight; 
none  of  the  other  instruments  were  missing ;  and  a  sentinel 
had  been  posted  the  whole  night  within  five  yards  of  the  tent. 
These  circumstances  induced  a  suspicion  that  the  robbery 
might  have  been  committed  by  some  of  the  crew,  who  having 
seen  a  deal  box,  and  not  knowing  the  contents,  might  imagine 
that  it  contained  nails,  or  other  articles  for  traffic  with  the 
natives.  The  most  diligent  search,  therefore,  was  made,  and 
a  large  reward  was  offered  for  the  finding  of  the  quadrant, 
but  with  no  degree  of  success.  In  this  exigency  Banks 
was  of  eminent  service.     As  he  had  more  influence  over  the 

Tn/-Jf*or.o  i-U-yn    rinir  nthf^r   nf^rcfin    City   hnarH    the   EndeavOH  and 

as  there  could  now  be  litde  doubt  of  the  quadrant's  having 


LIFE  OF  CAPTAIN  JAMES  COOK. 

been  conveyed  away  by  some  nf  X  •        '  ^ 

to  go  ,n  search  of  it  into Th!  ¥  "^^'^^s.  he  determined 
m  consequence  of  hL  udliousTnd  ''•^"'.  '^  "^^  -'S 
pleasure  wuJa  which  it  was  bronlh^  1?";'^^  exertions.  The 
importance  of  the  event  •  Lth^^  bacJc  was  equal  to  the 
could  not  otherwise  have  btn  accS  tl'''  ^^^^e  voyage 
The  Lieutenant  and  the  resr  IfT^^'^^^^'  ^ 

a  laudable  discretion,  bartered  only  bea"d:V^'^  ^^therto,  with 
But  the  market  becomino-  slaclcVhr    ^"^^  ^?^  ^^^icles  of  food 
time,  on  the  eighdi  of  m2v  to  V-^  ^^^^  obliged  for  the  firs; 
was  the  effect  of  this  new^^o'difv^N  '^"'^  "^'^^'-  ^^d  sud 
size,  which  was  about  four  ^^0.1.^'  ^^^^  ^"^  ^^  the  smalles 
nuts  and  bread-fruit  in  ^ropotdon  ^^'  P'°'"''^^  ^^-^^y  cocoa- 
It  was  not  till  thp  to„.i;     r   , 

learned  that  the  Indian  nal°nf?^''  "^f"'^.  ">«  '^e  voyaeers 
As  the  day  approached    ^r^L'ti^'^.K*^^  Otaheit^^'" 
0  the  voyage,  Lieutenant  Cook  deterf-    ^  ^''^"'^  P"™se 
of  some  hints  which  he  had  received  fr™'"I'''i"  '^""sequence 
to  send  out  two  parties  to  obse  ve  tlv°?'  "'^  ^'^  of  Morton? 
0  her  situations.     By  this  means  he  L"'"';]"'  °'^  ^^^""^  from 
of  Ae  observation  would  be  secured  ^t^f^  *^'  "'«  ^"ccess 
to  be  any  failure  at  Otahelte      A    '    ^  '''^!'^  =''°"Id  happen 
■lie  first  of  June,  he  despatched  '  f  T''*"S^'>''  °"  Thursday      ' 

proper  instruS!-     B  ^-'^M^I^lT'^ ^   ^^  "-"  "  h 
*s  expedition,  in  which  he  was^f      ''''°?^    '0    go   upon 
Tamaide  and  Tomio,  and  by  oLr.    7T'"''  "^^  Tubourai 
"le  next   morninsr   th,.  r ;    ■*   °'"'='^=  of  the  native.;      c,  i 
»ace,  with  Clerk?1>ictrs':i  |"'::f 'o  -"j   Hicks 'ir'the^pS: 
siipnien,  orderinij  them  to  K         ^^""ders,  one  of  the  rS  ri 
;e  eastward,  at 'a  distance  f^om'T.  '°""^  »"venien  tspoTfo' 
'*ere  they  aiso  miijht  eL bv  th     ■  ^"""P""^  observaton, 

«/;S-i?ht;  butthl'l^oTefnsTons^'^^P  k  P-- tl     P^! 

r^-r'tifer^-^^^^^^ 

through  fh«,„uJ      weather  contmued  wiH,  .^.,„,-'^'?^' ^'^h" 
successfully  made  in  all  quar;!;^.  °  "'^'  "''^  °oservation  4, 


30 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


« 

To  extend  the  knowledge  of  navigation  and  the  sphere  of 
discovery,  objects  which  Lieutenant  Cook  kept  steadily  in 
view,  he  set  out,  in  the  pinnace,  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  June, 
accompanied  by  Banks,  to  make  the  circuit  of  the  island. 
By  this  expedition  Cook  obtained  an  acquaintance  with 
the  several  districts  of  Otaheite,  the  chiefs  who  presided  over 
them,  and  a  variety  of  curious  circumstances  respecting  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  inhabitants.  On  the  first  of  July 
he  got  back  to  the  fort  at  Matavai,  having  found  the  circuit 
of  the  island,  including  the  two  peninsulas  of  which  it  con- 
sisted, to  be  about  thirty  leagues. 

The  circumnavigation  of  Otaheite  was  followed  by  an 
expedition  of  Banks  to  trace  the  river  up  the  valley  from 
■which  it  issues,  and  examine  how  far  its  banks  were  in- 
habited. 

Lieutenant  Cook  now  began  to  prepare  for  his  departure. 
On  the  seventh  of  July  the  carpenters  were  employed  in  tak- 
ing down  the  gates  and  pallisadoes  of  the  fortification ;  and 
it  was  continued  to  be  dismantled  during  the  tv;o  following 
days.  The  commander  was  in  hopes  that  he  should  quit 
Otaheite  without  giving  or  receiving  any  further  offence;  but 
in  this  respect  he  was  unfortunately  disappointed.  The  Lieu- 
tenant had  prudently  overlooked  a  dispute  of  a  smaller  nature 
between  a  couple  of  foreign  seamen  and  some  of  the  Indians, 
when  he  was  immediately  involved  in  a  quarrel  which  he 
greatly  regretted,  and  which  yet  it  was  totally  out  of  his  power 
to  avoid.  In  the  middle  of  the  night,  between  the  eighth  and 
the  ninth,  two  of  the  marines  went  privately  from  the  fort. 
As  they  were  not  to  be  found  in  the  morning,  Cook  was 
apprehensive  that  they  intended  to  stay  behind ;  but,  being 
unwilling  to  endanger  the  harmony  and  good-will  which  at 
present  subsisted  between  the  crew  and  the  natives,  he  de- 
termined to  wait  a  day  for  the  chance  of  the  men's  return. 
As,  to  the  great  concern  of  the  Lieutenant,  the  marines  were 
not  back  on  the  morning  of  the  tenth,  inquiry  was  made  after 
them  of  the  Indians,  who  acknowledged  that  each  of  them  had 
taken  a  wife,  and  had  resolved  to  become  inhabitants  of  the 
country.  After  some  deliberation  two  of  the  natives  under- 
took to  conduct  such  persons  to  the  place  of  the  deserters' 
retreat  as  Cook  should  think  proper  to  send ;  and  accord- 
ingly he  despatched  with  the  guides  a  petty  officer,  and  the 
corporal  of  the  marines.     As  it  was  of  the  utmost  importance 


LIFE   OF   CAPTAIN  JAMES  COOK. 

to  recover  the  men  or.^  *    j    . 

several  of  ,he  chie";^!';'"''^.?''''/' !'  "^?  '"'™««d  to 
among  whom  were  Tubourai  T^^  -I  '^'  "'*  'he  women 
that  they  would  not  be  pStLTo^'.''^'  T?mio  and  Ob™ea 

were   returned;  and   th^e  Teutenan  T"^"' !"'  *"  ^"Si'ive^ 
observmg  that  they  received  fh!^      ''*^   '''«  pleasure  of 
indications  of  alarm;  and  w^1h=.       '"'""^tion  with  very  Lu 
be  secured  and  sent  back  asTon'^'  "'^V!''«  men^ 
transaction    took   place  at  the  fort    r  •''T'""^'     While  this 
H.cks  m  the  pinnace  to  fetch  ToLhT^"l"'  ^°°''  ««"' 
Cook  had   reason  to  expect   if  tht^f'^""  '^^/'^  'he  ship, 
faithful,  that  the  deserterfand  thj?        ,^'*"  Slides  proved 
them,  would  return  befor^'the  eten^J'''V?"'  !"  '^^^^^  °f 
his  suspicions  increased,  and  thS^'-   ^^'"S ''isappointed 
night  approached,  to  let  the  per"  '"^  i'  "°f  ^"fe,  vvhen  the 

as  hostages  continue  at  the  fort'^heordJ.H°T  t  ''"'^  ''«'*i»«d 
Oberea  and  some  others,  to  be  taken  o„K  ^"i''".^"''''  ^omaide, 
acircumstance  which  excited  so  „1^  board  the  Endeavor- 
of  them,  and  especially  the  fvo"^^^''^'  ^"  »'»'•'"  that  several 
sous  with  greaf  emolfo  t7ma„";^Sr"M  'Y''  ^PP'^-"' 
ships  crew,  about  nine  o"locTw«  ?,  '  Y'  ^^^-  °"«  of  the 
of  the  natives,  who  declared  thai  nh  ^'°"e^]<^  ,''^<=k  by  some 
^^^.  would  not  be  "^^^i^S^^Z:^^ 

.pfe'ut'ha^rpr^^^^^^^^^^^^^  -^'-  -re  turned 

mediately  despatched  HicksinM    i    '^''  '°  ""^i-eat,  he  im- 
party  of  men,',o  rescue  d'epLi^°"^''°^S  ^^       «  'trrg 
same  time  informed  that  it  behoo"  1  J°°"'^^  "as  at  thf 
his  people  with  them  for  the  n^rn„        ?  !?  "^"'^  "ome  of 
factual  assistance.     With  thu,  -PV^Po^e  of  affording  them  ef 
and  the  prisoners  weVe  re  t^t.7" -1"°"  ''«  ''^adily  compHed 
On  the  next  day  the;  weTbrouTh^T^^  'east'oppSt' 
which  the  chiefs  were  reW.^  ?^^'  .''''*  to  the  ship  uoon 
ended  an  affair  wh?ch  haK/X  'r'"  '^°"<^"^'-^nt  tC 
of  trouble  and  concern      ifo  ,'ieutenant  a  great  deal 

"re  which  he  pursued  was  the'"'''lf'  'j""^^^^'  that V^meat 
since  It  was  only  bv  sei7nr„  r  '•  "''."f  an  absolute  necesshV 
:=»vered  his  m'en"  1o  "s  ron  '"^  iV^f^  "'at  he  could  & 
™  marines  had  formed  to  a  .^o  int  ?  ^«?^'""eni  which  the 
faign  to  conceal  th^Jtlul'^^ilP'?  °f  g'ris  that  it  was  ,h/, 

^^  up  their  residence  n   he  i2nT    '  ^  ''*''  ""'^^^  «"d  to 


32 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


Tupia  was  one  of  the  natives  who  had  so  particularly  de- 
voted himself  to  the  expedition  that  he  had  scarcely  been  ab- 
sent during  the  whole  of  their  stay  at  Otaheite.  This  man 
had  often  expressed  a  desire  to  go  with  the  navigators,  and 
when  they  were  ready  to  depart  he  came  on  board  with  a 
boy  about  thirteen  years  of  age  and  entreated  that  he  might 
be  permitted  to  proceed  with  them  on  their  voyage.  To  have 
such  a  person  on  the  Endeavor  was  desirable  on  many  ac- 
counts, and  therefore  Lieutenant  Cook  gladly  acceded  to  his 
proposal. 

On  the  13th  of  July  Lieutenant  Cook  weighed  anchor,  and 
as  soon  as  the  ship  was  under  sail  the  Indians  on  board  took 
their  leave  and  wept. 

The  stay  of  the  voyagers  at  Otaheite  was  three  months, 
the  greater  part  of  which  time  was  spent  in  the  most  cordial 
friendship  with  the  inhabitants  and  a  perpetual  reciprocation 
of  good  offices. 

While  the  Endeavor  proceeded  on  her  voyage  under  an 
easy  sail,  Tupia  informed  Lieutenant  Cook  that  at  four  of  the 
neighboring  islands,  which  he  distinguished  by  the  names  of 
Huaheine,  Ulietea,  Otaha  and  Bolabola,  hogs,  fowls  and  other 
refreshments,  which  had  latterly  been  sparingly  supplied  at 
Otaheite,  might  be  procured.  The  lieutenant,  however,  was 
desirous  of  first  examining  an  island  that  lay  on  the  north- 
ward and  was  called  Tethuroa.  Accordingly  he  came  near  it, 
but  having  found  it  <o  be  only  a  small  low  island  and  being 
told  at  the  same  time  tljat  it  had  no  settled  inhabitants,  he 
determined  to  drop  any  further  examination  of  it  and  to  go 
in  search  of  Huaheine  and  Ulietea,  which  were  described  to 
be  well  peopled  and  as  large  as  Otaheite. 

The  Endeavor  on  the  i6th  of  July  being  close  in  with  the 
northwest  part  of  Huaheine,  some  of  the  natives  came  off 
the  shore  in  the  direction  of  the  ship.  In  one  of  the  canoes 
was  the  king  of  the  island  and  his  wife.  At  first  the  people 
seemed  afraid ;  but,  upon  seeing  Tupia,  their  apprehensions 
were  in  part  dispersed,  and  at  length,  in  consequence  of  fre- 
quent and  earnestly-repeated  assurances  of  friendship,  their 
Majesties  and  several  others  ventured  on  board  the  ship. 
Their  astonishment  at  everything  which  was  shown  them  was 
very  great,  and  yet  their  curiosity  did  not  extend  to^  any  ob- 
jects but  what  were  particularly  pointed  out  to  their  notice. 
in  the  afternoon,  the  Endeavor  having  come  to  an  anchor  m 


"«  OF  CAPTAIN  JAMES  COOK. 

two  follow7nl  d  "  ,  f '■''  t""^  '■<=P^«ed  thdr  evc,..^'  ™'"^'  ™- 
.i>e  people  "If  teeinl'L^r"^  ''^  "^Ich'th  "r„d"tW 
those  of  Otaheite.  in  person  dre.J?'^  "^'  ^esemblnce*  o 

Tupia  had  exnrPQ«^^  i  •  ^" 

LKr  ti7?r  S"S. -^te  Sot  rr- 

lately  conquered  r/.J^''?'*'"'''""'  he  represenl/°  f'^  «" 

.idajie   ider'Ths''hovetr  j?H^  -S^ra^^^X^ 
Cook  and   the  othf^r.   r       ^^'   ^'^    not  deter   T  ;I  V      '^^ 

form,ngsome  ceremonies^  wh^'h'r°l"=J''  'he  Party  b;  pe^" 
Huaheine.     After  fh.v  fU     i-    "  "^  "ad  practiqpri  Lr    ^ 
thenameofh^sRnvi     .^''^^'^"^^"ant  hoisted  '«  ?  ^^ 

On  hT'^T'f'  f™™  OheSroa /n^i'*'  ^'  '''^  distance  ^f 
the  »,h  n^,?  °^  ^"g"«  they  sSed  fl"'^^?"'^'^  M°"tou 


34 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


that  as  soon  as  it  should  be  seen  by  the  people  of  Bolabola 
they  would  attatk  the  inhabitants  of  Ulietea,  who  would  be 
obliged  to  endeavor  to  preserve  their  lives  by  fleeing  with  the 
utmost  precipitation  to  the  mountains. 

On  the  6th  of  October,  1769,  land  was  discovered,  which 
appeared  to  be  large.  When  on  the  next  day  it  was  more 
distincdy  visible  it  assumed  a  still  larger  appearance  and  dis- 
played four  or  five  ranges  of  hills,  rising  one  over  the  other, 
above  all  of  which  was  a  chain  of  mountains  of  an  enormous 
height.  This  land  naturally  became  the  subject  of  much 
eager  conversation,  and  the  general  opinion  of  all  on  board 
the  Endeavor  was  that  they  had  found  the  Terra  austrahs 
incognita.  In  fact,  it  was  a  part  of  New  Zealand,  where  the 
first  adventures  the  men  met  with  were  very  unpleasant  on 
account  of  the  hostile  disposition  of  the  inhabitants. 

Lieutenant  Cook,  having  anchored  on  the  8th  in  a  bay  at 
the  entrance  of  a  small  river,  went  on  shore  in  the  evening, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Banks  and  Dr.  Solander  and  attended 
with  a  party  of  men.  Being  desirous  of  conversing  with 
some  natives  whom  he  had  observed  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  river  from  that  on  which  he  landed,  he  ordered  the  yawl 
in  to  carry  himself  and  his  companions  over  and  left  the  pin- 
nace at  the  entrance.  When  they  came  near  the  place  where 
the  Indians  were  assembled  the  latter  all  ran  away,  having 
left  four  sailors  to  take  care  of  the  yawl,  walked  up  to  several 
huts  which  were  about  two  or  three  hundred  yards  from  the 
water  side.  They  had  .not  gone  very  far  when  four  men, 
armed  with  long  lances,  rushed  out  of  the  woods,  and  running 
up  to  attack  the  boat,  would  certainly  have  cut  her  off  if  they 
had  not  been  discovered  by  those  in  the  pinnace,  who  called 
to  the  sailors  to  drop  down  the  stream.  They  instantly 
obeyed,  but  being  closely  pursued  by  the  natives  the  cock- 
swain of  the  pinnace,  to  whom  the  charge  of  the  boats  was 
committed,  fired  a  musket  over  their  heads.  At  this  they 
stopped  and  looked  around  them;  but,  their  alarm  speedily 
subsiding,  they  brandished  their  lances  in  a  threatening  man- 
ner, and  in  a  few  minutes  renewed  the  pursuit.  The  firing  of 
a  second  musket  over  their  heads  did  not  draw  from  them 
any  kind  of  notice.  At  last,  one  of  them  having  lifted  up  his 
spear  to  dart  it  at  the  boat,  another  piece  was  fired,  by  which 
he  was  shot  dead.  At  the  fall  of  their  associate  the  three  re 
maining  Indians  stood  for  a  while  motionless  anu 


seemed 


"FE  or  cAmm  mmes  cook.' 
petrified  with  astonishment     N„  ^^ 

the  shorp  J      '^»"?en  and  marines  a„^  „   ^'  "^''^  ''o^ts  to 
d  others  'AboC«%^  ^y  Mr.  Banks!  Dr'^'s^h''^''  '"--■"ds 

fo^*e.>  '-dintrvi'ne^3elth'"''^''^-  '-  dV^^a^ 
on  the  opposite  <!iVi«    r**  ,^^^^  themselves  imr.,,  «.t,  ^''^ 

slo-n   nf    f        T   ^^  °^  t^e  river      Th.'c  k  •    f^°"  ^^^  ground 
sign   ot    fear   Leutemnf   r-     •       ^"'^  oeino- recrnrri^^ 

advanced    towards    them  •  ^K°'''  P"-'   Solander^and  V' '^ 
StiJrer"/"^'"*-    'art?d%p''::!/-'/onl  ^r^.Ty 

they  only  answered  hv  fl^     •  ?^.  '"  ^^^^  ^an;ruao-e  nf  rv  u   •    ' 
si?ns  for  fh«  "''^rea  by  flourish  no-  their  ,.,  ^  ^^  °^  Otaheite. 

Solan  is  tTf  '°r^*  'hem    wth  Mr"^^  ^?"'''  ^e 
and  Mr.  Monkhou^e '   Vn*""?  T'^  "ow  added  Mr"^r  '^^• 

Sp  es^nt   wSr  ^^^«  ''"duced  to  c^oss'T''  -'"^"'^  °'- 

*ey  appefred  tr;:t  Httt  f^ '''  '^"^  ^^^^LaJs  '"A"'  T" 
«othavin<TtheW7  ^'^'''"^■and  particulpH.,  °"  *ese 
obtained  in  return  »  ~"<^?P"0"  o.  its  use  so  th^'^  °"  S""  ""°"' 
fed,  they  offe"  H  ,    ''^P?"?  ^  ''e^  feather  °  *#'  ".°">.ng  was 

febeing  refused  th  "^^''^"^^  fo--  those  of  the  i"""  '™-''  ''"■ 
««t  of  thfir S       7  ■"''^'^  ^■='"'o"s  attemnf^  .  ""^^Sers.  and 

i  Mans  that  fh'-     ^"P'^  »»'  "ow  instSj  f°  '""*  ""^m 

I '"et^d^s^  "^Sf-^ '0  t^rn  arS'';;?-  -  of^ 

i"M.    The  r»fi,^    ~    ""'V''   "'Stance   v' '    a '    u  ?  "^"g'^r, 

^he  others,  at  the  same  time,  ..,:„tt:L-i!^- 


36  ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

insolent,  and  more  of  the  natives  were  seen  coming  to  join 
them  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  It  being,  therefore, 
necessary  to  repress  them,  Banks  fired,  with  small  shot, 
at  the  distance  of  about  fifteen  yards,  upon  the  man  who  had 
taken  the  hanger.  Though  he  was  struck  he  did  not  return 
the  hanger,  but  continued  to  wave  it  round  his  head  while  he 
slowly  made  his  retreat.  Monkhouse  then  fired  at  him 
with  ball  and  he  instantly  dropped.  So  far,  however,  were 
the  Indians  from  being  sufficiendy  terrified  that  the  main  body 
of  them,  who,,  upon  the  first  discharge,  had  retired  to  a  rock 
in  the  middle  of  the  river,  began  to  return,  and  it  was  with 
no  small  difficulty  that  Monkhouse  secured  the  hanger. 
The  whole  number  of  them  continuing  to  advance,  three  of 
the  party  discharged  their  pieces  at  them,  loaded  with  small 
shot,  upon  which  they  swam  back  for  the  shore,  and  it  ap- 
peared, upon  their  landing,  that  two  or  three  of  them  were 
wounded.  While  they  retired  slowly  up  the  country  Lieuten- 
ant Cook  and  his  companions  re-embarked  in  their  boats. 

As  the  lieutenant  had  unhappily  experienced  that  nothing 
at  this  place  could  be  done  with  these  people,  and  found  that 
the  water  in  the  river  was  salt,  he  proceeded  in  the  boats 
round  the  head  of  the  bay  in  search  of  fresh  water.  Beside 
this  he  had  formed  a  design  of  surprising  some  of  the  natives, 
and  taking  them  on  board  that,  by  kind  treatment  and  pres- 
ents, he  mi<^ht  obtain  their  friendship  and  render  them  tlie 
instruments^'of  establishing  for  him  an  amicable  intercourse 
with  their  countrymen. 

Some  further  attempts  were  made  to  establish  an  mter- 
course  with  the  natives.     Lieutenant  Cook  on  Octoberioth 
went  on  shore  for  this  purpose  ;  but  being  unsuccessful  in  his 
endeavors  he  resolved  to  re-embark.     On  the  next  day  the  | 
lieutenant  weighed  anchor  and  stood  away  from  this  unfortu-i 
nate  and  inhospitable  place.     As  it  had  not  afforded  a  single 
araclcthat  was  wanted,  excepting  wood,  he  gave  it  the  name 
of  Poverty  Bay.     By  the  inhabitants  it  is  called  Taoneroa,  or 
Long  Sand.     I  shall  not  regularly  pursue  the  course  round 
New  Zealand.     In  this  course  they  spent  nearly  six  rnonthsJ 
and  made  lar*e  additions  to  the  knowledge  of  navigation  andj 
geography.      By  making  almost  the  whole  circuit  of  New- 
Zealand  they  ascertained  it  to  be  two  islands  with  a  strength 
of    evidence   which   no   prejudice   could   gainsay  or  resist] 
They  obtained,  likewise,  a  full  acquaintance  with  the  ir  "  ■" 


LIFE   OF  CAPTAIN  JAMES   COOK.  37 

tants  of  the  cllfferenf  narfo  ^r  *u 

whom  it  was  cleariy  proved  that  ^k"  '°"""^'  *'"•  "'S'^"^  '° 
While  the  ship  was  haulin"       "^7"^  cannibals.  '^ 

small  island,  which  The  lieute^Lrrf  '°  *^  ^o""'  «nd  of  a 

i>s  very  great  resemblance  oPnrM  ."•™«lPo«land,  from 

she  suddenly  fell  into  sToal  water  and  h'"j'''  ^"'''^  Channel, 

the  ship  was  in  apparent  dsTresTfl,-''u°u?"  S''°""<'-     WhiJe 

who  in  vast  .n"mTers,"sat 'o^  s  white'S" an°/ ''^ /f  "''^ 
svoid  perceivmg  some  appearancp  If  I  r  ■'  ^  ^"'"^  "°t 
some  irregularity  in  the  workfn '„f  fK  '''^"  °"  ''°="'''  ='"d 
of  taking  advantage  of  her  cr^till  ^l''""^''  ™7^  ''^^'■''^"S 
live  canoes,  full  of  men  and  wpH  '""^"'o"-     Accordingly 

"tmost  expedition,  and  they  came"ln'  ^'"'''  P"?  °'^*"''  ''>^ 
hostile  a  disposition  bvshouLt  k  ?•  u-^'  ''"''  '''"wed  so 
.sing  threatening  gesturerthaf^^  ""='■■  '^"'^«.  «nd 

his  small  boat,  which  was  s,in„,      '^'T''^'"' "^^  '"  Pain  for 
musket,  which  he  ordered  to  be  f{r eT'  '"  '?""*"^     ^V  ^ 
rather  provoked   than  Intimidated      rr'fi  '"=■"■  ""^^  *^^« 
(bunder  loaded  with  grape  sToTthn,    J       ''""«  °f  ="    f°"'- 
wide  of  them,  producfd  fbe  te'  effe'f  7,'"?°='^'^ '""•'arged 
the  piece  the  Indians  all  rose  nn  ,n,J'    u  P°".  ""=  '■<=P°«  of 
of  continuing  the  chase,  tZ  Jle«ed  te"'''/  l^"'' '""-^ 
M  after  a  short  consultation,  went  ol  v  ?'  '°°'"'""' 

On  the  14th  of  Octoh^r  i  •    .      1"'«ly  away. 

o^t  his  pinnace  a?d7on:-bort?rar^h°°r'  """''"^  ''"'^"^d 
[hey  were  about  to  set  off  several  b„=,?r„'^!;  V'"''  J"^'  ^^ 
land  people,  were  seen  cominf  fro^  i''  ^"u  °^  *^  ^ew  Zea- 
time  five  of  these  boats,  haTnl  oHn  '^  l''"''^-  ^'■'^■-  ^"'"e  • 
™ety  men,  made  towards  hf  shio  °,nH  f"""""  "^^'^y  ^"^ 
at  no  great  distance  as  if  to  susta  n'  fl  '°"^™"'-c  Allowed 
fot  five  had  gotten  with  nabonf  =7  f  ^i'^^'^-  ^hen  the 
favor  they  began  to  sin „  ,1?^  '"'''■'=''  y"''^  of  the  En- 

Aeirpikes,  prepared  for  an  ^n       ^^  '°"S'  ''"''•  brandishino- 

•as  extremely  Sesfrous  of  avS'T'  ."^^  "^^  ''^"'^"^"t 
"Mg  fire-arms  against  the  nl?  w-^^T  •"'PPy  "^cessity  of 
pint  them  that  the  vovaterf '1,^^'"  '"^^  ""^'"■'^'^  'o  ^c- 
I  .liinder,  would  destroy  themfn  '  ^  "'^n"^  *'"''^l',  like 
""mediately  convince  them  of  ?h.-  """^"^  L  "'^  "'^V  "ould 
'fetsothat  they  should  not  he  h  Prt""  V'''^"'^  *«'> 

J«edin  any  lUle  a  4mpf  they  ^ou'ld  K   *'' '^  1>^y  P^^" 
,fect  attack  of  these  formfdlhi^,.^."."'''  ''^  fposed  to  the 

|-ed  with  grape-sho,-wastt  fitS-^^^e  o^t&dllS 


38 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


expedient  w£.j  fortunately  attended  with  success.  The  report, 
the  flash,  and  above  all  the  shot,  which  spread  very  far  in  the 
water,  terrified  the  Indians  to  such  a  degree  that  they  began 
to  paddle  away  with  all  their  might.  At  the  instance,  how- 
ever,  of  Tupla  the  people  of  one  of  the  boats  were  induced 
to  lay  aside  their  arms  and  to  come  under  the  stern  of  the 
Endeavor ;  in  consequence  of  which  they  received  a  variety 
of  preaents. 


CHAPTER   m. 

CAPTAIN   cook's   VOVAOKS. 
Hick.  Br-  HoMiii,    „f  ,^,  ,„|,.|,i„  . 

•-A..mpl.  ,0  p„,  ,„  S.._TI„  Pm'       7"8"-SI"P  Al™k_Rrt„i„„  ,ht  sl.TT^l 
-Hon,.  .B.i„  ft„„  ^  F„„|j,„  3,,^^^      "'««  on  Bo«J-u..  „f  ,hi,„  „,„  i,^  ^^^^^ 

adS  tsf  t;;" Jnj";:''!  •^^'^  '"?  '•""^'bi.ant,  of  the 
•hem  much  uneasiness  and  was ^^dleT  ''°'"''^-  l'''^  g='ve 
peaat,ons,  for  they  had  hoped  that  ,h'  ''°""'"/  '°  "leir  ex- 
and  clemency  had  spreadto  a  'Je'er''  '?°''  °{'^'''"  P^^^r 
on  the  ,st  of  November.  ,,6rthev""'S  '^'  ''^yb'-eak, 
forty-five  canoes  that  weri  cominlT  "T"^  "°  '"^  'han 
the  Endeavor,  and  these  were  ?o»f win  K  "  '^"'^  '""^'•ds 
another  place.  Some  of  The  Ind  an?.  ^I  ^Vf^^  "«"■«  from 
of  them  took  what  was  handed  down   'M^^  '^""'y'  •>«  "'hers 

the  Mayor,  the  inh^LiS'nts  oTthe"?!!^ '^""^  ^''^'^  ''«  -"ed 
many  instances  of  hostility  and  ?n  K  •""^  "S*''  displayed 
varK>us  acts  of  fraud  and  robberv  A "'  u^^t"  ^n^^itted 
tended  to  continue  in  the  place  fiv^or^?  '5'  H^yten^M  in- 
make  an  observation  of  the  trtnJt  nf  m  ^^^^^ '"  "'•der  to 
lutely  necessary  for  the  prevISnf  f^""""''':'  "  ™^  ^bso- 
vince  these  people  thaf  ,K  °'  '^"'"''e  m  schief  to  con 

impunity.  a'cco?!^4'^;'3^^„YsS  T  '°  ''^  "'-fea' ed  ^"th 
of  uncommon  insolence  and  .  ,^°'  *^''«  Si-ed  at  a  thief 
through  the  bottom  of  hi,  ooat  "".'^ket-ball  was  discharged 
0  about  a  hundred  yards  dT,L  ^P°"  *.s  it  was  paddled 
Lieutenant  Cook  the  Indians  in  ZA-h"''  '"  ""^  »"^P"se  of 
least  notice  of  their  woundrn  ''^''  "^^"o*'  took  not  the 

much,  but  returned  to  the  shtaTdC?"'  '''T'^^  ^'  "  "d  very' 
most  perfect  indifference  a nH.        "^"""""ed  to  trade  with  the 
fme  they  dealt  f;^5/"'\f  ^f"  ""^ncern.     For  a  consid.^b'- 
--■>.    A.  ,a.,  however,  one  of  them  thought 

(39) 


40 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


fit  to  move  off  with  two  different  pieces  of  cloth  which  had  been 
given  f  '  the  same  weapon.  When  he  bad  gotten  to  such  a 
distance  that  he  thought  himself  secure  of  his  prizes  a  musket 
was  fired  after  him,  which  fortunately  struck  the  boat  just  at 
the  water's  edge  and  made  two  holes  in  he**  side.  This  ex- 
cited such  an  alarm  that  not  only  the  people  who  were  shot 
at,  but  all  the  rest  of  the  canoes  made  off  with  the  utmost  ex- 
pedition. As  the  last  proof  of  superiority,  the  commander 
ordered  a  round  shot  to  be  fired  ever  them,  and  not  a  boat 
stopped  till  they  got  to  land. 

After  r.n  early  breakfast  on  the  9th  of  November,  Lieu- 
tenant Cook  went  on  shore  with  Mr.  Green  and  proper  in- 
struments to  observe  the  transit  of  Mercury.  Mr.  Banks 
and  Dr.  Solander  were  of  the  party.  The  weather  had  for 
some  time  been  very  thick,  with  much  rain,  but  this  day 
proved  so  favorable  that  not  a  cloud  intervened  during  the 
whole  transit.  The  observation  of  the  ingress  was  made  by 
Mr.  Green  alone,  Lieutenant  Cook  being  employed  in  taking 
the  sun's  altitude  to  ascertain  the  time. 

While  the  men  were  thus  engaged  on  shore  they  were 
alarmed  by  the  firing  of  a  great  gun  from  the  ship,  and  on 
their  return  received  the  following  account  of  the  transaction 
from  Second  Lieutenant  Gore,  who  had  been  left  commanding 
office"  on  board:  During  the  carrying  on  of  a  trade  with 
some  small  canoes  two  very  large  ones  came  up  full  of  men. 
In  one  of  the  canoes  were  forty-seven  persons,  all  of  whom 
were  armed  with  pikes,  stones  and  darts,  and  assumed  the 
appearance  of  a  hostile  intention.  However,  after  a  little 
time,  they  began  to  traffic,  some  of  them  offering  their  arms, 
and  one  of  them  a  square  piece  of  cloth,  which  makes  a  pait 
of  their  dress,  called  a  Haahow.  Lieutenant  Gore  having 
agreed  for  it.  sent  down  the  price,  which  was  a  piece  of  Brit- 
ish cloth,  and  expected  his  purchase.  Bui  as  soon  as  the  In- 
dian had  gotten  the  cloth  in  his  possession  he  refused  to  part 
with  his  own,  and  put  off  his  canoe.  Upon  being  threatened 
for  his  fra-'d,  he  and  his  companions  began  to  sing  their  war 
song  in  defiance  and  shook  their  paddles.  Though  their  in- 
solence did  not  proceed  to  an  attack  and  only  defied  Gore  to 
take  any  remedy  in  his  power,  he  was  so  provoked  that  he 
levelled  a  musket  loaded  with  ball  at  the  offender,  while  he 

, U_UJ.^~  «.U«   »1^4-U    \r\   \^\c-   Viorvrl     if-irl    olir»f  liim  r1*^Qr1        AA/nPn 

VViiS   iiOH-iillL"     tllC    VIV/Lll    111    iiio    iiciiivi,    triivl    i7if_-t   .lilt.   >.-i» — 

the  Indian  fell  all  the  canoes  put  off  to  some  distance,  but 


CAPTAIN  COOK'S  VOYAGES. 

continued  to  keen  t        h  '*' 

was  wanted  on  c?i7    ^    *°^  '^^  boat  of  the  FnAo.       secure, 
•  fee.  pver^r  htd?as  S^^^k^S,'  "^^f ^^  ^^  J:^ 

mano-roves  ahnJ;t^l    ,"^^"  °^  ^'me.     From  th^  «      u  ''^'P 

fc":  "•""■"'•  -"*  4^4  era-'  *; 

.   ine  iindeavor,  on  the  cfh  .^r  r. 

mmmM 

:r^  Headway.     So  n.n.  ""J  ""f^^^^^'^^e  joy  that  the^  v. '" 


who 


headway^ 
ignorant 


was 


M ,    .  .    r'P'*"^'^  up  oft  thf* 

near  was^shrto'Th:  'Z^'^^^J^^ 
oi  the  hairbreadt 


escape  they  had 


ex- 


42 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


perienced,  was  at  this  very  time  conversing  with  the  Indians 
upon  the  beach,  whose  voices  were  distinctly  heard,  notwith- 
standing the  roar  of  the  breakers.  Lieutenant  Cook  now 
thought  that  all  danger  was  over ;  but  about  an  hour  after- 
wards just  as  the  man  in  the  chains  had  cried  "  seventeen 
fathoms,"  the  ship  struck.  The  shock  threw  them  into  the 
utmost  consternation ;  and  almost  mstandy  the  man  in  the 
chain  cried  out  "  five  fathoms."  By  this  time,  the  rock  on 
which  the  ship  had  struck  being  to  the  windward,  she  went 
off  without  having  received  the  least  damage ;  and  the  water 
very  soon  deepening  to  twenty  fathoms  she  again  sailed  in 

security.  ^  ,  ,      i  r       j      i     r 

The  inhabitants  in  the  Bay  of  Islands  were  iound  to  be  far 
more  numerous  than  in  any  other  part  of  New  Zealand  which 
Lieutenant  Cook  had  hitherto  visited.  It  did  not  appear 
that  they  were  united  under  one  head;  and,  though  their 
towns  were  fortified,  they  seemed  to  live  together  in  perfect 

amity.  ^  ^         .       ,  .       ,       ,     , 

The  Endeavor,  on  the  9th  of  December,  lying  becalmed 
in  Doubtless  Bay,  an  opportunity  was  taken  to  inquire  of  the 
natives   concerning   their   country;  and   they  learned  from 
them,  by  the  help  of  Tupia,  that  at  the  distance  of  three  days 
rowincr  in  their  canoes,  at  a  place  called  Moore- Whennua, 
the  land  would  take  a  short  turn  to  the  southward,  and  thence 
extend  no  more  to  the  west.     This  place  they  concluded  to 
be  the  land  discovered  by  Tasman,  and  which  had  been  named 
by  him  Cape  Maria  Van  Diemen.     The  Lieutenant,  finding 
the  inhabitants  so  intelligent,  inquired  further,  if  they  knew 
of  any  country  besides  their  own.     To  this  they  answered 
that  they  had  never  visited  any  other ;  but  that  their  ancestors 
had  told  them  that  there  was  a  country  of  great  extent,  to 
the  northwest  by  north,  or  north-northwest,  called  Uhmaroa. 
On  the  30th  of  December  they  saw  the  land,  which  they 
iudged  to  be  Cape  Maria  Van   Diemen,  and  which  corre- 
sponded with  the  account  that  had  been  given  of  it  by  the 
Indians.      The   next   day,  from   the   appearance  of  Mount 
Camel,  they  had  a  demonstration  that  the  breadth  of  New 
Zealand  could  not  be  more  than  two  or  three  miles  from  sea 
to  sea      During  this  part  of  the  navigation  two  particulars 
occurred  which  are  very  remarkable.     In  latitude  35°  south, 
•  '  "       "  Lieutenant  Cook  met  with  a 


ana  in   tac  iiuuuic  v,-i  av:tn>"^ti 


gale  of  wind,  which,  from  its  strength  and  continuance,  was 


■  ancestors 


•     CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES. 

in  getting  fifty  leagues^ for  at  .if-  '^^.^''^^'^'  ^nd  five  weeks 
January   i77oJt  was  so ']ong  since  t'^J  ^'^"^  '^^  '«' of 
Whiln  the  gaJe  lasted  they  were  ..     ^^  P-^/^^'^  ^ape  Bret 
from  the  land.  ^^  ""^^^  ''^  a  considerable  distance 

At  daybreak  the  nt-vt  r«^  • 
at  eight  got  within  th:  nT^ce^  At ''°°''  'r/°'  ^"  '"'«■  and 
I'ttle  w,„d,  and  what  there  was  befn  "'"'=.°^'°<=k,  there  being 
was  earned  by  the  tide  or  cur^en  wih'™"^'  "'^  Endeavof 
of  the  northwest  shore,  where  she  h.T?/"  .'*°  "tables'  ]en<.th 
By  the  help  of  the  Cts^he  Jit      '^'^■'^''■''' ''^'''''■"- water 

anchored  ma  very  safe  and  convenenf"""  ''^"^'  '""^  "hfy 
In  passing  some  rn^to      '•°y anient  cove.  ' 

night,  it  appeared  fn  the  ™  "  *\9"'  "^  M"ch,  ,770  in  ,h. 
most  imminent  danlr  uZ"'"^  "'^  *«  ^^ip  had  been  n  he 
highest  degree,  fo  ihe"  roclT^^'  '?''^<=''  criticdi"  he 
are  so  well  adapted  to  catch  un'r"'''  '^°'"  '^^''  =i'"ation 
•-ook  gave  the  name  of  he  TrrnP'  'A'^T'''>  Lieutenant 
reached  a  point  of  land  which  li  "^n  j^u"  ""^  ^ame  day  he 
which  he  supposed   as  nrl  \i  •"^'i^''  "><=  South  Caoe  anH 

In  sailmg,on  the  14th  theP„7' 
opening  in  the  land,  where  fherr"'' P^t^^<^  ^  ^-^all  narrow 
and  convenient  harbor  forL5  [  ^"^""""^  '"  ^  a  very  safe 
«rd  in  the  middle  of  the  ODe„;„  ^  ''"r.'^'^"'''  ^^ich  la7east! 
opening  were  mountains  the?  S^'  •  °"  "•«  'and  behind  the 
with  snow  that  apprareH  *  I  "  °''  '^^''"'^  were  cover.^ 
for  two  days  pastXv'ht'd'^,^;,-, -Gently  fallen."  ^nde'd 

On  each  side  the  entrance  of  thel       ^^^'^^'  extremely  cold 
perpendicularly  from  the  sea  t„  f '"/""  '^^  '""'^  "^«  a^Imost 

S:  tt^bt-Te'  ""^^  "otX:  risfi  f 

fere  but  righT  in  "o^  TJht  ^ "l  !JT  "°  «"^ -uW  b1  w^ 
ny  means  advisable  to  put  in tn^;  1  "^  ^^  f"^  "«  'hink  it  by 
have  gotten  but  with  a  w'^^^d  Xh  e  '"  *''""=^  ''^  ™"'d  "m 
did  not  blow  more  than  on7^  .experience  had  taueht  him 
•h's  determination  of  Liemenan?  r  ^"'°"*•  Sagacious  a^ 
""'versal  satisfaction.   '''^"'*="^"'  Cook  was  it  did"  not  give 

co2.'rJ<;5'' of  March  they  had  cir. .•_....        . 

island  L      '"^>f"enammob,  and  ^rrh^Z     -l^""^.  ""^  "hole 


44 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


leagues  from  the  entrance  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound.  Hav- 
ino-  at  this  time  thirty  tons  of  empty  water-casks  on  board,  it 
was  necessary  to  fill  them  before  proceeding  on  the  voyage. 
For  this  purpose  they  hauled  round  the  island  and  entered  a 
bay,  situated  between  that  and  Queen  Charlotte's  Soun^,  and 
to  which  the  name  was  given  of  Admiralty  Bay. 

The  business  of  wooding  and  watering  having  been  com- 
pleted on  the  30th,  and  the  ship  being  ready  for  the  sea,  the 
point  now  to  be  determined  was,  what  route  should  be  pur- 
sued  in  returning  home  that  would  be  of  most  advantage  to 
the  public  service.  Upon  this  subject  the  Lieutenant  thought 
proper  to  take  the  opinion  of  his  officers.  He  had  himself  a 
strong  desire  to  return  by  Cape  Horn,  because  that  would 
have  enabled  him  to  determine  whether  there  is  or  is  not  a 
southern  continent.  But  against  this  scheme  was  a  sufficient 
objection.  It  was  at  last  resolved  that  they  should  return  by 
the  East  Indies ;  and  that  with  this  view  they  should  steer 
westward  till  they  should  fall  in  with  the  east  coast  of  New 
Holland,  and  then  follow  the  direction  of  that  coast  to  the 
northward  till  they  should  arrive  at  its  northern  extremity. 
If  that  should  be  found  impracticable  it  was  further  resolved 
that  they  should  endeavor  to  fall  in  with  the  land,  or  islands, 
raid  to  have  been  discovered  by  Quiros 

In  the  six  months  which  Lieutenant  Cook  had  spent  in  the 
examination  of  New  Zealand  he  made  very  large  additions 
to  the  knowledge  of  geography  and  navigation,  ihat  coun- 
trv  was  first  discovered  in  the  year  1642  by  Abel  Jansen 
Tasman,  a  Dutch  navigator.  He  traversed  the  eactern  coast 
from  latitude  34°  43'.  and  entered  the  strait  now  called  Cooks 
Strait ;  but  being  attacked  by  the  natives  soon  after  he  came 
to  an  anchor,  in  the  place  which  he  named  Murderer  s  Bay 
he  never  went  on  shore.  Nevertheless  he  assumed  a  kind 
of  claim  to  the  country  by  calling  it  Staten  Land,  or  the  Land 
of  the  States,  in  honor  of  the  States-General.  It  is  now  usually 
distinguished  in  maps  and  charts  by  the  name  of  New  Zealand 
The  whole  of  the  country,  excepting  that  part  of  the  coast 
which  was  seen  by  Tasman  from  on  board  his  ship,  continued 
from  his  time,  to  the  voyage  of  the  Endeavor,  altogether  un- 

"oil  the  ^  I  St  of  March  Lieutenant  Cook  sailed  from  Cape 
Farewell  111   iNew  Zeaianu,  uuu  i^uiDu^,a  »i^   vo^.-^c:  l    . 
westward.     New  Holland,  or,  as  it  is  now  called.  New  South 


CAPTAIN  COOK'S  VOYAGES. 

Wales,  came  in  sfo-Kh         .  ^5 

"f '   T"^^^"^  '"  the  latitude  ofI,=    'he  name  of  Botany  Bav 
M.,  ^t  ^"'^  "'■  ^""^  '■"  the  longitude 

%s,  capes,  points   and  remark'aH'T,f  "P""  'he"n,ap  to  ^"e" 

Trinity  Ba^'^CE^ndlC.ia't,^'  "^^^  ^'-"e  ra^of 

nine  o"cIockthe  if^'n""^  '"  '^^-<^"°S  ost^J'T'^r^  ^ 
'went,.o„elt.'s^'^  ^S^Chilf  ^^  ^'^^^  ^^  "",'   en  t 

>vhich!:.,d  been  I  ''^'^  gone  over  thttan  ..f  i*^', '^on- 

over        h;«  -S      ^i'  "'  ="nset.  and  thit  ,h    j      '^  '""=  ^''oals 

?«  «"    -n  te  !-->'  and  tt^ '/,  ^1, '^ ^^ 
o- twenty  to  seventeen  fati^oTCalld^I^i:  .ttal 


at 


46 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


could  be  cast  again  the  ship  struck  and  remained  immovable, 
exceptinnr  so  far  as  she  was  influenced  by  the  heaving  of  the 
surge,  that  beat  her  against  the  crags  of  the  rock  upon  which 
she  lay.  A  few  moments  brought  every  person  upon  deck, 
with  countenances  suited  to  the  horrors  of  the  situation.  On 
examining  the  depth  of  water  round  the  ship,  it  was  speedily 
discovered  that  the  misfortune  was  equal  to  their  apprehen- 
The  vessel  had  been  lifted  over  a  ledge  of  the  rock, 


sions. 


and  lay  in  a  hollow  within  it,  in  some  places  of  which  hollow 
there  were  from  three  to  four  fathoms,  and  in  others  not  so 
many  feet  of  water.  To  complete  the  scene  of  distress,  it 
appeared  that  the  sheathing  boards  from  the  bottom  of  the 
ship  were  floating  away  all  round  her,  and  at  last  her  false 
keel ;  so  that  every  moment  was  making  way  for  the  whole 
company's  being  swallowed  up  by  the  rushing  in  of  the  sea. 
There  was  now  no  chance  but  to  lighten  her,  and  the  oppor- 
tunity had  unhappily  been  lost  of  doing  it  to  the  best  advan- 
tage; for,  as  the  Endeavor  had  gone  ashore  just  at  high 
water,  and  by  this  time  it  had  considerably  fallen,  she  would, 
when  lightened,  be  but  in  the  same  situation  as  at  first.  The 
only  alleviation  of  this  circumstance  was,  that  as  the  tide 
ebbed,  the  vessel  setded  to  the  rocks,  and  was  not  beaten 
against  them  with  so  much  violence.  The  crew  had  some 
hope  from  the  next  tide,  though  it  was  doubtful  whether  the 
ship  would  hold  together  so  long,  especially  as  the  rock  kept 
grating  part  of  her  bottom  with  such  force  as  to  be  heard  in 
the  fore  store-room.  No  efibrt,  however,  was  remitted  from 
despair  of  success.  That  no  time  might  be  lost,  the  water 
was  immediately  started  in  the  hold  and  pumped  up;  six 
guns,  being  all  that  were  upon  the  deck,  a  quantity  of  iron 
and  stone  ballast,  casks,  hoop- staves,  oil-jars,  decayed  stores, 
a,nd  a  variety  of  things  besides,  were  thrown  overboard  with 
the  utmost  expedition.  Every  one  exerted  hirnself,  not  only 
without  murmuring  and  discontent,  but  even  with  an  alacrity 
which  almost  approached  to  cheerfulness.  So  sensible,  at  the 
same  time,  were  the  men  of  their  situation,  that  not  an  oath 
was  heard  among  them,  the  detestable  habit  of  profane  swear- 
ing being  instantly  subdued  by  the  dread  of  incurring  guilt 
when  a  speedy  death  was  in  view. 

While  Lieutenant  Cook  and  all  the  people  about  him  were 
thus  employed,  the  opening  of  the  morning  of  the  nth  of 
June  presented  them  with  li  fuller  prospect  of  their  danger. 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES. 


The  land  was  seen  bv  th  ^^ 

without  any  island  iJ theTntll^^T  ^'^^'  ^^^Sues  distance 
the  ship  had  gone  to  pieces    h^'^-^l^  "P^^^'  "Pon  which  ^' 

^'aif  G?^Ar'  -s^'thtcW^i'ff"'^  '^'"  -^- ';;! 

main.     Gradually,  however  th^ ,  •  J  °»"e^ent  turns  to  the 

so  fast  that  she  could  scarr^?,?K    .  ^^  "'^  ""^e  fell  it  rushed  In 
were  incessantly  worked      ^^ ''^P' fr^«.  "'""gh  two  pum'" 

Two  more  pumps,  therefore  1  "  ""^  ^'^'•■"'•"g  deLel 
happily  would  not  work  Th""  "^""^d,  one  of  which  uT 
?omg,  and  at  nine  o°cIock^he''r"'?\''°*«ver,  were  keot" 
the  leak  had  gained  so  con.lH  f,  "«'?'=<'•  N;verthele?, 
.-agmed  that 'she  must  go  oT'l  "P°"  *>«■■•  ''«<  it  was 
ceased  to  be  supported  bvVJ      ^°"°'"  ^=  soon  as  she 

w  r:'obT"'?"''=  '°  LieuTenant  Cook  I'jf-  '""'''''■  ^  ^-ad! 

ton  those  who  would  be  left  on  Z",  """■<=  "P°"  "'e  whole 
I  e  latter  would  only  be  exoosed  /''  ■"  P"'^''  '"  ">«  wTves 

.  iJie  dreadful  mor>T>n-  v  u-  i 

-'»  on ;  and  every^n^W^I '  ^CcZnt"'"''"'  "'^^  <•««      ' 

•"  tne  countenances  of  his  com. 


48 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


panions,  the  picture  of  his  own  sensations.  The  lieutenant 
ordered  the  capstan  and  windlass  to  be  manned  with  as  many 
hands  as  could  be  spared  from  the  pumps,  and  the  ship  hav- 
ing  floated,  the  grand  effort  was  made,  and  she  was  heaved 
into  deep  water.  It  was  no  small  consolation  to  find  that  she 
did  not  now  admit  of  more  water  than  she  had  done  when 
upon  the  rock.  By  the  gaining  of  the  leak  upon  the  pumps, 
three  fe.et  and  nine  inches  of  water  were  in  the  hold ;  not- 
withstanding, the  men  did  not  relinquish  their  labor.  Thus 
they  held  the  water  as  it  were  at  bay:  but  having  endured 
excessive  fatigue  of  body  and  agitation  of  mind  for  more  than 
twenty-four  hours,  they  began  at  length  to  flag.  None  of 
them  could  work  at  the  pump  above  five  or  six  minutes  to- 
gether ;  after  being  totally  exhausted  they  threw  themselves 
down  upon  the  deck.  When  those  who  succeeded  diem  had 
worked  their  time,  and  in  their  turn  were  exhausted,  they 
threw  themselves  down  in  the  same  manner,  and  the  others 
started  up  again  to  renew  their  labor.  The  foretopmast  and 
foreyard  were  next  erected,  and  there  being  a  breeze  from 
the  sea,  the  Endeavor  got  once  more  under  sail, 

It  was  not  possible  long  to  continue  the  labor  by  which  the 
pumps  had  been  made  to  gain  upon  the  leak  ;  and  as  the  ex- 
act place  of  it  could  not  be  discovered,  there  was  no  hope  of 
stoppino-  it  within.     At  this  crisis    Monkhouse,  one  of  the 
midshipmen,  came  to  Lieutenant  Cook,  and  proposed  an  ex- 
pedient he  had  once  seen  used  on  board  a  merchant  ship; 
which  had  sprung  a  leak  that  admitted  more  than  four  feet 
of  water  in  an  hour,  and  which  by  this  means  had  been  safely 
brought   from  Virginia  to  London.     To  Monkhouse,  there- 
fore the  care  of  the  expedient,  which  is  called  fothe ring  the 
ship  was,  with  proper  assistance,  committed ;  and  his  method 
of  proceeding  was  as  follows :  He  took  a  lower  studding  sail, 
and  having  mixed  together  a  large  quantity  of  oakum  and 
wool,  he  stitched  it  down,  as  lightly  as  possible,  in  handfu  Is 
upon  the  sail,  and  spread  over  it  the  dung  of  the  sheep  ot  the 
vessel,  and  other  filth.     The  sail  being  thus  prepared,  it  was 
hauled  under  the  ship's  bottom  by  ropes,  which  kept  it  ex- 
tended.    When  it  came  under  the  leak,  the  suction  that  car- 
ried in  the  water,  carried  in  with  it  the  oakum  and  wool  from, 
the  surface  of  the  sail.     In  other  parts  the  water  was  not 
.;iiffirlentlv  adtated  to  wash  off  the  oakum  and  the  wool.^ 
The  success  of  the  expedient  was  answerable  to  the  warmest 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES. 

expectations ;  for  herehv  fi,    i     i  ^^ 

°"  ?";"'«  the  men  ,^M  ^oTrcTZ'  °^  ~"Wence  and 
joy  11  they  had  been  -.I-.,  j    .»i-irceiy  have  exnre-sscrl  ™„ 

utmost  object  of  thX  L^^  '"  P°«-    't  had  latdv  hl^Sf^ 

harbor,  eiLrorn^4''JoV""  "?^  ^""P  ^  S  in'Tome" 
out  of  her  materials,  to  carr^'t^lT '"^  ^"^  to  build  a  vessel 

mg,  however,  was  now  St  o/C%^^=' '"*-^-    No  h- 

^5nlarrt°d^4SS'-' ^^^^^^^^^^^ 

^^  r^r^  t^b*^/feVJ;^  wonderfn,  preservation    t 

water  did  not  pour  in  with  a  ,7;  ?       '  *'*'  """'ng.  that  the 

have  involved  tL  Endeavor  and  !n"f  "'^'''^  """S  speldHv 

We  destruction.  ^^""^  ^"'^  ='"  her  company  in  i^ev^i 

Hitherto  none  of  tU.  .  "t=vita- 

7  a  biiiall  harbor  was  h;;nnn    i    ^  "avigation.     On  th^ 

Une     Th..    ^'l^"'  'he  astronomer  wn.     ,"°'  '■"^'•''  i's 
»•»  whfcr;ast\"l_'°  P"'  ■•"  f-  the  ha'rd''!;'!-"' 


50 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


she  went  off  without  any  trouble,  but  the  second  time  she 
stuck  fast.  By  proper  exertions,  in  conjunction  with  the 
rising  of  the  tide,  she  floated,  and  was  soon  warped  into  the 
harbor.  The  succeeding  day  was  employed  in  erecting  two 
tents,  in  landing  the  provisions  and  stores,  and  in  making 
every  preparation  for  repairing  the  damages  which  the  En 
deavor  had  sustained. 

It  was  not  till  the  2  2d  that  the  tide  so  far  left  the  Endeavor 
as  to  give  the  crew  an  opportunity  of  examining  her  leak. 
In  the  place  where  it  was  found,  the  rocks  had  made  their 
way  through  four  planks.  Three  more  planks  were  gready 
damaged,  and  there  was  something  very  extraordinary  in  the 
appearances  of  the  breaches.  Not  a  splinter  was  to  be  seen, 
but  all  was  as  smooth  as  if  the  whole  had  been  cut  away  by 
an  instrument. 

On  the  29th  of  June  Lieutenant  Cook,  in  conjunction  with 
Mr.  Green,  observed  an  emersion  of  Jupiter's  first  satellite. 
The  time  here  was  2h.  18'  53",  which  gave  the  longitude  of 
the  place  at  214°  42'  30"  west;  its  latitude  is  15°  26'  south. 
The  next  morning  the  lieutenant  sent  some  of  the  men  to 
take  a  plan  of  the  harbor,  whilst  he  himself  ascended  a  hill, 
that  he  might  gain  a  full  prospect  of  the  sea.  On  this  and 
the  preceding  day,  the  men  had  been  very  successful  in  haul- 
ing the  seine.  The  supply  of  fish  ^^as  so  great,  that  the  lieu- 
tenant was  now  able  to  distribute  two  pounds  and  a  half  to 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  2d  of  July,  Lieutenant  Cook 
sent  the  master  out  of  the  harbor,  in  the  pinnace,  to  sound 
about  the  shoals,  and  to  search  for  a  channel  to  the  north- 
ward.  A  second  attempt,  which  was  made  this  day  to  heave 
off  the  ship,  was  as  unsuccessful  as  a  former  one  had  been. 
The  next  day  the  master  returned,  and  reported  that  he  had 
found  a  passage  out  to  sea,  between  the  shoals.  On  one  of 
these  shoals,  which  consisted  of  coral  rocks,  many  of  which 
were  dry  at  low  water,  he  had  landed,  and  found  there  cockles 
of  so  enormous  a  size,  that  a  single  cockle  was  more  than  two 
men  could  eat.  At  the  same  place  he  met  with  a  great 
variety  of  other  shell-fish,  and  brought  back  with  him  a  plenti- 
ful supply.  At  high-water  another  effort  was  made  to  Hoat 
the  ship,  which  happily  succeeded  ;  but  it  being  found  that  she 
had  sprung  a  plank  between  decks,  it  became  necessary  to 
lay  her  ashore  a  second  time. 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VoyAGES. 


oet  s,x  inches,  and  the  "ea teeL  s^"'"  ^"^'P  ''^e'v  tWrS 

was  made  to  warn  tU  ^"S^^^f  another  unsucceq^fnl     .. 

Zr         there  was  no  sround  ZT'^  ^"^  S^otten  without  the 
fethoms,  and  the  crew  r?  °^"^,W'thin  one  hundrerl  on  i  ii 

from  the  southeast    Vr""^  ^  ^^'"-^  '"^^^  roll  ne  in  In  ^^  .^^'^ 

^^":^£}?P^ '  ^'"^  "-^  --- 

*  4e  ope?:e°;  be^rj  tt^fft'*."-  Endeavor  passed 
^may  a  ways  be  known  bvth/1  '"',   "  '^"''"de  i4oP^^fs 
F<>rgu,dinffthewavJ"..Z."'^  ""-^e  high  island,  ..iuf'  ?" 

»-  'i-e  appeliatio-;,  of  thrSsT/l^ittr '"-^-^^^^^ 


52 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


In  the  prosecution  of  the  voyage  the  crew,  on  the  19th  of 
August,  were  encompassed  on  every  side  with  rocks  and 
shoals ;  but,  as  they  liad  lately  been  exposed  to  much  greater 
danjj^er  and  these  objects  were  now  become  familiar,  they  be- 
gan to  regard  them  comparatively  with  little  concern.  On 
the  2 1  St,  there  being  two  points  in  view  between  which  they 
could  see  no  land,  they  conceived  hopes  of  having  at  last 
found  a  passage  into  the  Indian  sea.  Cook,  however,  resolved 
to  land  upon  an  island  which  lies  at  the  southeast  point  of  the 
passage.  Accordingly  he  went  into  the  boat  with  a  party  of 
men,  accompanied  by  Banks  and  Dr.  Solander. 

The  men  immediately  cHmbed  the  highest  hill,  from  which 
no  land  could  be  seen  between  the  southwest  and  west  south- 
west ;  so  that  the  lieutenant  had  not  the  least  doubt  of  finding 
a  channel  through  which  he  could  pass  to  New  Guinea.  As 
he  was  now  about  to  quit  the  coast  of  New  Holland,  which 
he  had  traced  from  latitude  thirty-eight  to  this  place  and  which 
he  was  certain  no  European  had  ever  seen  before,  he  once 
more  hoisted  English  colors.     He  had,  indeed,  already  taken 

{possession  of  several  particular  parts  of  the  country.  But 
le  now  took  possession  of  the  whole  eastern  coast,  with  all 
the  bays,  harbors;  rivers  and  islands  situated  upon  it,  from 
latitude  38°  to  latitude  10°  5^'S.,  in  right  of  King  George  the 
Third,  and  by  the  name  of  New  South  Wales.  The  party 
then  fired  three  volleys  of  small  arms,  which  were  answered 
by  the  same  number  from  the  ship.  When  the  men  had  per- 
formed this  ceremony  upon  the  island,  which  they  called  Pos- 
session  Island,  they  re-embarked  in  their  boat,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  a  rapid  ebb  tide  had  a  very  difficult  and  tedious 
return  to  the  vessel. 

On  the  23d  the  wind  came  round  to  the  southwest,  and 
though  it  was  but  a  gentle  breeze,  yet  it  was  accompanied  by 
a  swell  from  the  same  quarter,  which,  in  conjunction  with 
other  circumstances,  confirmed  Lieutenant  Cook  in  his  opinion 
that  he  had  arrived  to  the  northern  extremity  of  New  Hol- 
land, and  that  he  had  now  an  open  sea  to  the  westward. 
These  circumstances  afforded  him  peculiar  satisfaction,  not 
only  because  the  dangers  and  fatigues  of  the  voyage  were 
drawing  to  a  conclusion,  but  because  it  could  no  longer  be 
doubted  whether  New  Holland  and  New  Guinea  were  two 
separate  islands.     The  northeast  entrance  of  the  strait  lies 


in  tiic  laiiiuac  01   iu~  39  S.  an 


d  ill 


,00 


lon^ituuS   of  2io''  Ju 


CAPTAIN   cook's   VOYAGES. 


W.,  and  the  n^oc-^^^  •     r  " 

convenes  of  iSf  o'th  rr^hw^^/'^rf  I"  '^^  =>"<)  by  a 
tlie  I'nnce  of  Wales'  Island"  in,   ,1  •' f"'^''  ^^  ""=  'i<--utonant 
|.s  ar  as  ,o  New  Guinea      Thth-'lTff'  "^^X  P'-°bably  e.xtem 
in  height  and  circuit  »n,r    ""-"^ '''ff^rence  isverv.rren,  hZ, 

with  l,e.ba,,e  a.'.d  to^d"  'n^ "JarTh"^'  '°  ''^  -^R  cove'red 
being  inhabited.  '    °'  ""^  '''«'•«  any  doubt  of  their 

,^„''-;;'H'='"'' Cooi<°New  Sou,r  Wales''!" ,h^  'f  '^^'^  ^='"«'  •>>• 
n  the  Icnown  world  which  does  no    L      ^^  '^''S'^'*'  »untry 

'T:  ,. ,  li'-^"^"'  °f  ~as  °wh  n^Ve'drcJi'to":""  '^^='  -""  v 
-:*i"«'l"'/--ven  degrees  onlr?,,,r!t«''' '■"<=. 


was  no  less  than°t'we"nt;-seven'!.r"  ""^"""^  '°  a  straidrt  Tine" 
nearly  to  two  thousanTm  ::."  fc  tl  '"'■'"''^'  ^"-""  ""g 
much  more  than  ^auJl^'.t.T"'' ^"j''^<^e  of 


''.e^if  and  i;Z.;';^reX^-,;n  [ac.  *^  s.ip^  Sc"e"^f 
From  the  coast  of  NewSoud?W.       !^     r^'°'^  °^  Europe 

"  p^a  ttarote'^il?  r--^^^.^  iout^ 

such  an  extent,  reaching  from  the  >'^  ^^'"  ^^oal  was  "? 
and  west  to  the  southwest  thLr  ,1  *"  ^""^  ^v  the  north 
vessel  to  get  dear  of  it  ^  bv  ^  '™'  "°  ■"«"'°d  for  the 
which  she  came.  Here  was  anoH,  k  ^T^  back  the  way  in 
U  was  nearly  highwater  a„'d  there  ra^"'''?^'^"'  «-apeffor 
which  if  the  ship  had  struck  ^  ?r.  "  "  ''"'o".  cocklinc-  .=1» 
At  clay-break  on  the  ,dof^       ""^  '°°"  bulged  I  er         ' 

early  in  the  morning  of  d  e  6  h  "f  ^"""'  "^"■«^'-"-     V^ery 
™al    island  which  Tay  to  the  n  °f, -^<^^Ptember  they  passed  a 
break  they  discovered  another  ,"°'■'.^-"°«b«'est ;  and  a    day 
^"o'V"  "T^-'^onhoZ        '""  "'^"^  ^«^"ding  from  S 
»d  longitude  717  '^f  ^'"'P  -as  i„  latitude  o»   ,„'  ,o  „ 
^;t°;.*e  We^s^ell^C^^tch'^^V  -/H'  to  h'ave^eT  ^ 


54 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


In  pursuing  their  course  the  navigators  passed  the  islands 
of  Timor,  Timor-lavet,'  Rotte  and  Seman.  While  they  were 
near  the  two  latter  islands  they  observed  about  ten  o'clock  at 
night  a  phenomenon  in  the  heavens,  which  in  many  particulars 
resembled  the  Aurora  Borealis,  though  in  others  it  was  very 
different.  It  consisted  of  a  dull  reddish  light,  which  reached 
about  twenty  degrees  above  the  horizon  ;  and  though  its  ex- 
tent, at  times,  varied  much,  it  never  comprehended  less  than 
eight  or  ten  points  of  the  compass.  Out  of  the  general 
appearance  there  passed  rays  of  light  of  a  brighter  color, 
which  vanished  and  were  renewed  nearly  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  those  of  the  Aurora  Borealis,  but  entirely  without 
the  tremulous  or  vibratory  notion  which  is  seen  in  that 
phenomenon. 

By  the  i6th  Lieutenant  Cook  had  gotten  clear  of  all  the 
islands  which  had  then  been  laid  down  in  the  maps  as  situated 
between  Timor  and  Java,  and  did  not  expect  to  meet  with 
any  other  in  that  quarter.  But  the  next  morning  an  island 
was  seen  bearing  west-southwest,  and  at  first  he  believed 
that  he  had  made  a  new  discovery.  As  soon  as  they  had 
come  close  in  with  the  north  side  of  it  they  had  the  pleasing 
prospect  of  houses  and  cocoa-nut  trees,  and,  of  what  still  more 
agreeably  surprised  them,  numerous  flocks  of  sheep.  Many 
of  the  people  on  board  were  at  this  time  in  a  bad  state  of 
health,  and  no  rsmall  number  of  them  had  been  dissatisfied 
with  the  Lieutenant  for  not  having  touched  at  Timor.  He 
readily  embraced  the  opportunity  of  landing  at  a  place  which 
appeared  so  well  calculated  to  supply  the  necessities  of  the 
company,  and  to  remove  both  the  sickness  and  the  discon- 
tent which  had  spread  among  them.  This  place  proved  to 
be  the  island  of  Savu,  where  a  setdement  had  lately  been 
made  by  the  Dutch. 

The  great  design  of  Cook  was  to  obtain  provisions,  which, 
after  some  difficulty  and  some  jealousy  on  the  part  of  Lange, 
the  Dutch  resident,  were  procured.  These  provisions  were 
nine  buffaloes,  six  sheep,  three  hogs,  thirty  dozen  of  fowls, 
many  dozen  of  eggs,  some  cocoa-nuts,  a  few  limes,  a  little 
garlic  and  several  hundred  gallons  of  palm-syrup.  In  obtain- 
ing these  refreshments  at  a  reasonable  price  they  w^ere  assisted 
by  an  old  Indian,  who  appeared  to  be  a  person  of  consider- 

ant  and  his  friends  were  one  day  very  hospitably  entertained 


Captain  cook's  voyages. 
by  the  kino-  himQpir  <.u«     t     ,  ^^ 

r™,  Savu  Lieutenant  Cook  allowtn  .   '^"""S  their  course 
for  the  westerly  current,  which  he  I.llTli'y  """"'^^  ^  day 
at  this  tune  especially  on  the  coast  n"  """''  '""  ^tron^ 
he  found  that  tliis  allowance  w»f      ^".""^ '  ^"'^  a^ordinglf 
ofconf. '  ■^/"-ent  up^^the  ship      s!  \'''"'™'^"'  '°  ^^t 
ori'J''^S™'="' '"  whatever  re&te,fr    *^-'  ">*  =»ga<:ity 
On  the  2d,  two  Dutch  shinV  h?         '°  navigation.  ^ 

Pomt,  the  Lieutenant    ent  fe,''^^^.^^^"  to  lie  off  Anger 
nquire  news  concerning  EnS^nd  fmn,    f -1  ?""  "^  them  w 
long  absent.     Hicks  b?ou"h    back  X^      "•  *  '^'^  ''"^"  =° 

B^tk-yrstLe^^°-^p-n  cL;:;:^  t^*i 

P^TSitt^r^ntaSofoV'^  f >  --^  -t  safely 
he  had  waited  f5r:t  upon  ^tlfe'cr'' '"  ^''"S-  which.'after 

erectino-  some  new  pumns   7n^-'  P^^X'^'o^s  and  stores  in 
operatbns     All  fi,;    r"  .P^«  ^"a  in  various  othp.r  ^  ' 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  -.fh  r    i 
ernor  of  Watavia  with  who^  he  &?.f  '°°V"^^«  °f  the  Gov- 
'he  meanwhile  a  seaman  who  Ld  1    ™'''  ^nnections.    In 
Dutch  ships  in  the  road   enter^         u"^'''' '^°'"  °ne  of  the 

refused  to  surrender  tfe  seLl°  „'ir™"<|-d  on  board,  he 

SZS'  ''■■^ft.  Britain,  born~in"i';e1a„T"Vr'  "'  ""^^  «  ="b- 
Uitch  vessel,  m  the  next  place  bv  frn;    ^''^'^^Ptain  of  the 

P'ace,  by  a  message  from  the  Gov- 


56 


ANTARCTIC  EXPLORATIONS. 


ernor  General,  demanded  the  man  as  a  subject  of  Denmark. 
To  this  Cook  replied  that  there  must  be  some  mistake  in  the. 
General's  message,  since  he  would  never  demand  of  him  a 
Danish  seaman,  wl;iose  only  crime  was  that  of  preferring  the 
English  to  the  Dutch  service.  At  the  same  time  the  Lieu- 
tenant added,  that  to  show  the  sincerity  of  his  desire  to  avoid 
disputes,  if  the  man  was  a  Dane  he  should  be  delivered  up 
as  a  courtesy ;  but  that  if  he  appeared  to  be  an  English  sub- 
ject he  should  be  kept  at  all  events.  Soon  after  a  letter  was 
brought  from  Hicks,  containing  indubitable  proofs  that  the 
seaman  in  question  was  a  subject  of  his  Britannic  majesty. 
This  letter  Cook  sent  to  the  Governor,  with  an  assurance  to 
his  excellency  that  he  would  not  part  with  the  man  on  any 
terms.  A  conduct  so  firm  and  decisive  produced  the  desired 
effect,  no  more  being  heard  of  the  affair. 

In  the  evening  of  the  25th  Lieutenant  Cook  went  on  board 
with  Mr.  Banks.  At  this  time  the  sick  persons  in  the  ship 
amounted  to  forty,  and  the  rest  of  the  company  were  in  a 
very  feeble  condidon.  It  was  remarkable  that  every  indi- 
vidual had  been  ill  excepting  the  sail-maker,  who  was  an  old 
man  between  seventy  and  eighty  years  of  age,  and  who  was 
drunk  every  day  during  the  residence  of  the  crew  at  Batavia. 
Three  seamen,  and  Mr.  Green's  servant,  died,  besides  the  sur- 
geon, Tupia  and  Tayeto. 

On  the  27th  of  December  the  Endeavor  stood  out  to  sea, 
and'on  the  5th  of  January,  1771,  she  came  to  an  anchor  under 
the  southeast  side  of  Prince's  Island.  The  design  of  this  was 
to  obtain  a  new  supply  of  wood  and  water,  and  to  procure 
some  refreshments  for  the  sick,  many  of  whom  had  become 
much  worse  than  they  were  when  they  left  Batavia. 

As  the  Endeavor  proceeded  on  her  voyage  to  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  the  seeds  of  disease,  which  had  been  received  at 
Batavia,  appeared  with  the  most  threatening  symptoms,  and 
reduced  all  to  a  very  melancholy  situation.  The  ship  was,  in 
fact,  nothing  better  than  an  hospital,  in  which  those  who  could 
go  about  were  not  sufficient  for  a  due  attendance  upon  those 
who  were  sick.  Lest  the  water  which  had  been  taken  in  at 
Prince's  Island  should  have  had  any  share  in  adding  to  the 
disorder  of  the  men,  the  Lieutenant  ordered  it  to  be  purified 
with  lime;  and  as  a  further  remedy  against  infection,  he  di- 
rected all  the  parts  of  the  vessel  between  the  decks  to  be 
washed  with  vinegar.     The  malady  had  taken  too  deep  root 


CAPTAIN  COOK'S   VOYAGES. 

to  be  speedily  eradicated      R,  >  '57 

that  for  some  time  thtte  was  n'  T  ''-'^'"'^^  »  W  bv  it 

d  aTlod'  ^^^^'^  '°  "anroVers'tZ  1  '"^  '•''■■  -^  so' 

1^  about  °h J  "^^  "^""""'"ed^to  the  sea      T^°''  "^^^''y  "'ght 

wards  pursued  witl,  sJcl,  remarShf  "'^""^"-  "'''''^h  he  after 
On  the  i5th  of  March  the  F„1       '""*=""• 

-ances  t-m  h^,'    d^birnLjlT  \^"  -c^rdlT 
rpt^e  ?"'''.  ^*'^^-     H  "  t s't  "care^^^-^  ''"PP'/  whS 

Ine  consequence  of  <-k;  .     direction  from  pJ,c^  I  ^ 

ance  for  which  had  K      ""^^  '^^^^  ^^^  had  lost  a  d?v      ""  T''' 
%  he  arrived  at  t  h",  ""^^^  ^^  ^atavia      oL^^;if "  ^"°^- 

:-.eute::e:::r'T^---"'- 

""■•''^iy  to'gerhoi-r"  !:;!_<«''-.v-sei"s,  r^d-LTi.Tf 


get  home  so  soon  as  th 


le  re«  1,        ''i""  ^''«  Ws 
*  "^est,  he  made  a  signal 


gS  ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

to  speak  with  the  Portland.  Upon  this  Captain  Elliot  him- 
self came  on  board,  and  Cook  delivered  to  him  the  common 
log-books  of  his  ship  and  the  journals  of  some  of  the  officers. 
The  Endeavor,  however,  kept  in  company  with  the  fleet  till 
the  morning  of  the  23d,  at  which  time  there.was  not  a  single 
vessel  in  sight.  On  that  day  Hicks  died,  and  in  the  evening 
his  body  was  committed  to  the  sea  with  the  usual  ceremonies. 
Charles  Clerke,  a  young  man  extremely  well  qualified  for  the 
station,  received  an  order  from  Cook  to  act  as  lieutenant  in 

Hicks'  place.  , .    ,     ,  ,    '  1    , 

The  rigging  and  sails  of  the  ship  had  now  become  so  bad 
that  something  was  continually  giving  way.  Nevertheless 
Lieutenant  Cook  pursued  his  course  in  safety,  and  on  the  loth 
of  June  land,  which  proved  to  be  the  Lizard,  was  discovered 
by  Nicholas  Young,  the  boy  who  had  first  seen  New  Zealand. 
On  the  nth  the  lieutenant  ran  up  the  channel,  the  next 
morning  he  passed  Beechy  Head,  and  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day  he  came  to  an  anchor  in  the  Downs,  and  went  on 

shore  at  Deal.  ^     ,  .     ^  j  *l 

Thus  ended  Lieutenant  Cook's  first  voyage   round  the 

world. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

CAPTAIN   cook's   VOYAGES. 
Third  Visit  of  Q„„„  Cha,l.„=.Xrd        ■^"■"'''""'''  "''^'^'  "^  H,b,idl^ 

taction  of  government  and  tL^^  fell Tu?''  ^""  '°  ^^e  pro- 
cordmgly  he  was  promoted  to  be  .  /.  ^.s  sovereign.  Ac- 
navy  by  commission  bearinVdate  n„  .r™^']''^;: '"  *«  B^tish 
The  reputation  the  Stor  had  »!"  ^-^^  °k  A"S"^''  "771. 
age  was  deservedly  great  and  ri.t/^"'^''  ^'^  '">* '««  voy- 
acquainted  with  the  f  ew  s^"!"  if '^f '.'•^  °    '^e  Public  to  be 


acquainted  with  the  new  scei^s  and  n'f  °l-"'"  P""'^  '<>  b« 

"^^:rn^"aw -^  a^srels;"^-'^  -'^'^^  -- 

Pacific  Ocean  in  many"of  thoseTaSfd'e  '"'  t"l''  "^^  *e 
comment  had  been  expected  to  fefehV'"'^''  ^  ^°"*'=™ 
neither  New  Zealand  nor  New  Hnll,  >  ^^^  ascertained  that 
continent.  But  the  eeneral  n  L!!'  ''  """'^  ?*«»  °f  S"ch  a 
had  not  been  deteaStyZmToZTr^  '''  ^^'^'^"<^« 
purpose,  though  some  of  tZ  IT'  "^  ,''®  S°  °"'  fc"-  that 

i'had  been  a&pted  were  d  sDejln"'  °.k  "'''*  *"  "°"™  °f 
gation.     It  is  well  known  hTr     'H  ">?  ''""''^^  of  his  navi- 

tamed.  *  ^  ^°'  "^*"y  "*">  centuries  been  enter- 

cap?bl  orcomp^:StrdCr''' °'  \'"''"<'  "hich  was 
views  and  schemes  with  ?etard  to  "I^?""^- "'*  '"°^'  '^"'^■•g^d 
Accordingly,  it  was  bv  hir?,t  .•    ,  "^^'§^"0"  and  discovery 
jesol„,ion^4s  fo^ed^or  the  ann^'  ^^'"'"'^"dation  that  a 

f".!!,X'° -^«--ne  t^e^qui^tlo^n^^^^^^^^ 

-—vitncMi  continent  -i— -^  uiv,  c-visLcni 

When  the  design  of  accomplishing  this  great  object 

(59) 


existence  of 


was 


6o 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


resolved  upon,  it  did  not  admit  of  any  hesitation  by  whom  it 
was  to  be  carried  into  execution.  No  person  was  esteemed 
equally  qualified  with  Captain  Cook  for  conducting  an  enter- 
prise the  view  of  which  was  to  give  the  utmost  possible  extent 
to  the  geography  of  the  globe,  and  the  knowledge  of  naviga- 
tion. For  the  greater  advantage  of  the  undertaking,  it  was 
determined  that  two  ships  sV-'r^'d  be  er-.ployed;  and  much 
attention  was  paid  to  the  chc  them,  and  to  their  equip- 

ment  for  the  service.  After  m  .  ^e  deliberation  by  the  Navy 
Board,  during  which  particular  regard  was  had  to  the  cap- 
tain's wisdom  and  experience,  it  was  agreed  that  no  vessels 
were  so  proper  for  discoveries  in  distant  unknown  parts  as 
those  which  were  constructed  like  the  Endeavor.  This  opin- 
ion concurring  with  that  of  the  Earl  of  Sandwich,  the  ad- 
miralty came  to  a  resolution  that  two  ships  should  be  pro- 
vided of  a  similar  construction.  Accordingly,  two  vessels, 
both  of  which  had  been  built  at  Whitby,  by  the^  same  person 
who  built  the  Endeavor,  were  purchased  of  Captain  William 
Hammond,  of  Hull.  They  were  about  fourteen  or  fifteen 
months  old  at  the  time  when  they  were  bought,  and,  in  Cap- 
tain Cook's  judgment,  were  as  well  adapted  to  the  intended 
service  as  if  they  had  been  expressly  constructed  for  that 
purpose.  The  larger  of  the  two,  which  consisted  of  462  tons 
burthen,  was  named  the  Resolution.  To  the  other,  which 
was  336  tons  burthen,  was  given  the  name  of  the  Adventure. 
On  the  28th  of  November,  1771,  Captain  Cook  was  appointed 
to  the  command  of  the  former;  and,  about  the  same  time, 
Tobias  Furneaux  was  promoted  to  the  command  of  the  latter. 
The  complement  of  the  Resolution,  including  officers  and 
men,  was  fixed  at  112  persons,  and  that  of  the  Adventure  at 
81.  In  the  equipment  of  these  ships  every  circumstance  was 
attended  to  that  could  contribute  to  the  comfort  and  success 
of  the  voyage.  They  were  fitted  in  the  most  com[)lete  man- 
ner, and  were  supplied  with  every  extraordinary  article  which 
was  suggested  to  be  necessary  or  useful.  Lord  Sandwich, 
whose  zeal  was  indefatigable  upon  this  occasion,  visited  the 
vessels  from  time  to  time,  to  be  assured  that  the  whole  equip- 
ment was  agreeable  to  his  wishes,  and  to  the  satisfaction  of 
those  who  were  to  engage  in  the  expedition.  Nor  were  the 
Navy  and  Victualling  Boards  wanting  in  procuring  for  the 
ships  the  very  best  of  stores  and  provisions,  with  some  alter- j 
ations  in  the  species  ui  uicni,  uim  wcxe  aua,^s,v-\a  l^^  -.uc  ucjii.--. 


CAPrAiN  cook's  voyages.'  g, 

Iti-sTo^S'aV.lSefsud'if 'n^'a'ri  ^'Y"  -P'«  -Pply 
bage,  portable  broth,  sa  oup  musterH  T'  ''?",'•  =«'ted  cali 

No'Sraf  i'"'^"^  °f  wo?t  and  bee;      ™"''''^  "^  -"<«»- 

be  comprehended  from  written  rif  ■'""•"' '^°"'''  "°t  so  well 
Forster  and  his  son  wer"  fixeH  '^,^'"'P'">"^-  John  ReinhoU 
the  natural  history  of  the  count  if"  u-  !^P'°^^  ^"d  collect 

and  an  ample  sum  Vas.'ledbvpLI'''  "';«'«  "^^^  "="ed 
That  nothmgmisrht  be  wan,^,     .'"'"'<=""^°'- the  purpose 

Wews  of  the)xp?dition,  Z  B^frd^of Tr^'^'j  *<^  '"'-"fie 
William  Wales  and  William  rJi  °"«^""'^^  agreed  with 
observations.  Wales  was  s^atfo?  7-'°  f'^'^^  astronomical 
Bayey  in  the  Adventure  Bv  H  '"  "'^  Resolution  and 
»rn,sl,ed  with  the  bes  of  inst^,,  '  '^""^  ''°ard  they  were 
four  fme-pieces,  three  construcrH"^  "a"''  Particularly llth 
Kendal  on  Harrison's  pnWpres   '     ''^  ^'"''''^-  ^"^  ""e  by 

orHsSa?SVfs^,^o7  Nr°r  -  '-  ~d 
1.e  preparations  necessary  for  loir''^'!,'''-'77r,  such  were 

W  and  the  impedin,ents  whlh  o.-    °  "  "''  ""P°«ant  a  vov? 
occurred,  that  the  ship  did  nnf  I  ■i?"°"''">'  ^nd  unavoidabfv 

0  April  following,  no^did, she  , fa'  /r  ^T^"''^  '"'  "^e  9 * 
of  May.     In  plying  down  the  '?f  """.^^ng  Reach  till  the  loth 
pot  mto  Sheerness:  in  orde   to  ^rt"  *^^  '^^""d  necessary  S 
-pper  works.     These  the  office '?  1°""^  alterations  in  her 
».med,atey  to  take  in  h^,d   and  ,  „  7I'"'^7^^<=  ^'^«id 
Hug  1  Palhser  came  down  to  see  ri,.      "^  Sandwich  and  Sir 
effectual  mann  .-r.     The  shin  l!  •   ^™  ^''ecuted  in  the  most 
ytbe  2.d  of  June,  Cap^P  fe-  "^^'",  ^"'P'^^d  for  sea 
S  eerness,  and,  on  the  ,d  of  r,?l     •°"  "*'  ^ay  .sailed  from 
flymouth  Sound.  ^    °'  ■'"'y-  J^'ned  the  Adventure  hJ 

»d  onle'igth  o/te^ame'".'^°°,'^  =^"^<^  ^o'"  Plymouth 
f™d.in  the  island  of  Mad^f,;"°"*  ?"chored  in  FuTchiale 
of  water,  wine,  and  other  n?  •  ^'''"S^  obtained  a  suon Iv 

»t  e  ,st  of  August  and  sal  eTtTfh  ''  "'f  '^'^"^  heTe?t'^  ^ 
,Jeca    ai„  having ford1^Vhi*i:?."5«-'i-         . 

'  -  ■"  "'=  -p^ "'  Good  Hope,  witho^f ; -.•:^i[;-;,d  -t 


62 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


scanty  allowance,  resolved  to  stop  at  St.  Jago,  one  of  the 
Cape  de  Verd  islands,  for  a  supply.  At  Port  Praya,  in  this 
island,  he  anchored  on  the  loth  of  August,  and  by  the  14th 
had  completed  his  water  and  procured  some  other  refresh- 
ments;  upon  which  he  set  sail,  and  prosecuied  his  course. 

On  the  8th  of  September  they  crossed  the  line  in  the  longi- 
tude  8°  west,  and  proceeded,  without  meeting  anything  re- 
markable, till  the  nth  of  October,  when  at  6  hrs.  24  min.  12 
sec,  by  Kendal's  watch,  the  moon  rose  about  four  digits 
eclipsed,  soon  after  which  the  men  prepared  to  observe  the 

end  of  the  eclipse.  r    r>     1      1 

Cook  had  been  informed,  before  he  left  England,  that  he 
sailed  at  an  improper  season  of  the  year,  and  that  he  should 
meet  with  much  calm  weather,  near  and  under  the  line.  But 
though  such  weather  may  happen  in  some  years,  it  is  not 
always,  or  even  generally,  to  be  expected.  So  far  was  it 
from  being  the  case,  that  he  had  a  brisk  southwest  wind  in 
those  very  latitudes  where  the  calms  had  been  predicted ;  nor 
was  he  exposed  to  any  of  the  tornadoes  which  are  so  much 
spoken  of  by  other  navigators. 

On  the  30th  fthe  Resolution  and  Adventure  anchored  in 
Table  Bay ;  soon  after  which  Captain  Cook  went  on  shore, 
and,  accompanied  by  Captain  Furneaux,  and  the  two  For- 
sters,  waited  on  Baron  Plettenberg,  the  Governor  of  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  who  received  the  men  with  great  politeness, 
and  promised  theni  every  assistance  the  place  could  afford. 
From  him  Cook  learned  that  two  French  ships  from  the 
Mauritius,  about  eight  months  before,  had  discovered  land,  in 
the  latitude  of  48°  south,  along  which  they  sailed  forty  miles, 
till  they  came  to  a  bay,  into  which  they  were  upon  the  point 
of  entering,  when  they  were  driven  off  and  separated  in  a 
hard  crale  of  wind.  Previously  to  this  misfortune,  they  iiad 
lost  some  of  their  boats  and  people  that  had  been  sent  to 
sound  the  bay.  He  was  also  informed  by  Baron  Plettenberg 
that  in  the  month  of  March  two  other  French  ships  from  the 
island  of  Mauritius  had  touched  at  the  cape  in  their  way  to 
the  South  Pacific  Ocean,  where  they  were  going  to  make  dis- 
coveries, under  the  command  of  M.  Marion. 

On  the  2 2d  of  November  Cook  sailed  from  the  Capeot 
Good  Hope,  and  proceeded  on  his  voyage  in  search  of  a  ^ 
southern  continent.      Having  gotten  clear  o^ /he  land,  he 
a: — t-^A  v,;o  /./^„,-o*>  for  Canf  rirciimcision  :  and.  ludfifing:  tnatf 


CAPTAIN   cook's   VOYAGES.  g 

north-west  increased  to  a  storm  hL  "'"'';•  ^'''S''  «'as  west- 
few  intervals  of  moderate  weathe^  tin  fhTu^'i:^''^  ^"'^ 
By  tl,.s  gale,  wliich  was  attended  w^VhLn  ^  "/December, 
blew  at  times  with  such  violence  ri,»t  ,1  t-"*  '"'""•  ^"^  "-Wch 
sails,  they  were  driven  fir   nMf  ^  ^'"P'  '^""'d  carry  no 

course  and  no  ho^L  i^.e  Jeft't?!?''''  °' •""''•  '•""^^^"d 
Cape  Circumcision.^  A  still  greater  ttr'T"""  °^  '^^'^'"g 
of  the  principal  part  of  the  li^e^stocfc^t  "T  ^'^  "^«  '"^^ 
sheep,  hogs,  and  geese      At  fL  •  °°^'"^'  ™ns  sting  of 

sition  from  warm^m  M  weatl'er  T"  "T  *^  '"^<^^"  '^an- 
.'remely  cold  and  wet,  was  so  seve°  1  ?  ''l'  **''''  ^^^  <=^- 
■t  was  necessary  to  mike  sor^e  add.tii^n'f"  ^^^  "'^  "«"•  'hat 
sprits,  by  giving  each  of  tl™m  a  d  ?  '°  "'"''  ^''^^^ance  of 
sions.  "  "'  "'«"!  a  dram  on  particular  occa- 

On  the  loth  of  Decemh^^  k 

ce.    One  of  these  island  w^ss^much  ""'"  T^  '^'^"d^  "f 
by  the  haziness  of  the  weZ,L  "  concealed  from  them 

sleet,  that  they  were  ste!  fngl'/ectrvT"''".^  ^'"^  '""^ 
see  It  till  ,t  was  at  a  less  distfnce  thin  Tf'"/  "'  ''"'^  ^'"^  "ot 

By  Sunday  the  17th  of  ?rn,^!  '''^^  ""^a  mile, 

latitude  of  ir  '5-sZhyiZTJco7ll'-J°°''  ^^^^"^^^  *« 
At  this  time  the  ice  was  entirelv  cWh  f  T""  "°  '^^her. 
whole  extent  from  east  to  wesTsouth  ^  ?  '-l  '°""''  '"  'he 
appearance-ofany  openin..  *"*^'''  '^"hout  the  least 

Uu  the  morning  of  th'e  <-!th  „f  t7  t 
night  and  three  o'clock  li/hts  wl        ^'^''ruary,  between  mid- 
lar  to  those  which  are  knfwn  in T  ''™/"  ""^  heavens,  sTmi- 
*e  name  of  the  aurora  borea^*V"°"''-'=™  hemisphere  by 
keard  that  an  aurora  austr^^sLd^''"""  ^°°^  ^'^  "-^^^^ 
ofcr  of  the  watch  observed  that t  ^o'"  .•''™  ''^'"°'-<=-     The 
spiral  rays,  and  in  a  circular  form   '' ™?«™es  broke  out  in 
very  st^ng,  and  its  .p'ptJ^X'Jm^  T  "^  ''S'"  -^ 
ceiyed  to  have  any  particuhr  ^,v«  .■  „    "  ^as  not  per- 

"nous  times,  it  was  consp1cuo,?s  '°">a-'^"  '^^  contrary  at 
'wens,  and  diffusec'  S  &  ,h.  u'^^'""'^  Pa«s  of  the 
P'ere.  "ght  throughout  the  whole  atmos- 

.e°"  "t,,!?"1_""=>'  '>agined  that  thev  saw  1,^^  to  t-  • 

-  •     •  hur  conviction  of  its  real  eiistenc^  was  so'stron"'       ^ 


64 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


that  they  had  no  doubt  of  the  matter,  and  accordingly  they 
endeavored  to  work  up  to  it,  in  doing  which  the  weather  was 
favorable  to  their  purpose.  However,  what  had  been  ta'<en 
for  land  proved  only  to  be  clouds,  that  in  the  evening  en- 
tirely disappeared,  and  left  a  clear  horizon,  in  which  nothing 
could  be  discerned  but  ice  islands.  At  night  the  aurora 
australis  was  again  seer  and  the  appearance  it  assumed  was 
very  brilliant  and  luminous.  It  first  discovered  itself  in  the 
east,  and  in  a  short  time  spread  over  the  whole  heavens. 

As  Captain  Cook  proceeded  in  examining  Dusky  Bay,  he 
occasionally  met  with  some  few  more  of  the  natives,  with  re- 
gard to  whom  he  ufied  every  mode  of  conciliation. 

One  employment,  while  in  Dusky  Bay,  consisted  in  seal 
hunting,  an  animal  which  was  found  serviceable  for  three 
purposes.  The  skins  were  made  use  of  for  rigging,  the  fat 
afforded  oil  for  the  lamps,  and  the  flesh  was  eaten.  On  the 
24th  of  March  the  captain,  having  five  geese  remaining  of 
those  he  had  brought  with  him  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
went  and  left  them  at  a  place  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 
Goose  Cove.  This  place  he  fixed  upon  for  two  reasons: 
first,  because  there  were  no  inhabitants  to  disturb  them ;  and 
secondly,  because  here  was  the  greatest  supply  of  proper 
food ;  so  that  he  had  no  doubt  of  their  breeding,  and  hoped 
that  in  time  they  might  spread  over  the  whole  country  to  its 
eminent  advantage.  Some  days  afterward,  when  everything 
belonging  to  the  ship  had  been  removed  from  the  shore,  he 
set  fire  to  the  topwocd,  in  order  to  dry  a  piece  of  ground, 
which  he  dug  up,  and  sowed  with  several  sorts  of  garden 
seeds.  The  soil,  indeed,  was  not  such  as  to  promise  mudi 
success  to  the  planter ;  but  it  was  the  best  that  could  be  dis- 
covered. ^  .     ,       ,       ,    J 

The  25th  ot  April  was  the  eighth  fair  day  they  had  succes- 
sively enjoyed ;  and  there  was  reason  to  believe  that  such  a 
.circumstance  was  very  ^..common  in  the  place  where  they 
now  lay,  and  at  that  season  of  the  year.  This  favorable 
weather  afforded  them  the  opportunity  of  more  speedily  com- 
pleting their  wood  and  water,  and  of  putting  the  ship  into  a 
condition  for  sea.  On  the  evening  of  the  25th  it  began  to 
rain,  and  the  weather  was  afterward  extremely  variable, 
being,  at  times,  in  a  high  degree  wet,  cold,  and  stormy. 
Nothing,  however,  prevented  Captain  Cook  from  prosecuting 
Ui'o  oo-arrVi  intn  pvprv  n.irt  of  Duskv  Bay. 


CAmm  COOK'S  voyages. 


adhere  nelrh,  ,o  H,7  ^"*'«"d.  speak  the  Sme  l?''^  "''"'  *« 
pears  to  be  a  w^nH ''!'"''  '^^'^^^"'S-     l  he'r^o  f  "«^/P' ^nd 

the  variation  of  ?K°"^'  ^^^ative  to Vln?  ^^^  ^  variety 

j52.4e  sSTs -^^^^^^ 

Adventure      Th,^      ^  ^°""'^.  where  he  eyn»„!  !f    '"^  <=°"''se 

tened  to  a  caln, X  'Iv  b   '^"''  *'"^"  '"^  w,Vd  ,t"  o'""«^/<=- 
dense  clouds,  and  there  wf'""^  '^'"'''''"•V  obscu-d  ^^^f ' 

fifth  wa.  aTa  c„„.^7'"l\"  ''"""••'n  t^i  shfn  ^■/1"^ ''f  "'"'^h 
vessel.  andt1,e  six'th"?,^''^  "''''"''=  °n    h^othl**-^"^  >  "'^ 

in  a  straight,  b^t'/lZkTr'''  ""'o"  ^f  wh   hi!'  *^ 
of  the  stern  of  th^  o   <=rooked  hne,  passed  «,!  I,-  ^i    "^  "°t 

feet.    As  Che  caotl^K'".'?""  «"''hourprod.!?i^  "  ^^'^  J'^-'d^ 

?""  would  dis^^ate  i'f  ''""  '"formed^Tha  '  ^f  fi"^  ^"'  ^'■- 
cottrie^  'i,e  ev?„  ■    "^'er-spouts,  he  warr    ""^.'''•"ig  of  a 

and  had  a  ^un  reirr'-  .  ^"'.  thoughT  w,"^  *^'  ''«  had 

engaged  mK^Xt'ttj^'  P"^P°^d,s  mZ^ ^T  "^""^^ 

^orrne'^t%-;r?^™^^^ 

">e  separaTon  Tf  fK  ''PP^"^d  ^  Captain  p'"^'="  »«^ks. 
Jiate  desitn  of  .V  ^  '*°  ^^^^^Is  do  n^  fen  ^^Vneaux  durino- 
observe  tint  hi  t'^P"'^'"'  narrative  t  S"  T'""  *e  imme- 
»iat  mo  e  accu^     '?  "PPortunity  of  e  ™fn-  '  '"^"<=«  'o 

«as  Land,  andThTt  k'"  ''?'^  '"•*erto  bee„  d"f'  T*"  ^°™«- 
l^lween  this  hTnW      '^'\oP"iion  was  that  ?h.       ^'  ^^"  ^'"'■ 

HemetH^thfur*  *"''  ^^'^  Holland  b't.      ^'■^"° '"■^'"f' 

, ,  The  morning  aTe,  r '^^  •  ^'''''^"'' 

I  tee's  Sonn^  i?/."^r<^^Pta-n  Cook's  =..,•,..,  ;    „ 

E  *=  '>"="' at  daybreak  to  looHw  ^"^''"  ^^^'■ 

'oofc  ,pr  scurvy-grass, 


66 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


celery  and  other  vegetables,  and  he  had  the  good  fortune  to 
return  with  a  boat-load  in  a  very  short  time.  Having  found 
that  a  siifficient  quantity  of  these  articles  might  be  obtained 
for  the  crews  of  both  the  ships,  he  gave  orders  that  they 
should  be  boiled  with  wheat  and  portable  broth  every  day  for 
breakfast  and  with  peas  and  broth  for  dinner.  Experience 
had  taught  him  that  the  vegetables  now  mentioned,  when  thus 
dressed;  are  extremely  beneficial  to  seamen  in  removing  the 
various  scorbutic  complaints  to  which  they  are  subject. 

He  had  entertained  4   desire  of  visiting  Van  Diemen  s 
Land  in  order  to  inform  himself  whether  it  made  a  part  of 
New  Holland.     But  as  this  point  had  been,  in  a  great  Jneas- 
ure,  cleared  up  by  Captain  Furneaux,  he  came  to  a  resolution 
to  continue  his  researches  to  the  east,  between  the  latitudes 
of  41°  and  46°,  and  he  directed,  accordingly,  that  the  ships 
should  be  gotten  ready  for  putting  to  sea  as  soon  as  possible. 
On  the  20th  he  sent  on  shore  the  only  ewe  and  ram  that  re- 
mained of  those  which,  with  the  intention  of  leaving  them  in 
this  country,  he  had  brought  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
Soon  after  he  visited  several  gardens  that  by  order  of  tap- 
tain  Furneaux   had   been   made   and   planted  with  various 
articles,  all  of  which  were  in  such  a  flourishing  state  that  if 
duly  attended  to,  they  promised  to  be  of  great  utility  to  the 
natives.     The  next  day  Captain  Cook  himseli  set  some  men 
to  work  to  form  a  garden  on  Long  Island,  which  he  stocked 
with  different  seeds,  and  particularly  with  roots  of  turnips. 
carrots,  parsnips  and  potatoes.      These  were  the  vegetables 
that  would  be  of  the  most  real  use  to  t^ie  Indians  and  of 
these  it  was  easy  to  give  them  an  idea  by  comparing  them 
with  such  roots  as  they  themselves  knew      On  the  22d  Cap- 
tain  Cook  received  the  unpleasant  intelligence  that  the  ew 
and  ram  which  with  so  much  care  arid  trouble  he  had  brought 
to  this  place  were  both  of  them  found  dead.     It  was  suppose 
that  they  had  eaten  some  poisonous  plant  and  by  this  accident 
all  the  captain's  hopes  of  stocking  New  Zealand  with  a  breed 
of  sheep  were  instandy  blasted.  .  ,    , .      .      r  ,u 

The  intercourse  which  he  had  with  the  inhabitants  of  th 
country  during  this  his  second  visit  to  Queen  Charlottes 
Sound  was  of  a  friendly  nature. 

On  the  2d  of  June,  when  the  Resolution  and  Adventure 
were  almost  ready  to  put  to  sea.  Captain  Cook  sent  on  shore. 


on  *" 


ill  o4-    c 


tJiW    \_tSJt.    vr. 


ide  of  the  sound,  two  goats,  a  male  and  a  temaie. 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S    VOYAGES.  g 

and  Captain  Fuint-aux  left  near  r,     -i  ,  ^        '  ' 

two  breeding  sows.  The'  ^^'  9^""',l'^  Cove,  a  boar  and 
the  country  would  in  time  be^tocked  wi.'l"  N  ''""'"  """  '^at 
vided  they  were  not  destroyed  bvH,  r  •  ""-'f  """"■•>'•'.  Pro- 
came  w  Id.  Afterward  there  t^ou Id  ."  ""'  l'"^"'''  ""^V  ^e- 
the  natives  knew  nothin,"  of  tS  h,^''  no  danger,  and,  as 
hoped  that  it  might  be  someliilf 'Lfc^'  ^^  - 

ChiVl^t^rstn^Thtlatn'oTabf'^"''"  ^°,?^'^  --"<^  visit  to 
one  person  whom  he  lIS  sea.'thlre'Jhr'r"'^"  "f  ''^^-^  °f  •-">>' 
did  It  once  appear  tliat  even  a  sin,   .  .  y?'"•^  l^^ore.    Nor 

knowledge  of  tl>e  commander  or  of  si'  Y?"  ''="'  "'«  '^a.t 
been   with  him  in  his  las    voyage    Tl      "'\""^  ^^''° ''ad 

high  y  probable  that  the  greates^Srt  o^T'  ''*=.  "'°"f-*'  " 
habited  this  sound  in  till  he„;„ '■         i  ',*"=  "^''v«  who  in- 
either  since  been  driven  ou^Tito?  hJ'^  '"^^  '"°  ''^d 
own  accord  to  some  other  s,°',aLn      W  /'^'"°v,ed  of  their 
inhabitants  were  there  now  tha   had  L  ^°'  °"'^-""''-''  of  the 
Their  stronghold  on  the  Poi      of  Nott'"  ''™  f  "'^'  '^e. 
m  every  part  of  the  sound  many  foT  ™f /<-'="'«l.  and 
discovered.    In  the  captain'.;  o„1,?-^  'oi^saken  habitations  were 
to  believe  that  the  plaf   I  "j  IZZ^'""  ™^  ""J  -">'  ■"eason 
comparing  the  two  voyages  toaethe.l?  ^"'^  Populous.    From 
the  Indians  of  Eaheinomauwe^ar'    in  '"'^  ''';  ~"^"«l  "'at 
■^proved  state  of  society  thaTthose  of  T™''"'  °^  ^  '"°^« 
On  the  7tli  of  June  Caotaln  r     i         'avaipoenammoo, 

Charlotte's  Souni  with  tKdve°ntufe"-'°  ^'^  f™™  Q-^" 
found  on  the  29th  of  July  that  X  ^^Pany.     It  was 

were  in  a  sickly  state.  H^^r  coo  ■  vv,=  TZ  "^  '^  Adventure 
of  her  best  men  were  Venderedl^^  m'^"'^  "^°"' '^^^"ty 
scurvy  and  flux.  At  this  tlmfn  '"^^Pable  of  duty  by  the 
on  the  sick-list  on  board  Se  ReTo7V'''"  '^""^  "'«"«"« 
hese  was  attacked  with  the  scufvvsr'  ^"t  ""'^  °"-  of 
began  to  discover  the  symDtom7nf  ^,  I  °'^'"'-  '>°»'<=ver, 
course  was  had  to  wort  JI^mTf     r  ''  ^"'^'  accordingly,  re 

S„"'[::7^-i''''  S^^^  '"'  '"<^  ™^  "^ 

^:.  sc tStil  in°£  4  9  Of  t"  f^r™:- 

the  crew  of  fh^  Jo...-  ._\,     ^"fy.a'^^'ved  in  New  Zpplnn.^  .i,.^ 

to  uieir  eating  (tw  or  no  vegetables 


68 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


when  they  lay  in  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound.  This  arose 
partly  from  their  want  of  knowing  the  right  sorts  and  partly 
from  the  dislike  which  seamen  have  to  the  introduction  of  a 
new  diet.  Their  aversion  to  any  unusual  change  of  food  is 
so  great  that  it  can  only  be  overcome  by  the  steady  and  per- 
severino-  example  and  authority  of  a  commander.  Many  of 
CaptairT  Cook's  officers  as  well  as  common  sailors  disliked  the 
boiling  of  celery,  scurvy  grass  and  other  greens  with  the  peas 
and  wheat,  and  by  some  the  provision  thus  prepared  was 
refused  to  be  eaten.  But  as  this  had  no  effect  on  the  captain's 
conduct,  their  prejudice  gradually  subsided:  they  began  to 
like  their  diet  as  much  as  the  rest  of  their  companions,  and 
at  lenc^th  there  was  hardly  a  man  in  the  ship  who  did  not 
attribute  the  freedom  of  the  crew  from  the  scurvy  to  the  beer 
and  vegetables  which  had  been  made  use  of  at  New  Zealand. 
Henceforward,  whenever  the  seamen  came  to  a  place  where 
vegetables  could  be  obtained.  Cook  seldom  found  it  necessary 
to  order  them  to  be  gathered,  and,  if  they  were  scarce,  happy 
was  the  person  who  could  lay  hold  on  them  first. 

On  the  I  St  of  August,  when  the  ships  were  in  the  latitude 
of  25°  I' and  the  longitude  of  134°  6' W.,  they  were  nearly 
in  the  same  situation  with  that  which  is  assigned  by  Captain 
Carteret  for  Pitcairn's  Island,  discovered  by  him  m  1 767.  For 
this  island  tney  diligently  looked,  but  saw  nothing. 

It  was  the  6th  of  August  before  the  ships  had  the  advantage 
of  the  trade  wind.  This  they  got  at  southeast,  bemg  at  that 
time  in  the  latitude  of  19°  36'  south,  and  the  longitude  of  131° 
Z-y'  west.  As  Captain  Cook  had  obtained  the  southeast  trade 
wind,  he  directed  his  course  to  the  west-northwest,  not  only 
with  a  view  of  keeping  in  with  the  strength  of  the  wind,  but 
also  to  get  to  the  nortli  of  the  islands  discovered  in  his  former 
voyage,  that  he  might  have  a  chance  of  meeting  with  any 
other  islands  which  might  He  in  the  way.  It  was  in  the  track 
which  had  been  pursued  by  M.  De  Bougainville  that  he  now 
proceeded.  He  was  sorry  that  he  could  not  spare  time  to 
sail  to  the  north  of  this  track ;  but  at  present,  on  account  of 
the  sickly  state  of  the  Adventure's  crew,  the  arriving  at  a 
place  where  refreshments  could  be  procured  was  an  object 
superior  to  that  of  discovery.  To  four  of  the  islands  which 
were  passed  by  Captain  Cook,  he  gave^the  names  of  tv^^o'^"^' 
tion  Island,  Doubtful  Island.  Fur neaux  Island,  and  x  adventure 
Island. 


CAPrAiN  cook's  voyages. 

Harly  m  the  niornlnfr  on  fh/^  i  r-^u  r  a 
ships  came  within  skrlu  of  Osnahnr.fTii^"^"5'  '773.  the 
had  been  discovered'bv  CaS  W^r^"c'  °'  ^^''^^>  ^^^^^h 
Cook-  acquainted  Captain  Fulnea^^t^^^^^  V^"^"  ^!!^'''  ^^P^^'" 
to  put  into  Oaiti-piha  Bay  near  tL  f  .1'"'''  ^''  '"^^"^'^^ 
heite.  for  the  purpose  of  nrn^.  '  ^^"theast  end  of  Ota- 
could  from  tharplt  of  the^  sCn  f^^K '^^^^^^^^^^^^ts  he 
Matavai.  At  six  k  he  evenh^rthV^'^!.  ^'^  ^'""^  ^°^"  to 
west,  and  they  continued  To  ..?"         '"^^""^  ^^^  ^^^^"  bearing 

when  theybrLgh^o^tnit  fc^rc^r^^^^^  ""^-^^' 

which  they  sailed  in  for  the  land  xv^th  ^".^^'^'^o'-n^ng,  after 

At  daybreak  they  found  theSvT.l  v. ^"^^'■^^'^  ^^  ^^^t- 

halfa  league  from  the  reef    w-i  '^'^  "^''^^"^^  of 

began  to  fail  them  and  was  at  It     '"  ^^^je  time,  the  breeze 

^  now  became  nece;sary  for  the  boats'rtf^^^'  "  ^^^"^-  ^^ 
^  order  to  tow  off  the  ships  •  bu^  .1?  1  \^^  ^^^'^^^^  «"t,  in 
from  being  carried  near?le  re^f  were  i'nfffi  •'  '\^''^  '^'^^ 
pose.  As  the  calm  cont  nued  IZ  -'"""^^'^"t  for  the  pur- 
became  still  more  dan^e  oul  cLTT""  .""{'^'^  ^^^^^^^  ' 
tertained  hopes  of  gettiS^  round  th^  °^'  ^^^^^^^r.  en- 

and  into  the^ay.  ^B^ abo      nt'^S- ^^  ^^^ 

when  he  came  before  an  openino-  or  hr/al  r  u  ^^^  ^^^^-^^^oon, 
which  he  had  flattered  hSf  d[a^  '  °^  ?' '""^' ^^^^°^'g^^ 
ships^he  found,  on  sending  texamneltThf^..^'^  ''''^'  "^'^ 
a  sufficient  depth  of  water.'*  NevXleslShf  '^^'^ ''^'  "^^ 
such  an  indraught  of  the  tide  of  flood  tSnr-f'""'"^  ^^"^^^ 
near  proving  fata!  to  the  Re^oL  °  through  it,  as  was  very 
sels  got  int?  the  stre^     Lytere^^^^  ?^  •- ' 

fh  great  impetuosity.  The  momeT  ,  '^^^':^^  ^^^  '^^^ 
this  he  ordered  one  of  thevvarn  n  f^  ^^P^^'"  perceived 

in  readiness,  to  be  carried  r^I^^vu^  T^^^^^'^^^'  vvhich  was  held 
but  it  did  not  prod™  leasT eff '^°"',  ^^^Jathoms  of  rope. 
pect  the  horrors  of  sh  p wred  Tl  ^  '^  ^'^  "°"  "^  P^«- 
two  cables'  length  from  t^ie  breai-el^  '!f'^  "°'.  "^^^^  ^^^-^ 
only  probable  method  wchw.t^^^^^^  ''  ^^^^  ^^^ 

could  find  no  bottom  to  anclTor'  A  ""^ '""T^  f^e  ships,  they 
did  drop:  but  before  it  tool  ?ri  1  '^  f  ^horhowever,  they 
Resolution  was  in  1e  s  l^^t.  1 1?  f  ^r^^''  ^^'"^  "P'  ^he 
struck  at  every  fall  of  he  sea  wl  fch  b  ^^  °^  ''''''''  ^"^ 
stern  in  a  dreadful  surf  "  nd  H-.  ^-'^^^  "^^^^^  ""^'^r  her 

-nent  with  destruction   '  Happ^^'e  Ad'"."'^^  ^^^^"^  "^«" 
without  striking.     Presemlv  t  .   R    Adventure  brought  up 
^      presently  the  Resolution's   crew  carried 


70 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


out  two  Other  anchors  with  hawsers  to  each,  and  these  found 
ground  a  Httle  without  the  bower.  By  heaving  upon  them 
and  cutting  away  the  bower  anchor,  the  ship  was  gotten 
afloat,  where  Captain  Cook  and  his  men  lay  for  some  time  in 
the  greatest  anxiety.  At  length  the  tide  ceased  to  act  in  the 
same  direction,  upon  which  the  captain  ordered  all  the  boats 
to  try  to  tow  off  the  vessel.  Having  found  this  to  be  prac- 
ticable, the  two  anchors  were  hoved  up,  and  at  that  moment 
a  light  ctir  came  off  from  the  land,  by  which  the  boats  were 
so  niuch  assisted,  that  the  Resolution  soon  got  clear  of  all 
danger.  Cook  then  ordered  all  the  boats  to  assist  the  Ad- 
venUire,  but  before  they. reached  her,  she  was  under  sail  with 
the  land  breeze,  and  in  a  litde  time  joined  her  companion, 
leaving  behind  her  three  anchors,  her  coasting  cable,  and  two 
hawsers,  which  were  never  recovered.  Thuswere  they  once 
more  safe  at  sea,  after  narrowly  escaping  being  wrecked  on 
the  very  island  at  which,  but  a  few  days  before,  they  had 
most  ardently  wished  to  arrive.  It  was  a  peculiarly  happy 
circumstance  that  the  calm  continued,  after  bringing  the  ships 
into  so  dangerous  a  state.  For  if  the  sea  breeze,  as  is  usually 
the  case,  had  set  in,  the  Resolution  must  inevitably  have  been 
lost,  and  probably  the  Adventure  likewise. 

On  the  17th  the  Resolution  and  Adventure  anchored  in 
Oaiti-piha  Bay,  immediately  upon  which  they  were  crowded 
with  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  who  brought  with  them 
cocoanuts,  plantains,  bananas,  apples,  yams,  and  other  roots, 
which  were  exchanged  for  nails  and  beads. 

The  fruits  which  were  procured  at  Oaiti-piha  Bay  contrib- 
uted gready  to  the  recovery  of  the  sick  people  belonging  to 
the  Adventure.  Many  of  them  who  had  been  so  ill  as  to  be 
incapable  of  moving  without  assistance,  were  in  the  course  of 
a  few  days  so  far  recovered  that  they  were  able  to  walk  about 
of  themselves.  When  the  Resolution  entered  the  bay  she 
had  but  one  scorbudc  man  on  board,  a  marine,  who  had  long 
been  sick,  and  who  died  the  second  day  after  her  arrival  of  a 
complicadon  of  disorders,  which  had  not  the  least  mixture  of 
the  scurvy.  , 

On  the  24th  the  ships  put  to  sea,  and  arrived  the  next 
evening  in  Matavai  Bay.  Before  they  could  come  to  an 
anchor  the  decks  were  crowded  with  the  natives,  many  of 
whom  Captain  Cook  knew,  and  by  most  of  whom  he  was  weli 
remembered.     Among  a  large  multitude  of  people  who  were 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES.  -j 

':^:'c4:^rclTo'^!  ^"""'^  *-  Otoo,  the  Um,  or  the 

Oparree,  he  found  the  tents  anHtW  f°"  *""  '■^'"™  f™"" 
tories  set  up  on  the  .=»m"  r   ^  astronomer's  observa- 

Venus  had  L„  obLrved  in'',°v6o™' Th"''"-\  "l^  '^^"^''  °f 
in  number  from  the  Adventure  anH\„  r  sick  being  twenty 
all  of  whom  were  ill  of  the  scu"v  I?  i°"'i''^  Resolution, 
and  he  appointed  a  LTr^  ^™"y..he  ordered  to  be  landed, 

command';rfLieutena?tEl:uX'""  "  =''°^^' ""^er  the 
the  n:c:"sly"So?  ■•ec"oyered,  the  water  completed,  and 
termi;,ed  to^putT^ra  ^ithoJdelaT''^  Captai?  Cook  de- 
ist c' September,  he  ordered  every  hfn.  ^T'*"^'^'  5"  "'« 
the  shore,  and  the  vessels  to  ZV  ^  '?  ^  removed  from 
ment  the  men  were  ent^Ld  tfc  "■™°°'-«d,  :n  which  employ. 

the  afternoon  of  the  sam^^da/ue^tSant'Rcl"'  ",?  '''  '" 
from  Attahourou,  to  which  olare  1!^!  /u^^S'"  returned 
captain  for  the  purpose  of  mo.f?  ''^d  been  sent  by  the 
premised.  ^    '^       of  piocunng  some  hogs  that  had  been 

of  H°uThe"t  wL''r:\';7n'e''d"d'f  ""^  T^''^  '"-  *«  ->-d 
reached  the  nex  day  and  earlv  in  ?., '°"'''-  •  '^^''  ■='='"d  he 
September,  made  saH 'for  the  Sb"  of  n°'i"'"=  °^  "''=  ^d  of 
soon  came  to  an  anchor  T)Ia^  Owharre,  m  which  he 
t"ra  into  the  harbor  with  Inuat  frcmr"'  "°'  ^^PPening  to 
north  side  of  the  channel  h,??K    .1       •'^''  ?°'  ^^''ore  on  the 

had  previously  been  provided  inL       '™k '^  '''''''^"'^  "^ich 
occur,  she  was  eotten  off  a  r^F„     vf  """''  ^"  ^«''dent  should 

As  soon  as  bo^r  ^hiplTerr  t^.V^fr  "%  ^"^r'^T^»-- 
gether  with  Captain  Furne;,nv  1     /J^'  '^^P^'"  Cook,  to- 

>vas  received  b/the  natives  vvhhth.  "P°"  "'^  island,  and. 
Early  on  the  rth  of  i     .     ?  '''^  ,"""°st  cordiality. 

-orini  the  ca/t'ain°  ven?r '::•  Ws'fa  ''^  ,f  >•  ^''^''^  ^  ' 
and  took  with  him  such  pre  ent7=.lr    /''''""  "?"  '°  °"'^- 
value  but  a  real  utility      Hetef    ,1       "•  ,"°,'  ""'^ '^  ''^""ed 
scription  plate  that  h'ad  "efor:  b^  ^rhL'n'  '''"^  ""  '"i     ' 

g^licr  vvitii  some  medals    w^r^ 'r.,/f' ^'     •   '      i""    P*^"-^"^'  to- 

Oree  promised  to  take  Se  and  tn     "5  ^"  1  ^'-  of  which 
u  wKe  care,  and  to  produce  them  to  the  first 


72 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


ship  or  ships  that  should  arrive  at  the  island.  Having-,  in  re- 
turn,  given  a  hog  to  Captain  Cook,  and  loaded  his  boat  with 
fruit,  they  took  leave  of  each  other,  when  the  good  old  chief 
embraced  the  commander  with  tears  in  his  eyes. 

During  the  short  stay  of  the  vessels  at  Huaheine,  they 
were  very  successful  in  obtaining  supplies  of  provisions.  No 
less  than  three  hundred  hogs,  besides  fowls  and  fruit,  were 
procured;  and  had  the  ships  continued  longer  at  the  place 
the  quantity  might  have  been  greatly  increased.  Such  was 
the  fertility  of  this  small  island  that  none  of  these  articles  of 
refreshment  were  seemingly  diminished,  but  appeared  to  be 
as  plentiful  as  ever. 

From  Huaheine  they  sailed  for  Ulietea,  where  trade  was 
carried  on  in  the  usual  manner  and  a  most  friendly  inter- 
course renewed.  Here  Tupia  was  inquired  after  with  partic- 
ular eagerness,  and  the  inquirers  were  perfectly  satisfied  with 
the  account  which  was  given  of  the  occasions  of  that  Indian's 
decease. 

They  were  as  successful  in  procuring  provisions  at  Ulietea 
as  they  had  been  at  Huaheine.  A  larger  quantity  was  offered 
than  the  ships  could  contain,  so  that  the  ships  were  enabled 
to  proceed  on  their  voyage  with  no  small  degree  of  comfort 
and  advantage. 

Cook,  by  his  second  visit  to  the  Society  Islands,  gained  a 
further  knowledge  of  their  general  state  and  of  the  customs 
of  the  inhabitants.  It  appeared  that  a  Spanish  ship  had  been 
lately  at  Otaheite,  and  the  natives  complained  that  a  disease 
had  been  communicated  to  them  by  the  people  of  this  vessel, 
which,  according  to  their  account,  affected  the  head,  the  throat, 
and  the  stomach,  and  at  length  ended  in  death. 

On  the  7th  of  October  they  proceeded  on  their  voyage. 
The  intention  was  to  sail  directly  to  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound 
in  New  Zealand  for  the  purpose  of  taking  in  wood  and  water, 
after  which  they  were  to  pursue  their  discoveries  to  the  soudi 
and  the  east. 

It  was  the  3d  of  November  before  Captain  Cook  brought 
the  Resolution  into  Ship  Cove,  in  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound. 
He  had  been  beating  about  the  island  from  the  21st  of  Oc- 
tober, during  which  time  his  vessel  was  exposed  to  a  variety  of 
tempestuous  weather.  In  one  instance  he  had  been  driven 
off  the  land  by  a  furious  storm,  which  lasted  two  days,  and 
which  would  have  been  dangerous  in  the  liigliest  degree  had 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES. 

never  seen  or  heard  ofT^^l  ^?"  "'^ .  R-^^'ufon  and  wS 
,  Dunng  the  stay  i„  oZn  n^  '■,'^™«',"der  of  the  voyage 
plentifully  supplied  with^fishnrn     ■■'!■"?'  S°""d  they  wire 
very  easy  rate  ;  and,  beside,  ^      '''''' /f"'"  *e  natives  at  f 
own  gardens,  they  evervwherl  Z''^!"''''"  »ff"°'-'Jed  by  their 
and  celery.      The'^^e  Safn VnnT''  P^"'^  °f  ^curvy^rass 
every  day  for  all  his  hands      R.u''   °"^'^'<'<i  to  be  drfssed 
to  his  men  in  the  artict  of  o^rn  " -^"""'r  "hich  it  p  Jd 
months  lived  principahy  on  a'^f^'T  """y  ''^^  ^r  tC 
there  was  not  a  sick 'orscorbuMV  '''"'  ='"''•«  this  time 

The  morning  before  SI  f!"'^""  °n  board.  ' 

randum  containing  such  infnr"'"'!'"  '"""^  '"^  ^fote  a  memo 
ior  Captain  Furnfau^t'cfseTrho  u'"  *°"^'''  "-~ 
Tins  memorandum  wa,  burild  ;„  u¥  P"'  "«o  the  sound 
tree  ,„  the  garden,  and  in  such" a'  ™ '"'=  ""t'  '^e  root  of  a 
avoid  bemg  discovered  if  either  ^"^"""' '''=''  "  <^0"ld  not 
other  European  should  chance  to  ,P^'"  F"fneaux  or  anv 
,   On  the  26th  of  November  , he,,    ""T/J  "'"  Cove.  ^ 

tlie  east.     Some  days  after  this  fh!v      r^  ^°"*'  "lolinino-  to 
be  antipodes  to  their  friends  in  P/?''°"'='^  ^^t^selve?   o 
were  at  as  great  a  distance  from  th°"''°"'  ^"'^  consequent  v 
ce  was  seen  on  the  i  ath  of  dTJ  u     f  P°^^ih\e.     tL  fim 
fence  which  had  been  met  whtte;  ?"'"■■  ^"""^  "-"the 
Good  Hope  m  the  precedin  "'.".      f  'T'"^^  "'«  Cape  of 
voyage  ice-islands  contin, -,1?  ^       '     '"  ''^e  Progress  of  th» 
ecame  more  and  mor^  diffi  ^^l^''-'^-  -nd'lhe"  na«-ga,o: 
were  in  the  latitude  of  67°  ,'  soufh  ,l^"^,f  °"'-     When'  they 

•■■e  utmost  ^X.     OnZlr;  "/  ^^  --  ^-^a  ter'oT 
"on  was  in  the  highes-  lati     1      .   °f  ""^  '"onth  the  Resoln 
f  f  ■•C'tmstance!   now   bec'l:.''^ '■a''  y«  reached,  670°'"" 

?  &;;f"7  ""^  - «"  n^ortr'^^°^^"^  '^-"^eV 

;»"'es  whfch:Zm'''thei':^:i'*i,'^'™".'^''  "^^'l""-"-'  and  diffi- 
"oned,  It  would  h»  ,.d;_.,™"at^  "ature  to  those  aL^adv  r  - 

'» ">e  seventy-firit  di^oria^SJ:'  ''^P'^'"  Cookie 


74 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


In  pursuing  his  course  to  the  north  he  became  well  assured 
that  the  discovery  of  Juan  Fernandez,  if  any  such  was  ever 
made,  could  be  nothing  more  than  a  small  island.  At  this 
time  the  captain  was  attacked  by  a  bilious  colic,  the  violence 
of  which  confined  him  to  his  bed. 

On  the  6th  and  7th  of  April  they  came  within  sight  of  four 
islands,  which  they  knew  to  be  the  Marquesas.  To  one  of 
them,  which  was  a  new  discovery,  Cook  gave  the  name  of 
Hood's  Island,  after  one  of  the  crew  by  whom  it  was  first 
seen.  As  soon  as  the  ship  was  brought  to  an  anchor  in 
Madre  de  Dios,  or  Resolution  Bay,  in  the  island  of  St. 
Christina,  a  traffic  commenced.  Too  many  of  the  Indians 
having  come  on  board.  Cook,  who  was  going  in  a  boat  to  find 
a  convenient  place  for  mooring  the  ship,  said  to  the  officers: 
"  You  must  look  well  after  these  people  or  they  will  certainly 
carry  off  something  or  other."  Scarcely  had  he  gotten  into 
the  boat  when  he  was  informed  that  they  had  stolen  an  iron 
stanchion  from  the  opposite  gangway,  and  were  carrying  it 
off.  Upon  this  he  ordered  his  men  to  fire  over  the  canoe  till 
he  could  get  round  in  the  boat,  but  not  to  kill  any  one. 
Such,  however,  was  the  noise  made  by  the  natives  that  the 
order  was  not  heard,  and  the  unhappy  thief  was  killed  at  the 
first  shot.  All  the  Indians  retired  with  precipitation  in  conse- 
quence of  this  unfortunate  accident. 

From  the  Marquesas  Captain  Cook  steered  for  Otaheite 
with  a  view  of  falling  in  with  some  of  the  islands  discovered 
by  former  navigators,  and  especially  by  the  Dutch,  the  situa- 
tion of  which  had  not  been  accurately  determined.  In  the 
rourse  of  the  voyage  he  passed  a  number  of  low  islets,  con- 
nected together  by  reefs  of  coral  rocks.  One  of  the  islands, 
on  which  Lieutenant  Cooper  went  ashore,  with  two  boats 
well  armed,  was  called  by  the  natives  Tiookea.  On  the  2 2d 
of  April  they  reached  the  Island  of  Otaheite  and  anchored  in 
Matavai  Bay.  Cook's  chief  reason  for  putting  in  at  this  place 
was  to  give  Wales  an  opportunity  of  ascertaining  the  error 
of  the  watch  by  the  known  longitude,  and  to  determine  anew 
her  rate  of  going;  the  first  object  was  to  land  the  instruments, 
and  to  erect  tents  for  the  reception  of  a  guard,  and  such  other 
people  as  it  was  necessary  to  have  on  shore.  Sick  there  were 
none,  for  the  refreshments  which  had  been  obtained  at  the 
Marquesas  had  removed  every  complaint  of  that  kind. 

During  the  stay  at  Otaheite' they  maintained  a  most  friendly 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES. 

connection  with  the  Inhabitants  and  ^  mn.-  i  • 
of  visits  was  preserved  be^wSn  v  ^--ontinual  interchange 
other  chiefs  of^the  c^mtry'' H  3  ,r^ffic  w'H  ^l'''''  ^"^^^^'  -"^ 
facihtated  by  his  havin^^fortu^atefv  K  ^'^V^^""  ^^«  '^'^^'^V 
red  parrot  feathers  from^  the  s"and  of  A°"^t  T^  ^'"^  «°"^« 
On  the  15th  of  Mav   r^T/u  .    ^^'^sterdam. 

bor.  in  the  island  of  H^heint  a'nd?'^''^^^  in  O^wharre  Har-' 
his  friend  Oree;  the  same  rr;eabirf^'"''""^^"'^^>' ^'^'^^^^  by 
tween  the  captain  and  This^ood  o^d  Ty^'u-'^  ^"^^^'^^^^  be- 
taken  place.  "^Red  feat]  ers tvere  °^^,^t''^ "^-^''^  ^^^^  ^^'^^^'-ly 
as  they  had  been  at  Otaheite  the  n.^"'"  '"r  '^'^  ^^timation 
ing  the  good  sense  to  ?ive  a  otfer^n  '"'  °^""^^^^ine  hav- 
articles  of  nails  and  axef         P^^^^^^ence  to  the  more  useful 

At  Ulietea,  to  which  fli«  r.^  *.  • 
the  events  that  o  cuTre   'wS  n"  T^'  ''r'^'-'''  ^'^  ™'"-se, 
have  already  been  related      '^"'       "'^  ^""'^"  '°  "'"^e  which 

On  the  6th  of  lunp   tt't^  ..j       1 
they  saw  land,  which  they"tnd'to  h^  ^^\"  ""^^  '^'■'  "lietea, 
four  leagues  in  compass  and  of °'i      ?"  r^"^ '''^"^  ='''°" 
Howe  Island,  which  1  ad  been  aL  ""h'  ^°""-     This  was 

Nothing  remarkable  occurred  from  I- "■!?  ^^  ^^P'^'"  Wallis! 
land  was  again  seen.  It  was  „  ™H,  '^f^- '?  "'«  '  6"'.  *hen 
a  new  discovery  Captain  Cook  Tairv'f  '^'^"^  '  ^"^  being 

ston  Island;  '"  h'^.nor' of  Yord  PaCs' on      "'"^  "^  '^^''"^^^ 
In  pursumg  his  course  f«   /^dimerston. 

bya  number^f  sma°l  TJaml  anT""'°f ''"^^'  Cook  passed 
the  north  side  of  Anamocka  or  V?,  "!f  '^"''  '^"'^''°'-<^d  on 
mediately  commencedT,°h  the  nat?"*^?'  /^  '^^^^  ™- 
provis.ons  they  had,  beincr  ch  eflv  vpt  '  ^''?  ^™"e'"  "h« 
they  exchanged  for  naifs  bead,  and  ''"^f  =''^^'1°*«.  "Web 
Here,  as  in  many  former  cases  ,L  °^  "  '""'"  ^'•"■'^'«. 
trouble  on  account  of  the  "hfevisf,  nf  ■"  ""'  P"'  "^  ^"■"^ 
tants,  "^  tnievish  disposition  of  the  inhabi- 

naS[t:nt7LlL"ndTwhrclfirb:n^"^T'^^  "^^  g°'  *e 
the  northeast.  Some  of  them  wri'"""-''!."  "°"''"'^''^nd 
thera,  which  are  most  to  the  west  are  r."  "t'l,  ''"^  '"°  °f 
of  their  great  height  '    ™  t^^tnafkable  on  account 

nameTRote^i''l  trXTrln'^  ^^7 "'  ^"'  'y  "-  - 
-u.n^o  abuuc  three  and  a  half  .;;.  r  >  ""«  each  side 

-hwest  to  the  south  of  rhe'lLrd.t;d™tVe™"Jl^ 


y6  ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

north,  it  is  encompassed  by  a  number  of  small  isles,  sand- 
banks and  breakers.  An  end  could  not  be  seen  to  their  ex- 
tent  to  the  north,  and  tiiey  may  possibly  reach  as  far  to  the 
south  as  Amsterdam,  or  Tongataboo.  Together  with  Mid- 
dleburg,  or  Eaoovve,  and  Pilstart  these  form  a  group  contain- 
ing about  three  degrees  of  latitude  and  two  of  longitude.  To 
this  group  Captain  Cook  had  given  the  name  of  the  Friendly 
Isles,  or  Archipelago,  from  the  firm  alliance  and  friendship 
which  seemed  to  subsist  among  their  inhabitants,  and  from 
their  courteous  behavior  to  strangers. 

Pursuing  their  course  to  the  west  they  discovered  land  on 
the  ist  of  July  ;  and,  upon  a  nearer  approach,  found  it  to  be 
a  small  island,  to  which,  on  account  of  the  number  of  turtle 
that  were  seen  upon  the  coast.  Captain  Cook  gave  the  name 
of  Turde  Isle.  On  the  i6th  high  land  was  seen  bearing 
southwest,  which  no  one  doubted  to  be  the  Tierra  Austral 
del  Espiritu  Santo  of  Quiros,  and  which  is  called  by  de 
Bougainville  the  Great  Cyclades.  After  exploring  the  coast 
for  some  days  the  captain  came  to  an  anchor  in  a  harbor  in 
the  island  of  MalHcollo. 

To  the  harbor,  in  which  the  commander  anchored  while  he 
lay  at  Malhcollo,  he  gave  the  name  of  Port  Sandwich.  It 
has  many  advantages,  with  regard  to  depth  of  water,  shelter 
from  the  winds,  and  lying  so  near  the  shore  as  to  be  a  cover 
to  those  of  a  ship's  company  who  may  be  carrying  on  any 
necessary  operations  at  land. 

Soon  after  they  had  gotten  to  sea,  which  \yas  on  the  23d 
of  July,  they  discovered  three  or  four  small  islands  that  be- 
fore had  appeared  to  be  connected.  At  this  time  the  Resolu- 
tion was  not  far  from  the  Isle  of  Ambrym,  the  Isle  of  Paoom 
and  the  Isle  of  Apee.  On  the  next  morning  several  more 
islands  were  discovered,  lying  off  the  southeast  point  of  Apee, 
and  constituting  a  group  which  Captain  Cook  called  Shep- 
herd's Isles, 

Amidst  the  number  of  islands  that  were  continually  seen 
there  was  only  one  on  which  no  inhabitants  were  discerned. 
This  consisted  chiefly  of  a  remarkable  peaked  rock,  which  was 
only  accessible  to  birds,  and  which  obtained  the  name  of  the 

Monument. 

In  the  farther  course  of  the  ship  to  the  southward  they 
drew  near  to  certain  lands,  which  they  found  to  consist  of 
one  large  island,  the  southern  and  western  extremities  oi 


CAPTAIN  COOK'S   VOYAGES. 

which  extended  beyond  tl,«-      •  ^  ^^ 

ones    ay  off  its  nor^h  side      T '^m'     '^^'''^  °^  ^^^^  smaller 
Captain  Cook  .r.v^  /k  ^^  ^'^^  two  prinrfn:,!  J  .? 

-d  the  large  i^:^  e^,re7s''r^T  -^  n'^.-^'b^oT 
pa  ron  the  £arl  of  SancS  '  t?'"'"',"'''  '"  ''°"<"- of  his  nobt 
with  woods  and  lawn."  a^ree.W  "!,'''^"*  ^^'"'=''  >vas  potted 
surface,  and  which  had  a  |e«lf  !'''"?"'««''  °ver  the'^hole 
tl  e  sea_coast,  exhibited  a^ZlthZlT  '^'.  '""^  ^i"'™  to 
pect.  The  examination  of  it  L.  '^".'  ""'^  ''e'igluful  pros 
object  as  to  proceed  to  the  LT,tf,  "°''  ';?*<=^^f.  so  much  an 

PuTsSh'-":,""^  Archtela'o '• '"  °^'^'^'- '°  ""^  the  south- 

rursuing  his  discoveripQ VoiV  •    ^ 

in^a^-S  Of  E^'rroraroV-I^^rH^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
FroT^h^'  T^'T^'^  H-d  ^"""^  -"<=<!  a  promontor 

^rom  this  place  he  -qil<-rl  f^         •  , 

covered  befok  at  a  I  'ance  and"af  "^^  u*'"'^''  ^^^  been  dis 
wantmg  a  large  quantity  ofwoi  f  7'"''''  °"  account  of  wj 
to  ■nal.e  some  stay.        ^      "°°<1  ^"^  water,  he  was  resoK-Td 

i  he  island  wherf- »-h«„ 

™ade  a  dreadful  no,^e"TnrL'''  'f ""°'  "''»■'=''  sometimes 
pened  every  three  nr  fA         '•     '  ^^ch  explosion   wh.Vi, 

i"  Prodigiou^s  CO  umns     At'"on'""'  "^^^^  "P  ^"^  and    m'^: 
springs  ,  and  on  the  side  of  it  mJ  i      "'^^  ^^^^e  several  hof 

f=ot.h/  eVrti^^?™  ^^u^:  t:-^^  ^ 

:f  V-"-'^^  --^^o^e'^at  r  --«-"   I 
»"«•    The  commander  beln!,  i    •        "  hundred  and  ninetv 

;::  "7t°f,  "'^  ™'-"°    ef  ou^r^lth  °/  ^^""^  -  nea  "a?d" 
Sitants  ^^roTereS""  T ^ "    «''-«.•-  ZrtZ 

^  very  judicious  and-c;„tS';;p<;55y;"  '"  """'"'="•  ''^^ -^^« 


78 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


On  the  20tli  of  August  Captain  Cook  sailed  from  Tanna, 
and  employed  all  the  remainder  of  the  month  in  a  further  ex- 
amination of  the  islands  around  him.  He  had  now  finished 
his  survey  of  the  whole  Archipelago  and  had  gained  a  knowl- 
edge  of  it  infinitely  superior  to  what  had  ever  been  attained 
before.  The  northern  islands  of  this  Archipelago  were  first 
discovered  in  i6o6  by  that  eminent  navigator  Quiros,  who 
considered  them  as  part  of-  the  southern  condnent,  which  at 
that  time  and  until  very  lately  was  supposed  to  exist.  M.  de 
Bougainville  was  the  next  person  by  whom  they  were  visited, 
in  1768.  This  gendeman,  however,  besides  landing  in  the 
Isle  of  Lepers,  only  made  the  discovery  diat  the  country  was 
not  connected,  but  composed  of  islands,  which  he  called  the 
Great  Cyclades.  Captain  Cook,  besides  ascertaining  the 
situadon  and  extent  of  these' islands,  added  lO  them  several 
new  ones  which  had  hitherto  been  unknown  -ind  explored  the 
whole.  He  thought  that  he  had  obtained  a  right  to  name 
them  ;  accordingly  he  bestowed  upon  them  the  appellation  of 
the  New  Hebrides.  His  title  to  this  honor  will  not  be  dis- 
puted in  any  part  of  Europe,  and  certainly  not  by  so  en- 
lightened and  liberal  a  people  as  the  French  nation. 

The  season  of  the  year  now  rendered  it  necessary  for  the 
commander  to  return  to  the  south,  while  he  had  yet  some  time 
to  explore  any  land  he  might  meet  with  b^'tween  the  New 
Hebrides  and  New  Zealand,  at  which  last  place  he  intended 
to  touch  diat  he  might  refresh  his  people  and  renew  his  -stock 
of  wood  and  water  'or  another  southern  course.  With  this 
view  he  sailed  on  the  i  st  of  September,  and  on  the  4th  land 
was  .discovered,  in  a  harbor  belonging  to  which  the  Resolution 
came  to  an  anchor  the  next  day. 

Cook  went  on  shore  at  this  place.  He  ordered  an  inscrip- 
tion to  be  cut  on  a  large  tree,  setting  forth  the  name  of  the 
ship,  the  date  of  the  year  and  other  circumstances,  whidi 
tesdfied  that  the  English  were  the  first  discoverers  of  the 
country.  This  iie  had  done  before  wherever  such  a  ceremony 
seemed  necessary.  How  the  island  was  called  by  the  natives 
he  could  never  learn ;  therefore  it  was  gi\  en  the  name  ot 
New  Caledonia. 

As  the  Resolution  pursued  her  course  from  New  Caledonia 
land  was  discovered,  which  on  a  nearer  approach  was  found 
to  be  an  island  of  good  height  and  five  leagues  in  circuit. 
Captain  Cook  named  it  Norfolk  Isle. 


CAPTAIN   ..OOK'S   VOYAGES. 

m.ght  refresh  his  crew  an  I  ^ut  t  ^■^'■'°"*^''  ^"""^  "'■■"  h? 
counter  the  southern  latitude.^  n  T  '"  *  "Condition  to  en- 
anchored  before  Ship  Cole  h%h°"  "'^'«"'  »f  October  he 
l>e  did  after  landing  wasTo  "l./  I""'''  *?^  ""-■  «■■«  thin^ 
shore,  in  which  was^a  memorandum  r°"''=  )'  ''="'  ''=f'  »" 
.t  soon  appeared  from  indubitable  dr.     "'^^  '^"^e"  ='>™y.  «nd 

Mo^°^r':i:tsi,rostttsf^''  ^'  ^-™^^  - 

or  Thettifctt  "a^r  '     "^^--  °S^r.ott"f 
how  well  tl,ey  lil<ed  t  e  soif  in'whicf  T'^'"'""'    '"'^  ''"""ed 
was  several  days  before  anZf.^      ^^^  "'^""^  P'^-nted.     It 
pearance,  but  when  tl  ev  dU  L      ^  "*"^«  '"='de  their  ap 
and  his  friends,  joy  succ'eeded  fc^"    "t?^"'"'^  ^P'^'"  '=°°k 
tercourse  with  the  New  ZealanH,!r,;  j  ^aptam's  whole  in- 

to Queen  Charlotte',  Sound  ,„",  ""^^  *'s  his  third  visit 

one  of  them,  a  man  appartdv  oF?''^""  ^"'^  friendly,  and 
was  Pedero,  presentelf.fm 'S  a  staff  n^H  "'''  '^''°^'=  "=""« 
chiefs  generally  carry.  In  ret,  rn  if  j  °^  ^°"°'■■  ="'^'1  as  the 
a  fine  person  and  a  ^ood  oresl"  ^""'""^  ^""^"O'  who  had 
of  which  he  was  proud       '^         '"' '"  *  '""  "^  °'d  clothes 


ir'lillMiVI  " 


CHAPTER  V. 

CAPTAIN  cook's  VOYAGE,    -{Continued). 

Captain  Cook's  Departure  from  New  Zealand — Terra  del  Fuego — Possession  Bay — Isle  of 
Georgia — Returning  to  England — Appointed  a  Captiin  in  Greenwich  Hospital — An  Ex. 
pedition  to  find  a  Northwestern  Passage — Captain  Cook  in  Command — Captain  C(K)K 
sails  on  the  9th  of  July,  1776 — TeneriflFe — Crossing  the  Equator — Arrival  at  Cape  of 
Good  Hope — Prince  Edward's  Island — Kerguelen  and  Van  Diemen's  Land — Again  at 
Queen  Charlotte's  Sound — Ten  Men  eaten  up  by  the  New  Z  alanders — Otaheite — Qmai 
returned  to  his  Native  Isle — The  Coast  of  New  AUiion — Prince  William's  Island— 
Oonalaska — The  Land  of  the  Tschuktchi — Return  to  Oonalaska — Meeting  Russian 
Seamen — Return  to  the  Sandwich  Islands — Owhyhee — Krakatoa  Bay — The  Death  of 
Captain  Cook  as  related  by  an  Eye-witness — Murdered  by  the  Savages— His  Body 
terribly  mutilated — An  interesting  Document  from  the  hands  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin 
— Captain  Cierke,  the  Successor  of  Captnin  Cook,  visits  Kamschatka — He  returns  South- 
ward and  dies — Captain  Gore  succeeds  in  command. 

On  the  loth  of  November,  1774,  Captain  Cook  took  his 
departure  from  New  Zealand  in  further  pursuit  of  his  great 
object,  the  determination  of  the  question  concerning  the  ex- 
istence of  a  southern  continent.  Having  sailed  till  the  27th 
in  different  degrees  of  latitude,  extending  from  43°  to  55°  48', 
S.,  he  gave  up  all  hopes  of  finding  any  more  land  in  this 
ocean.  He  came,  therefore,  to  the  resolution  of  steering  di- 
rectly for  the  west  entrance  of  the  Straits  of  Magalhaens, 
with  a  view  of  coasting  the  south  side  of  Terra  del  Fuego, 
round  Cape  Horn  to  the  Strait  Le  Maire. 

In  the  prosecution  of  his  voyage  he  on  the  17th  of  Decern' 
ber  reached  the  west  coast  of  Terra  del  Fuego ;  and,  having 
continued  to  range  it  till  the  20th,  he  came  to  an  anchor  in  a 
place  which  he  afterwards  named  Christmas  Sound. 

The  inhabitants  of  Terre  del  Fuego  Captain  Cook  found 
to  be  of  the  same  nation  that  he  had  formerly  seen  in  Success 
Bay.  They  were  a  litde,  ugly,  half-starved,  beardless  race, 
and  almost  naked.  It  was  their  own  fault  that  they  were  not 
better  clothed,  nature  having  furnished  them  with  ample 
materials  for  that  purpose.     By  lining  their  sealskin  cloaks 

wuii  LUC   otviiis    aiiu    icaiucrs    Oi    auuaLl;^    Diius,  u-^  mtirvili^    uiv 

cloaks  themselves  larger,  and  by  applying  the  same  materials 
(80) 


CAPTAIN   cook's    VOYAGES.  g 

to  different  narf«!  ^r    j    u* 

Sound,  and   procee£d'?„'"L''-  ^""^  '^'''-^d  from  Christm., 
'iTough  StraiUe  Mate  ,o  S,»;'  ^f^I^^^^  ™""d   Cape  ATn 
was  passed  by  him  o:  The  ne«  d '"''\  '^"'^  fanfous  ca^e 
Southern  Atlantic  Ocean  ''^y^  *''^"  he  entered  tfe 

.l..reV"aTef  to7e"„est:;ard  of  S?  FT  "^'  f°""d  -''"ated 
d.rect,on.  Upon  account"  f1hedav{°n"  V^K  ''".  *  "°"''em 
of  tins  port  was  made,  beinir  the  , «,  f  ^^"'''  "^'^  discovers- 
tarn  Cook  gave  it  the  namT^f  Ne^^f!, ''""^^  >775,  Capl 

From  Staten  Island  he  sailed  1^  ,1,    ",  "'"■''°''- 
a  v,ew  of  discoverin?  that  pv,.  '■      ""=  4(11  of  January  with 
rymple  in  his  chart,  Fn  ^hl^^Zt^uJ ^'V''^"  ^T'S 

Proceedmg  in  his  voyacre  l' „rf  !,f  ""^  ""^  ^t.  Sebastian! 

was  at  first  mistaken  fora'n  i  Lnrf?/-'""".""  '^'^  '4th,  which 
wholly  covered  with  snow      p' o"^  fl      ''•     ''  "^=  ''"  a  manner 
first  discovered  it  obtained  the  name  "f^^r  ^^  "''°'"  '^  "as 
other  island,  of  a  larger  compass  o^         ^'""  '  '='and.     An- 
ber  of  birds  which  were  uooni?    """"""l}  "^  "'«  vast  num- 
more  extensive  ran<.e  nf  .^    .  "'  7^"  'tailed  Bird  Isle      A 
.me,  which  was  reached  on  the"  7th^'''.''^t"  ^^^"  ^    somt 
he  same  day,  in  three  different  XiT  ^'i'  ^J  '«"d'=d,  on' 
n  which  he  came  to  shore  was  tefr^L.  }l  '"'*''  °f  'he  bav 
cWs  of  considerable  hei<,ht      pL™       "''  ^^  Particular  ice- 
'ng  ofif  and  floating  out  to  sea    f!!""!":?  ^-^inually  break- 
bay  a  great  fall  happened  whth     ^  '^'"'*=  *«y  "ere  in  the 
No  ess  savage  andTrroil^  was  Thf-^  ^  '^"'"^  ^'^^  a  cannon 
,„  When  Cook  landed  in  tie  bal  L'T"?'  '"'  *e  country.' 
lors;  and,  under  a  discharge  of  LalltP'"^''',"'^  English 
pi   the  country.     !„  hi.;  r»?  ™"  ^™s.  took  posses^inn 

bought  with  h'im  a  qti^^^'-^f  Tea'  \1'P  ^apfai^^'S 
wre  an  acceptable  present  tnfL  """^  Penguins,  which 
of  provisions,  which  weTe'ien,^  ?•■■""■•  ""'  f™™  the  want 


1 

1 

EhII'' 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

tion  of  the  Southern  Thule.  The  reason  of  his  giving  it  this 
name  was,  that  it  is  the  most  southern  land  that  had  ever  yet 
been  discovered.  It  is  everywhere  covered  with  snow,  and 
displays  a  surface  of  vast  height.  To  the  more  distinguished 
tracts  of  country  which  were  discovered  from  the  3i3t  of  Jan- 
uary to  the  6th  of  February,  Captain  Cook  gave  the  names 
of  Cape  Bristol,  Cape  Montague,  Saunders's  Isle,  Candlemas 
Isles,  and  Sandwich's  Land. 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  inclination  of  Captain  Cook,  if  it 
had  been  practicable,  to  penetrate  farther  to  the  south.  If  he 
had  risked  all  that  had  been  done  during  the  voyage,  for  the 
sake  of  discovering  and  exploring  a  coast,  which,  when  dis- 
covered and  explored,  would  have  answered  no  end  what- 
ever, or  have  been  of  the  least  use  either  to  navigation  or 
geography,  he  would  justly  have  been  charged  with  inexcusa- 
ble temerity.  He  determined,  therefore,  to  alter  his  course 
to  the  east,  and  to  sail  in  quest  of  Bouvet's  Land,  the  ex- 
istence of  which  was  yet  to  be  settled.  Accordingly,  this  was 
the  principal  object  of  his  pursuit,  from  the  6th  to  the  22dof 
the  month.  By  that  day  he  had  run  down  thirteen  degrees 
of  longitude,  in  the  very  latitude  assigned  for  Bouvet's  Land 
No  such  land  was  discovered ;  nor  did  any  proofs  occur  of 
the  existence  of  Cape  Circumcision. 

Captain  Cook  had  now  made  the  circuit  of  the  southern 
ocean  in  a  high  latitude,  and  traversed  it  in  such  a  manner  as  i 
to  leave  not  the  least  room  for  the  possibility  of  there  being  | 
a  continent,  unless  near  the  pole,  and  out  of  the  reach  of  i 
navigation.     By  twice  visiting  the  tropical  sea,  he  had  not 
only  settled  the  situation  of  some  old  discoveries,  but  made 
many  new  ones  ;  and,  indeed,  had  left  little  more  to  be  accom- 
plished.  The  intention  of  the  voyage  had  been  fully  answered] 
and  the  southern  .hemisphere  sufficiently  explored.     A  fir 


s  giving  it  this 
It  had  ever  yet 
vith  snow,  and 
I  distinguished 
lie  3i3t  of  Jan- 
Lve  the  names 
ile,  Candlemas 

:ain  Cook,  if  it 

e  south.     If  he 

i^oyage,  for  the 

hich,  when  dis- 

no  end  what- 

navigation  or 

with  inexcusa- 

Iter  his  course 

Land,  the  ex- 

lingly,  this  was 

1  to  the  2  2d  of 

irteen  degrees 

Bouvet's  Land 

roofs  occur  of 


where  the  F;;„eMlc^v:;rsa1^'l'=  °f  -visilii^.Th 'X! 
mature  deliberation,  he  de^ennh^  '^  ^  '""?"=''•     B"t.  "pon 

prov,s,ons  of  the  vessel  wereTn  ,°V°  '"P''''''  "i«™-     The 
fliey  afforded  hale  nourishmenf  =  ,,^,^  "'="«  of  decay  tl.at 

'StCfT   ^t"''"-'"     Indeed    rh'°"P^">'  ^-^^^" 
Healthy,  and  wou  d  cheerfnll,,  u  •  '"^    "^few    were    vm 

:  'am  judged  it  proper  to  lead  K  ''='^\gone  wherever  the  ca" 
I  Z"J-  '''""'^  Vhold  ir^hem";  a";  '"  ''T  '"'^-f"'  lest  fife" 

•™f  *:^tttr  i^nJrrdtr  r  '-  ^^^-oTa^ve  co"n^ 

«atesof  „isd;^:,r„'rhrar'c''''''^''  ".^■•'  -'''-tly  the 
ieT"„V° '°"^«'-  'ime  hrseTchS/'^'",?"°i5  was  induced 

A-i:'A°e:SJ°^  '"^  Cape^otcifHi^^'^"^"  *"°^- 

H'g'ngly  offered  sugar    arr^'"';''-  ,    -fP'="'"    ^^o^d,   ver'i 
r  ^^'  ^"d  Captain  B-roadly  S^V  ^  "  '^f--  '.>e  had   t^ 

y  "ent  tliem  fresh  provisions,  tea, 


84  ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

and  various  articles  which  could  not  fail  of  being  peculiarly 
acceptable  to  people  in  their  situation.  Even  a  parcel  of  old 
newspapers  furnished  no  slight  gratification  to  persons  who 
had  so  long  been  deprived  of  obtaining  any  intelligence  con- 
cerning their  country  and  the  state  of  Europe.  From  these 
vessels  Captain  Cook  received  some  information  with  regard 
to  what  had  happened  to  the  Adventure  after  her  separation 
from  the  Resolution. 

On  the  22d  of  March,  1775,  he  anchored  in  Table  Bay, 
where  he  found  several  Dutch  ships,  some  French,  and  the 
Ceres,  an  English  East  Indiaman,  bound  directly  for  England, 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Newte,  by  whom  he  sent  a 
copy  of  the  preceding  part  of  his  journal,  some  charts,  and 
other  drawings,  to  the  Admiralty. 

During  the  circumnavigation  of  the  globe,  from  the  period 
of  our  commander's  i  leaving  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  his 
return  to  it  again,  he  had  sailed  no  less  than  twenty  thousand 
leagues.  This  was  an  extent  of  voyage  nearly  equal  to  three 
times  the  equatorial  circumference  of  the  earth,  and  which 
had  never  been  accomplished  before,  by  any  ship,  in  the  same 
compass  of  duration.  In  such  a  case  it  could  not  be  a  matter 
of  surprise  that  the  rigging  and  sails  of  the  Resolution  should 
be  essentially  damaged,  and  even  worn  out. 

The  repairs  of  the  ship  having  been  completed,  and  the 
necessary  stores  gotten  on  board,  together  with  a  fresh  sup- 
ply of  provisions  and  water,  he  left  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
on  the  27th  of  April,  and  reached  the  island  of  St.  Helena  on 
the  15th  of  May.  Here  he  stayed  till  the  21st,  when  he 
sailed  for  the  island  of  Ascension,  where  he  anchored  on  the 
28tlL  From  this  place  he  directed  his  course,  on  the  31st 
for  the  island  of  Fernando  de  Noronha,  at  which  he  arrived 
on  the  9th  of  June. 

On  the  14th  of  July  the  captain  came  to  an  anchor  in  the 
Bay  of  Fayal,  one  of  the  Azores  Llands.  On  the  30th  of  the 
same  month  he  anchored  at  Spithead,  and  landed  at  Ports- 
mouth, having  been  absent  Irom  Great  Britain  three  years 
and  eighteen  days,  in  which  time,  and  under  all  changes  of 
climate,  he  had  lost  but  four  men,  and  only  one  of  them  by 
sickness. 

In  acknowledgment  of  his  services  our  navigator,  on  the 
9th  of  August,  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Post  Captain, 
and  three  days  afterwards  a  Captain  in  Greenwich  Hospiial, 


CAPTAIN   cook's   VOYAGES. 


»5 


hV'or^?e\t^r'dr  li^  i^-  a  pleasing  and 

It  had  long  been  a  to^e^,^^^^^  and  3ervices.^ 
cover  a  shorter,  a  more  comm^-r  ,  "avigators  to  dis- 

course of  sailing  to  Ja^an  a^fcrd^.^rr  P^-^^^^^'^ 
Indies  ,n  general,  than  by  makinc  the  .  '  J"'^""^'. '°  '^^  East 
Cape  of  Good  Hone     Tn^A^    ^  ^^"^'^^^  circuit  of  the 

North  America  hillTeen^Uem'te'dr^""  Pf^^^  --^ 
turers,  from  Frobisher's  first  vovnl^  '^""^'^^  ^^^^  ^^^'^n- 
James  and  of  Fox.  in  le/i      RvT'  '"   '576.  to  those  of 
addition  was  made  to  thf^  in«  T^j        .  expeditions  a  larcre 
ofAmerica,  and  Hudson's  LTSV^''^^  """'-rn  exte^n^ 
But  the  wished-for  passage    nnil  f    -7' '?'^'''=  *^<^°^ered. 
Ocean,  was  still  unatteinef '  ZrlVt'  '"''  "'^  P^-Ae 
of  our  countrymen  and  of  the  Dutch  to  IV^'k"'  "'""P"^ 
by  sailing  around  the  north  of  Ac"     •         "''  *"'=''  ^  Passage, 
attended   with    better    success       Wooh"  f  .f  ^™  ^LctiSn 
appears  to  have  concluded  th;  ,„^°°'' '^ /?''"'-e,   in    ,676 
peditions  in  that  centurv      tZ  a"^  ''"  °^  ""fortunate  ex 
despaired  of,  had  been  u^nsuc^SsfuT?^"'^',  '^  ""'  =''^^°'"tely 

;s:  '"^^ ''  --"•  f<>--oeirs:t:^rrfe[  li 

J  CaSSS^^^^^^  ^'gHteenth  century, 

tlie  government  in  ,74  and  i^^fi  "°°^«  fere  sent  out  by 
parliament  had  been  passed  wh.Vh  "''  "'^"Sh  an  act  of 
twenty  thousand  pounds  to  L  J"  """"^  *  '"*^""d  of 

accomplishment  of  this  object  conH„u°J''r  °^  ^  P'"'"^?^'  *« 
as  ever.  J'^"  continued  at  as  great  a  distance 

we^  int^nd'^e^'t'bt'^o"  IT'"^''  *^  "Pe-tions  of  which 
was  evident  that  great  aE;  °,  T^"T^  ^"^  ^°  various,  r^ 
fspensably  necessary  ThatV»  '•*"?'-  ^'iP'^'-ience  w-ere  n- 
t  e  best  qualified  for^^arA^^n'  ftTZ'l  ^°°'?  "^=  "^  ^»  "^^n 
that  could  not  be  called  in  que  t  on  n''?^''"  ""^  ^  ""'^r 
"  ■"«!«  be  wished  that  Kou IH  ;,t  "'  ''"T^^'- a^ently 
oiand  of  the  service  no  one  n.^"  }""  "P°"  ''^  'he  com- 
»  ject.  .  The  ben:fits  he  ha'dXadV°  '°"'''5™  "P°"  "^« 
n<l  navigation,  and  the  labors  and  ^^''''''l^  ""  ^"^"<=^ 

'trough,  were  so  many  and  ^re^t  H,f,  "^^'"'  ^^  ''^'^  ?<">« 
reasonahls  ,„  „_i.   ,■'     ™  S^at  that  it  was  nnf  ^«.__j 

same  time  nothin 


could  be  more%a.Va;thanC:;„3„^,' 


him 


S6 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


upon  everything  relative  to  the  business  ;  and  his  advice  was 
particularly  requested  with  regard  to  the  most  proper  person 
for  conducting  the  voyage.  To  determine  this  point  the 
Captain,  Sir  Hugh  Palliser  and  Mr.  Stephens  were  invited  to 
Lord  Sandwich's  to  dinner.  Captain  Cook  was  so  fired  with 
the  contemplation  and  representation  of  the  object  tiiat  he 
started  up,  and  declared  that  he  himself  would  undertake  the 
direction  of  the  enterprise.  It  is  easy  to  suppose  with  what 
pleasure  the  men  received  a  proposal  which  was  so  agree- 
able to  their  secret  wishes,  and  which  they  thought  of  the 
highest  importance  towards  attaining  the  ends  of  the  voyage. 
No  time  was  lost  by  the  Earl  of  Sandwich  in  laying  tiie 
matter  before  the  king ;  and  Captain  Cook  was  appointed 
to  the  command  of  the  expedition  on  the  loth  of  February, 
1776. 

The  command  and.,  the  direction  of  the  enterprise  being 
thus  happily  settled,  it  became  an  object  of  great  importance 
to  determine  what  might  be  the  best  course  that  could  be 
given  to  the  voyage.  All  former  navigators  round  the  globe 
had  returned  to  Europe  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  But  to 
Captain  Cook  the  arduous  task  was  now  assigned  of  attempt- 
ing it  by  reaching  the  high  northern  latitudes  between  Asia 
and  America.  The  usual  plan,  therefore,  of  discovery  was 
reversed ;  so  that  instead  of  a  passage  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific,  one  from  the  latter  into  the  former  was  to  be 
tried. 

That  everything  mighi  be  done  which  could  facilitate  the 
success  of  the  grand  expedition.  Lieutenant  Pickersgill  was 
sent  out,  in  1776,  with  directions  to  explore  the  coasts  of 
Baffin's  Bay ;  and,  in  the  next  year.  Lieutenant  Young  was 
commissioned  not  only  to  examine  the  western  parts  of  that 
bay,  but  to  endeavor  to  find  a  passage,  on  that  side,  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Nothing  was  performed  by 
either  of  these  gentlemen  that  promoted  the  purposes  of 
Captain  Cook's  voyage. 

Two  vessels  were  fixed  upon  by  government  for  the  in- 
tended service ;  the  Resolution  and  the  Discovery.  The 
command  of  the  former  was  given  to  Captain  Cook,  and  of 
the  other  to  Captain  Clerke.  To  the  Resolution  was  assigned 
the  same  complement  of  officers  and  men  which  she  had  dur- 
ing  her  preceding  voyage ;  and   the  only  difference  in  the 


^^t'i^  Pt! ic'imf^n t"    c\T    t'Wf 


«ic  iiiure  i 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES.  '^  g 

^1  the  s.„e.._  or  WW.-„,„o.aH„e  officio! 

tan  o(  Sandwich  to  have  th^m  ^'"/^^l  was  exerted  by  the 
P  ete  manner.  Both  the  vessel,  T''^"^  ',^  "'^  "^t  com! 
of  every  necessary  articfe  as  coird  ^n'"^^  '"'','^"''  ^=  -"""^ 
and  w.th  the  best  of  each  kindXt    '  rjr"""^  ^^  ""wed, 

Every  preparation  for  the  voyage  h."  "^  ""^  P""="'<''i- 
Cook  received  an  order  to  prS  m'p?  ^'"P'^^d  Captain 
Ae  Discovery  under  his  ?omm,„  J    '^'"?"'h,  and  to  take 
Zn  '^'  PTP-^^  *>ectbns  to  Sa- .  n^1\  accordingly! 
the  Nore  to  the  Downs  on  the°  ,th  of  '  ''"''^'^ '™"' 

of  the  same  month  he  anchored  j/^pT^'  '"u^  O" 'he  30th 
the  Discovery  had  already  arrived  7r°""l^°""''- '^here 
before  he  received  his  instn.^l:  t  V^  '^e  8th  of  lulv 
the  same  time,  he  was  o  3eSl  o"L^  '^  'Pl^S--  and,  a^ 
tion,  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hooe    Pp,  ?^'  "',*  'he  Resolu- 

to  fon"^  '"  ^°"''°"  ''y  «on,e  una^oiSS?'"  ^^"^^'  ^'>°  "as 
to  follow  as  soon  as  he  should Totn  hi  l!  circumstances,  was 

1"  the  evening  of  the  i  ,rl,  ri  "  ^'''^^''ip. 
mouth  Sound,  and  pursued  L'''""  S°°''  ='°od  out  of  Plv 
^  It  being  found  tlfat  there  ^:°"?K°""  '^^  *anne  ^ 
for  the  subsistence  of  the  stock  of  '^  ^",''  '=°™  ^"Aicient 
Ae  arrival  of  the  ships  at  tl  e  Caoe  ofr^'i  ,°"  "^"ard,  tU 
Cook  determined  to  touch  Lt  i^"""^  "op«.  Captain 
tliought  better  adapted  to  , if.  ^""''"f^'-  This  island  he 
angles  and  other  rXshmems  STm  5' P''"™""?  'hese 
cf  August  he  anchored  in  the  road  f?  <f  adeira.  On  the  1st 
In  the  course  of  the  vov^t.  k         ^^"'^  Cruz. 

-d  7°.  north,  the  wS.the7:!:'  'rn:^!  *f  1^"'"^-  <>f  '^°    ' 
The  rams  were  freniieni-   =1 1    ^^"crally  dark  and  eloomv 

and  sultry  weather  ^hkh  too  ofr''rP""'"<^  *'*  thS  Cos'^ 
passage.     At  such  a  time  th^  ?.        ^""^^  °"  ^''^kness,  in  this 
apprehended;  and  commaifden'sh- "''^''"^"^^^  are  to  be 
upon  their  guard.     It  is  necessarv  f^  ^►''.'^""°'  ^  '°°  ">"<* 
between  decks  with  f5re  and  Tmll  ^     ^  *'="  '°  Punfy  the  air 
'0  dry  their  clothes  at  "verTonn""?  '°  "blige^hei; peop^ 
observance  of  these  precauIfnT^  °PP°«"""y.      The   constant 
attended  with  such  s'^ccess  Xt The""'''  "?^  ^^°''"'°"  wa^ 
^ck  men  than  on  either  of  h?'  f^L'y'^'"  ^ad  now  fewer 
-"=  -re  remarkable,  as,  i„  co„se,u;-;^e  I^^&m^of  Th^^       ' 


mi 


88 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


vessel  having  opened  so  wide  as  to  admit  the  rain  when  it 
fell,  there  was  scarcely  a  man  who  could  lie  dry  in  his  bed ; 
and  the  officers  in  the  gun-room  were  all  driven  out  of  their 
cabins  by  the  water  that  came  through  the  sides.  When  set- 
tled weather  returned  the  caulkers  were  employed  in  repair- 
ing these  defects,  by  caulking  the  decks  and  inside  weather- 
works  of  the  ship  ;  for  the  humanity  of  the  captain  would  not 
trust  the  workmen  over  the  sides  while  the  Resolution  was  at 
sea. 

On  the  1st  of  September,  1776,  they  crossed  the  equator. 
While,  on  the  8th,  Captain  Cook  was  near  the  eastern  coast 
of  Brazil  he  was  at  considerable  pains  to  setde  its  longitude, 
which,  till  some  better  astronomical  observations  are  made 
on  shore  in  that  country,  he  concluded  to  be  thirty-five  de- 
grees and  a  half,  or  thirty-six  degrees  west  at  most. 

On  the  1 8th  of  October  the  Resolution  came  to  an  anchor 
in  Table  Bay  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope ;  and  the  usual  com- 
phments  having  been  paid  to  Baron  Plettenberg,  the  Gov- 
ernor, Captain  Cook  immediately  applied  himself  to  his  cus- 
tomary operations.  Nothing  remarkable  occurred  till  the 
evening  of  the  31st,  when  a  tempest  arose  from  the  southeast, 
.  which  lasted  three  days,  and  which  was  so  violent  that  the 
Resolution  was  the  only  ship  in  the  bay  that  rode  out  the 
gale  without  dragging  her  anchors.  The  effects  of  the  storm 
were  sensibly  felt  by  the  men  on  shore;  for  their  tents  and 
observatory  were  torn  to  pieces,  and  their  astronomical 
quadrant  narrowly  escaped  irreparable  damage.  On  the  3d 
of  November  the  tempest  ceased,  and  the  next  day  the  Eng- 
lish were  enabled  to  resume  their  different  employments. 

It  was  not  till  the  loth  of  the  month  that  Captain  Cook  had 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  Discovery  arrive  in  the  bay,  and 
effect  her  junction  with  the  Resolution.  She  had  sailed  from 
England  on  the  ist  of  August,  and  would  have  reached  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  a  week  sooner  if  she  had  not  been  driven 
from  the  coast  by  the  late  storm.  Every  assistance  waf:  im> 
mediately  given  to  put  her  into  proper  condition  for  proceed- 
ing on  her  voyage. 

Captain  Cook  having  ghen  a  copy  of  his  in.  fvuctions  to 
Captain  Gierke,  and  an  order  directing  him  how  ^o  proceed 
in  case  of  a  separation,  weighed  from  Table  Bay  on  the  30th 
of  November,  1776,  though  it  was  not  till  the  3d  of  Dcrj.n^hei 

that  np   crt\t  rlpur  r\f   fhf*  larii-l  Ac    4-1-i^ir  ^....^..^J    4.U-,:„     ,..,.„„ 


CAPTAIX  COOK'S   VOYAGES. 

to  the  southeast,  a  verv  .^r.  ,  ^^ 

westward  was  followed  bv^^^  ^^^^  "^^'^^  they  had  fr.      u 
of  wh  ch  the  Rf^c^i  .•      y  ^  "mountainous  q^o  •  "^^"^  the 

be  about  fifteen  1^  ''""S^"''  "-^s  judged  Lr^^  ''•^'  ""'^  '« 
about  n4  lea  "  ef'l"'-'  '"  ->™it-  The^^'Cl  ^"""^ '" 
distance  of  fiveleal'  ';*■""''•  ^"^  the  two  fslanil  '^  °"^  '= 
together  with  fn,?^^?  '^°'"  <=a<:b  other     Th'^^  "^  ='t  the 

«•  a  chart  of  the  Southern  O^''  ''?''  ^^<'"  assi  "efto^h*^ 
municated  to  CantafnT'     ,    .'^*"'  "b  ch  Cantain  r  '"^"' 

commemoratino-  f hf  i-     '     ^^  the  other  fon»     ^.^^^^"^s,  after 

f- ieagtin'  i^e"uit'^"l°'";---d^S>lVe,?h7?^^^^^^^^ 
tude  was  soon  oA.       ,        Another  slanH  ^r  ^i  '^    '  ^"*^  about 

--Kn£;  ^'  i^a^^  ^&rlr'  --was 

fendezTOus     Tl  "^  Kerguelen    a^  '°n  T';"""<=  that 

Cook  steereH  •    r    ""'^'ther  beo-fnnin"  f„    f^"^*^  "'^  '^'e  of 
»btainedTli"  '^''  '^'  'and,  ofwhwf  '?  .^'far  "P'  Captain 

-  -'  to  the  southwa-rd  ^oX  SSeVfeS-ff  ^" 


90 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


points  and  bays,  from  which  circumstance  they  were  sure  of 
finding  a  good  harbor.  Accordingly  such  a  harbor  was 
speedily  discovered,  in  which  the  ships  came  to  an  anchor  on 
the  25th,  being  Christmas  Day.  Upon  landing  they  found 
the  shore  almost  entirely  covered  with  penguins  and  other 
birds,  and  with  seals.  The  latter,  which  were  not  numerous, 
having  been  unaccustomed  to  visitors,  were  so  insensible  of 
fear  that  as  many  as  were  wanted  for  the  purpose  of  makino- 
use  of  their  fat  or  blubber,  were  killed  without  difficulty. 
Fresh  water  was  so  plentiful  that  every  gully  afforded  a  laro-e 
stream,  but  not  a  single  tree  or  shrub,  or  the  least  sign  of  it, 
could  be  met  with,  and  but  very  little  herbage  of  any  sort. 
Before  Captain  Cook  returned  to  his  ship  he  ascended  the 
first  ridge  of  rocks,  that  rose  in  a  kind  of  amphitheatre  above 
one  another,  in  hopes  of  obtaining  a  view  of  the  country;  in 
which,  ovvever,  he  was  disappointed,  for,  previously  to  his 
reaching  the  top,  there  came  on  so  thick  a  fog  that  he  could 
scarcely  find  his  way  down  again.  In  the  evening  the  seine 
was  hauled  at  the  head  of  the  harbor,  but  only  half  a  dozen 
small  fish  were  caught.  As  no  better  success  attended  a  trial 
which  was  made  the  next  day  with  hook  and  line,  the  only 
resource  for  fresh  provision  was  in  birds,  the  store  of  which 
was  inexhaustible. 

Nothing  very  remarkable  occurred  till  the  24th  of  January, 
I ']']'],  when  they  discovered  the  coast  of  Van  Diemen's  L?nd; 
and,  on  the  26th,  the  ships  came  to  an  anchor  in  Adventure 
Bay.  Captain  Cook,  as  soon  as  he  had  anchored,  ordered 
the  boats  to  be  hoisted  out,  in  one  of  which  he  went  himself, 
to  look  for  the  most  commodious  place  for  obtaining  the 
necessary  supplies.  Wood  and  water  were  found  in  abun- 
dance, and  in  places  sufficiently  convenient;  but  grass,  which 
was  most  wanted,  was  scarce,  and,  at  the  same  time,  very 
coarse>  Necessity,  however,  obliged  them  to  take  up  with 
such  as  could  be  procured. 

On  the  30th  of  January,  1777,  Captain  Cook  sailed  from 
Adventure  Bay,  and  on  the  12th  of  February  came  to  an 
anchor  at  his  old  station  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound,  in  New 
Zealand.  Being  unwilling  to  lose  any  time,  he  commenced 
his  operations  that  very  afternoon.  By  his  order  several  of 
the  empty  water-casks  were  immediately  landed,  and  a  place 
was  begun  to  be  cleared  for  setting  up  the  two  observatories, 
and  the  erection  of  tents  to  accommodate  a  p"uard.  and  the 


CAPTAIN    COOK'S    VOYAGES.  " 

rema^*^  o.?  shoT%u"'''°r  >"="'«s  might  reoul^.  ,1 

was  one  man  in  particular  who  "  C  l"T"  °'''^''°"^-    There 
New  Zealand^r"    A^^'dJo/;;  ,""'^  '''^''^^  on  the  part  of  A 

'^  l<me7ira":^;r"  ^H"  ^'^^"^  ^^  ^^s  T  '"  ""= 

cause  of  the  quaVeVSnTtM":  ""■•^?^-  '^"atrrTh^" 
the  company  survived  to  relate  M,  ««<:rta,ned,  as  not  one  of 
who  was  ordered  to  go  in  search  ""'i'    Lieutenant  Burnev 

venged  which  no'w  re„t,:^-^^^"d  the  fear  of  it"  bei„'' ^f 

f'  of  the  inquiry  was  to' h'"'  ^"  ''""=^P'-«er  The  T 
!:!:  i°"'«  *!-V'in  Z''oJtjl'"f  «-^  took  itrn^e" 
"''''"''■'  '''^' '''-^ -s  no  pr;me"i:tVan'  ""-s 


92 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


At  the  request  of  Omai,  Captain  Cook  consented  to  take 
with  him  two  youths  from  Ne<v  Zealand.  That  they  might 
not  quit  their  native  ccii/'i.^  .fdcr  any  dekiding  ideas  of 
visiting  it  again,  the  capiaii.  look  care  to  inform  their  parents 
in  the  strongest  terms  that  they  would  never  retui  ,  This 
declaration  seemed,  however,  to  make  no  kind  of  impression. 
The  father  of  the  youngest  lad  resigned  him  with  an  indiffer- 
ence which  he  would  scarcely  have  shown  ^t  narting  with  his 
dog,  and  even  stripped  the  boy  of  iiiC  little  clothing  he  pos- 
sessed, delivering  him  quite  naked.  This  was  not  the  case 
with  the  mother  of  the  other  youth  She  took  her  lea^^e  of 
him  with  all  the  marks  of  tender  affection  that  might  be  ex- 
pected betwef-n  a  parent  and  a  child  on  such  an  occasion  ;  but 
she  soon  resumed  her  cheerfulness,  and  went  away  wholly 
unconcerned. 

On  the  25th  of  February  Captain  Cook  stood  out  of  Queen 
Charlotte's  Sound,  and  by  the  27th  got  clear  of  New  Zealand. 
No  sooner  had  the  ships  lost  sight  of  the  land,  than  the  two 
young  adventurers  from  that  country,  one  of  whom  was 
nearly  eighteen  years  of  age  and  the  other  about  ten,  began 
deeply  to  repent  of  the  step  they  had  taken.  It  was  the  ex- 
perience of  the  sea-sickness  which  gave  this  turn  to  their 
reflections,  and  all  the  soothing  encouragement  that  could  be 
thought  of  was  but  of  litde  avail.  They  wept,  both  in  public 
and  in  private,  and  made  their  lamentation  in  a  kind  of  sonor, 
that  seemed  to  be  expressive  of  the  praises  of  their  country 
and  people,  from  which  they  were  to  be  separated  forever. 
In  this  disposition  they  continued  for  many  days,  but  as  their 
sea-sickness  wore  off,  and  the  tumult  of  their  minds  subsided, 
the  fits  of  lamentation  became  less  and  less  fj-equent,  and  at 
length  entirely  ceased.  By  degrees  their  native  country  and 
their  friends  were  forgotten,  and  they  appeared  to  be  as 
firmly  attached  as  if  they  had  been  born  in  the  ship. 

In  the  prosecution  of  the  voya<::e  Captain  Cook  met  with 
unfavorable  winds,  and  it  was  not  till  the  29th  of  March  that 
land  was  discovered.  It  w^as  found  to  be  an  inhabited  island. 
the  name  of  which,  as  was  learned  from  two  of  the  natives 
who  came  off  in  a  canoe,  is  Mangeea.  The  commander  ex- 
amined the  coast  with  his  boats,  and  had  a  short  intercourse 
■with  some  of  the  inhabitants.  Not  being  able  to  find  a 
proper  harbor  for  bringing  the  ships  to  an  anchorage  he  was 
obliged   to   leave   the  country  unvisited,  though   it  seemed 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES  " 

capable  of  supplyfnrr  aii  ,t  ^^ 

of  Man^eea  is^  Ad  C  ]^?,:^"^«  ?f  ^he  crew.  The  island 
and  pretty  equal  J,eth^  iff"  '"  ^""^"'f.  and  of  a  nmJ  "^ 
aspect,  and  mhrhtl^'    /^  ^'^^>  "pori  the  whnL     '"?'^^'-ate 

of  the  3oth  of  March   InT      ^''°''  ^''^'^ed  in  the  aft'pm 
seen  wiHiin  r^  '^'|'cn,  and  on  the  nevt-  a^    i      ,^  aiternoon 

.stoV  Ap«  '^ii-'i'-^^'-'"':' of  which  tTe  sho^''"'^  "f'  ^S^'" 

Tl>^  next  pC  :Lfel  tr™  ^""  Zealf^d™  ."'"  ""'''^'- 
tf  '•",  ^^r°--  'V«  'at,,:™^'  -  inhibit!  '^^ 

£'.St  'i'r  ,s~-  ^rs  ";',",7Sr5 

-  >r«..es  were  discerned  of  .•-'i-""""^^  '""* 


having 


any 


94 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


inhabitants.  It  was  now  experienced  to  be  well  peopled,  and 
by  a  race  of  men  who  appeared  to  differ  much,  both  in  person 
and  disposition,  from  the  natives  of  Wateeoo. 

In  pursuing  his  course,  agreeably  to  this  resolution,  he 
reached  Palmerston  Island,  and  at  a  neighboring  islet,  both 
of  which  were  uninhabited,  some  little  relief  was  obtained. 
The  boats  soon  procured  a  load  of  scurvy-grass  and  young 
cocoanut  trees.  On  the  i6th  Omai,  being  on  shore,  caught, 
with  a  scoop-net,  in  a  very  short  time,  as  much  fish  as  served 
the  whole  party  for  dinner. 

On  the  28th  of  April  Captain  Cook  touched  at  the  island 
of  Komango,  and  on  the  ist  of  May  he  arrived  at  Anna- 
mooka.  The  station  he  took  was  the  very  same  which  he 
had  occupied  when  he  visited  the  country  three  vears  before; 
and  it  was  probably  almost  in  the  same  place  where  Tasman, 
the  first  discoverer  of  this  and  some  of  the  neighboring 
islands,  anchored  in  1 643.  A  friendly  intercourse  was  im- 
mediately opened  with  the  natives,  and  everything  was  set- 
tled to  tne  captain's  satisfaction.  He  received  the  greatest 
civilities  from  Toobou,  the  chief  of  Annamooka,  and  Taipa, 
a  chief  from  the  island  of  Komango,  attached  himself  to  the 
crew  in  so  extraordinary  manner  that,  in  order  to  be  near 
them  in  the  night,  as  well  as  in  the  day,  he  had  a  house 
brought  on  men's  shoulders  a  full  quarter  of  a  mile,  and 
placed  close  to  the  shed  which  was  occupied  by  our  party  on 
shore.  On  the  6th  the  commander  was  visited  by  a  great 
chief  from.  Tongataboo,  whose  name  was  Feenou. 

The  stay  which  Captain  Cook  made  at  the  Friendly  Islands 
was  between  two  and  three  months,  during  which  time,  some 
accidental  differences  excepted,  there  subsisted  the  utmost 
cordiality. 

On  the  17th  of  July  he  took  Ills  final  leave  of  the  Friendly 
Islands  and  resumed  his  voyage.  An  eclipse  was  observed 
in  the  night  between  the  20th  and  the  21st,  and  on  the  8th  of 
August  land  was  discovered.  Some  of  the  inhabitants,  who 
came  off  in  canoes,  seemed  earnestly  to  invite  them  to  go  on 
shore;  but  Captain  Cook  did  not  think  proper  to  run  the 
risk  of  losing  the  advantage  of  a  fair  wind  for  the  sake  of 
examining  an  island  which  appeared  to  be  of  little  conse- 
quence. Its  name,  as  was  learned  from  the  natives  who 
spoke  the  Otaheite  language,  is  Tooboual. 

Pursuing  his  course  the  captain  reached  Otaheite  on  the 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VQVagES. 

1 2th,  and  steered  fr.r  r^u  v       , 

anchor  there  ,"tt  ?o  d  r ^^  "^^  r'"",  ='"  '•"•-''™  to 
from  the  southeast  part  of  the  Lbn  I  1  ''f '•<='''? "^™t»  he  ecu  d 
Matava,.  Omai's  first  receotron  1  ^'"'"^'r  '"=  «'<^"'  down  o 
no.  entirely  of  a  flatter  ng  Cure  "'^f'  '>  ■'  countrymen  wa° 
came  on   board  who  kn?m  i "  ''-ough  several  person, 

brother-in-law,  there  was  notlt"'  '"''  f  "*=  "^  "'^"i  was  his 
■nff  in  their  meetinir     An  fn      *-•  ''^"'r'^ably  tender  or  strik 
.3th  with  his  sister^was  ".Sel^'r'VO",'^'  ''"d  °n    h« 

for  the,r  meeting  was  marled  „..  ^v     "^  '^?^''"«»  "f  "ature! 

fection  more  easy  ,o  be  conceived  thn??""?/''  °^  "^"der  af. 

likewise,  wh  ch  he  rerei,,..,   r  ""'"  described.     In  n  v!^:l 

herself  at  his  feeVrd'^L^riirh  H  "'' ^'''^  °"  '''''y 'S 
"f  joy-  Pientilully  bedewed  them  with  tears 

7^4^  iSnS  i:T,';{roiHi'/std  r-'-  '^^  --  he 

Pelia  Bay.  and  had  left  anl^ll. ^  t"^  ^^^"  ^^'^^  ''n  Oheite! 
further  inquiry,  were  fbunS  o  be  ^o ^^^^^""^•-y-  These,  on 
and  a  ram.  That  the  vesselfwhlNT'.  °^-''  ^°^'^'  ^"^  buH 
Spanish  was  plain  from  fn  i^  ^ '•'''^ '''''^^^J  O^aheite  we  1' 
wooden  cross.^standnTat  some  chP'""  ^I?^' ^^^  cut  .fpon": 
lioiKsc  which  had  been^ccupTed  bv  N "'"  ^'^"^  ^^^  ^'"^nt^o?  a 
On  the  24th  of  Atum.^n        ■  'J^^^'  ^^ran^ers. 

part  of  OtateitfaiKl  S'u^^jPt"  'iT''  'l"''"^''  "-e  southeast 
Im.nediatelv  upon  his  arran,el°  '^  .'^='"'°?  '"  Matava  Bay 
of  the  whofe  island,  and   heir  forme/r'- "'f  ^^  <^'°°'  '^^  kin^ 

and  entertalnmf„r '"S'„:"o7t°"  °'  -"■•''-  ^-'oC 
«s  to  dispose  of  all  the  Eurooln  """^"''"■"'^  Srst  objecTs 
sl"ps.  Accordinrfv  he  ^fi!  ^  1  animals  which  were  in  i-l,„ 
residence,  a  peacoc^k  and  u,?"''  '°  ?P^"e,  OtooTplace  of 
gander  and  three  <4ese  a  dr.i;  *  '"/^^^ycock  and  hen  one 
and  ducks  beganCbreed  be?nl"^U°"''  ''"'^'-    The  geese 

an?*e'  f  "'°"t  J''-^  "ere  a1  eady  al  Sr?^'"--^  '^^'  'heir 
and  the  Spanish  bull,  which  wtTJ^^  r  ,°  ^  several  goats 
he  kmd  that  was  ev^r  seen  To  the  kM''^  **"■=='  animals  o^ 
tlie  three  cows  he  had  on  board  fo  f  '^^P'*'"  Cook  sent 
7".  to  all  which  were  added    he  F"'^''  ^'*  «  ^ull  of  h^ 

'«en  theinhabtonts;:?plVj'!.P°'«°f  breaking  out  K^' 

-  ........  a„u  tnoseof  Otaheite;  and 


96  ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

by  the  latter  Captain  Cook  was  requested  to  take  a  part  in 
their  favor.  With  this  request,  however,  though  enforced 
by  frequent  and  urgent  solicitations,  the  captain  refused  to 

comply. 

The'  manner  in  which  the  commander  was  freed  from  a 
rheumatic  complaint,- that  consisted  of  a  pain  extending  from 
the  hip  to  the  foot,  deserves  to  be  recorded.  Otoo's  mother, 
his  three  sisters,  and  eight  other  women  went  on  board  for 
the  express  purpose  of  undertaking  the  cure  of  his  disorder. 
He  accepted  of  their  friendly  offer.  As  many  of  them  as 
couiJ  get  round  him  began  to  squeeze  him  with  both  hands, 
from  ifead  to  foot,  but  more  particularly  in  the  part  where 
the  pain  was  lodged.  This  operation,  which  is  called  Rcnnee, 
is  universally  practised  among  these  islanders ;  being  some- 
times performed  by  the  men,  but  more  generally  by  the 
w^omen. 

Captain  Cook,  who  now  had  come  to  the  resolution  of  de- 
parting soon  from  Otaheite,  accompanied,  on  the  27th,  Otoo 
to  Oparre,  and  examined  the  catde  and  poultry,  which  he 
had  consigned  to  his  friend's  care  at  that  place.  Everything- 
was  in  a  promising  way,  and  properly  attended.  The  captain 
procured  from  Otoo  four  goats,  two  of  which  he  designed  to 
leave  at  Ulietea,  where  none  had  as  yet  been  introduced,  and 
the  other  two  he  proposed  to  reserve  for  the  use  of  any 
islands  he  might  chance  to  meet  with  in  his  passage  to  the 
north.  On  the  next  day  Otoo  came  on  board,  and  informed 
our  commander  that  he  had  gotten  a  canoe  which  he  desired 
him  to  carry  home  as  a  present  to  the  Earee  rahie  no  Pretane, 

From  Otaheite  they  sailed,  on  the  30th  of  September,  to 
Eimeo,  where  Uiey  came  to  an  anchor  on  the  same  day.  At 
this  island  the  transactions  which  happened  were,  for  the 
most  part,  very  unpleasant.  A  goat  was  stolen,  and  the  re- 
covery of  it  was  a  matter  of  no  small  importance ;  Captain 
Cook  was  determined  to  effect  this  at  any  rate.  Accordingly 
he  made  an  expedition  across  the  island,  in  the  course  ot 
which  he  set  fire  to  six  or  eight  houses,  and  burnt  a  number 
of  war  canoes.  At  last,  in  consequence  of  a  peremptory 
message  to  Maheine,  the  Chief  of  Eimeo,  that  not  a  single 
canoe  should  be  left  in  the  country,  or  an  end  be  put  to  the 
contest,  unless  the  animal  in  his  possession  should  be  re- 
stored, the  goat  was  brought  back.  This  quarrel^  was  as 
much  regretted  on  the  part  of  the  captain  as  it  could  be  on 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES. 


that  of  the  nativpt;      Tf      •       ,  .  ^^ 

fusing  the  press,W  so  iSn,  ^'rV° r^^'"-  ^^  after  re 
favor  the;r  ,v  asioli  T^!TZd\^'' /"'I'f'  ^'  Otahei L  to 
speedily  reduced  to  the  necessftv  Af     ''"""'  ''"''  '"''"self  so 
ties  as  perhaps  had  been  m^rl '  ^  ^  engaging  in  such  hostm 
expedition.   '^  ''"^"  '""•^«  '"Junous  to  thin  than  TowS 

and  ?he|t«'^'a;Lriv?d\7(^t^h:J;rhfT"'='^  ^-"  E-eo, 
of  Huaherae.     The  aranr?  t,    .  "arre  harbor,  on  the  west  -IrU 

t ement  of  Qmai     i  "rde^'tr^^' •"''=  '=^'^"d  »as  the  set! 
ch,efs  of  the  island,  the  afei;  '1°^"^'"  ">«  consent  of  the 
e.'nnity.     Omai  dre  sed  hZJr      ~"''"«ed  with  great  sol 
-on;  brought  with  him  a  sui tab?e"^  P^P^'-'y  °"  the'occt 
v.-ent  throu„Wi  a  variety  of  re:;„-         ''^^""ment  of  presents- 
^peech,  the  topics  of  w^ch  nlhf  "■"•^monies,  and'^made  a 
tarn  Cook-.     The  result  of  th»„  ^''"  ''-'"^^d  '<>  h™  by  Can 
ground  was  assij^ned  him    ,L^°"^"°"  "^^-  *at  a  spot  o^f 
shore  of  the  harbor,  wasabout  m    '".'  °1  *'''<=''■  along  the 
depth,  to  the  foot  of  the  hi"  soL  T  ^""'^''"^  Vards,  and     s 
able  part  of  the  hill  was  included  In  ,f  "'°'^-     ^  Proporfe! 
hav.ng  been  adjusted  in  a  satkfl     ^^  -""'•     Th's  business 
of  both  ships  ,vere  en^ployed  [n  r^.""""<=^'  *«  carpenters 
Oma,  m  which  he  migft  ie'ure  his  f"^  ^ ""^^^  '"'"^e  for 
At  the  same  time  some  of  the  Fn  r  ?"™li"=an  commodities 
"se    m   which    they   planted   st?i"'',  ""^^  »  garden  for  hi^ 

?t-C^a-in-|^Sfotr^-rbta^ 

i"-law,  by  tCn  °h:  fsTecelved"''-^!'  ^  ^'•^'-'  -^  a  brother 
derness.  But  though Hes'^^n  7'"'  ^^'^'^at  regard  and  ten 
tionate  in  their  attachment  to  I,"?  *  T"'^  '"^''l"""'  and  affec 
«1>  concern,  that  they"^"e  of  oo" ii»,!  ''^P'--"'"  ^---ed, 
;sand  to  be  capable  if  rend°rin°  h-        ~"^>-'1"ence  in  the 

ommancler  advised  h"m  to  r.J  i^'"'''^,"'  t^^'*^.  it^ossible  the 
f'lepatronam^an^n-pl    .•°'-°^^'^''^^e  the  favor  and  -'-- 
chielF.  bv  a'^nrTT/'  ^  °^^^"pon  of  two  or  three  nf  thl     ""^.^^'^^ 
by  a  proper  d.tnbution  of  sornHf^Lf  ^^P^^sl 


pS  ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

with  which  advice  he  prudently  complied.  Captain  Cook, 
however,  did  not  entirely  trust  to  the  operations  of  gratitude, 
but  had  recourse  to  the  more  forcible  motive  of  intimidation. 
With  this  view  he  took  every  opportunity  of  signifying  to  the 
inhabitants,  that  it  was  his  intention  to  return  to  the  island 
ag-ain  after  being  absent  the  usual  time,  and  that,  if  he  did  not 
find  Omai  in  the  same  state  of  security  in  which  he  left  him, 
all  those  whom  he  should  then  discover  to  have  been  his  ene- 
mies should  feel  the  weight  of  his  resentment. 

When  Omai's  house  was  iiearly  finished,  and  many  of  his 
movables  were  carried  ashore,  a  box  of  toys  excited  the  ad- 
miration of  the  multitude  in  a  m'jch  higher  degree  than  arti- 
cles of  a  more  useful  nature.  With  regard  to  his  pots,  ket- 
tles, dishes,  plates,  drinking-mugs,  glasses,  and  the  whole 
train  of  domestic  accommodations,  which,  in  our  estimation, 
are  so  necessary  and  imp  .i^^nt,  scarcely  any  one  of  his  coun- 
trymen would  condescend  tr=  ?ook  upon  them.  Omai  him- 
self, being  sensible  that  these  pieces  of  English  furniture 
would  be  of  no  great  consequence  in  his  present  situation, 
wisely  sold  a  number  of  them,  among  the  people  of  the  ships, 
for  hatchets,  and  other  iron  tools,  which  had  a  more  intrinsic 
value  in  this  part  of  the  world,  and  would  give  him  a  more 
distinguished  superiority  over  those  with  whom  he  was  to 
pass  the  remainder  of  his  days. 

The  European  weapons  of  Omai  consisted  of  a  musket, 
bayonet,  and  cartridge-box;  a  fowling-piece,  two  pair  of  pis- 
tols,  and  two  or  three  swords  or  cudasses.  With  the  posses- 
sion of  these  warlike  implements  he  was  highly  delighted; 
and  it  was  only  to  gratify  his  eager  desire  for  them,  that  Cap- 
tain Cook  was  induced  to  make  him  such  presents.  The  cap- 
tain would  otherwise  have  thought  it  happier  for  him  to  be 
without  fire-arms,  or  any  European  weapons,  lest  an  impru- 
dent use  of  them  (and  prudence  was  not  his  most  distin- 
guished talent)  should  rather  increase  his  dangers  than  estab- 
lish his  superiority.  ,     i    u    r  • 

Before  the  captain  sailed  from  Huaheme.he  had  the  loi- 
lowing  inscription  cut  on  the  outside  of  Omai's  house: 

Georgius  Tertius,  Rex,  2  Novembris,  1777. 


.,  f  Resolution,  Jac.  Cook,  Pr. 

Naves  \  Discovery,  Car. 


Clerke,  Pr. 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S    VOYAGES.  " 

On  the  same  day  Om-,;  f^  i   i  •    ^        '  ^^ 

in  doing  wl,ich  7e  b^^l  trewdl  ,"''  1^1'  °^  *«  "^vigators 
affecnonate  manner.      He  sus    if  ? ""^  "^'^'^'^  '"  a  veS 
reso  ut,on  till  he  came  to  CaS  r'"?'"";  ""^  ^  ma2 
efforts  to  conceal  his  tears  faiS"d']?^'  *'"'"  ^''  «"'»« 
all  the  time  that  the  boat  wa«^^'       •   "''  ™ntinued  to  weeo 
ap.n  to  resume  the  sub  act  tT TfV"«^  '"'"'  '°  ^''O'-e.     No^ 
the  captain  was  at  Ulietefa  f„  f'^V"'''  ""='"'°n  tha   when 
sent  two  men  with    he  sarisfe    "'°'"  '"^'^  ""'^  event  Oma^ 
mamed  undisturbed  by    h»  1  °7  'r"''^'^"'^^   that  he  re 
everything,  succeeded  well  witHP'  "^  ""^''«"'"-.  and  tha 
h's  goat,  which  had  dild    n      V>^  "'; <^«ewi".S  i"  the  los.'of 
accompanied  with  a  renuest  fW       ^     '  '"^  'ntelligence  was 
h,m,  together  with    w^  a'e fTh°e  '"'' ^'°"' "'«'"  b=  given 
himself  happy  In  having  an  additln.l™'"™^"^'^'-'  esteeming 
h™,  despatched  the  m?ssente's  K       °PP?«"nity  of  ser^^nf 
couple  of  kids,  male  and  fem^Te  ,  r 'i  ""''  "><^  ^^^s,  a,  d  f 
ou^of  the  Discovery.  '='"^''''  *''"=''  '^'ere  spared  for  him 

?e:rrl:'^r'""-"-^'°ofot;:?r  tif-"  "^^^nt  from 

desirous  of  continuincr  with  the  Fn   -  ?^^^^^T  ^ere  extremely 

and  resigned  himselC  thouo-hn^^-f ""'''"''  '"  'hese  islands 

Stance,  to  end  his  days  ^  e/s*'*5"' ^°™« 'K-ree  of  re-' 

The  other  had  formed  so  s't  o„?f  ""'"  ,P'™'>'  i"  Huaheine 

ors,  that  it  was  necessary   o  take  e."^^'™'^"'  to  the  naXa 

"rry  Mm,  ashore  by  force      fl','   ^™  °"'  "f  ""=  ship,  and 

pamful  as  he  was  a  ImlW^Ju     '"'■''T"y  "•^■^  the  ,„o"e 

ffreat  favorfte  on  boarj'  fioTh  ^,°^'  '''"*  T  "'^^  ^C'^o""    a 

of  Omai's  family.  ''°"'  "'^se  youths  became  a  part 

Ae  h^arW^of  5hamret"nt  ''T  ^^'""^  "^  -  -chor  in 
servatories  being  set  un  nA  th    .  ."'"'"'^  °f  Uli«ea.     The  ob 
■"ents  having  b?en  carnvV^  T'  ^"^  "«=  necessary  instru' 
were  emp,    ,^j  ,.„  Lkin^altronn °-'' ,"'1  '"-^  Allowing  days 
"ight  betwpon  fi.,.   .     /'»  ''s.tronomical  observ=fi„p.     ",     P 

*  was  senti„'ii\r,5  eXjriaU:""d  "-":^-" -ari^e! 

oDser^atory,  deserted,  taking  with 


T.OO 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


him  his  arms  and  accoutrement.i.  Captain  Cook  exerted  him- 
self on  this  occasion  with  his  usual  vigor.  He  went  himself 
in  pursuit  of  the  deserter,  who,  after  some  evasion  on  the  part 
of  the  inhabitants,  was  surrendered.  He  was  found  sitting 
between  two  women,  with  the  musket  lying  before  him ;  and 
all  the  defence  he  was  able  to  make  was  chat  he  had  been  en- 
ticed away  by  the  natives.  As  this  account  \yas  probably  the 
truth,  as  it  appeared  he  had  remained  upon  his  post  till  within 
ten  rninutes  of  the  time  when  he  was  to  have  been  relieved, 
the  punishment  which  the  captain  inflicted  upon  him  was  not 
very  severe. 

The  last  of  the  Society  Islands  was  Bolabola,  where  they 
arrived  on  the  8th  of  December.  The  chief  view  in  passing 
over  to  this  island  was  to  procure  from  its  monarch,  Opoony, 
an  anchor  which  M.  De  Bougainville  had  lost  at  Otaheite, 
and  which  had  been  conveyed  to  Bolabola.  It  was  not  from 
a  want  of  anchors  that  Captain  Cook  was  desirous  of  making 
the  purchase,  but  to  convert  the  iron  of  which  it  consisted 
into  a  fresh  assortment  of  trading  articles,  these  being  now 
very  i  luch  exhausted.  The  captain  succeeded  in  his  nego- 
tiation,  and    amply   rewarded    Opoony   for   giving   up  the 

anchor.  .         ^       . 

Although  seventeen  months  had  elapsed  since  Captain 
Cook's  departure  from  England,  during  which  time  he  had 
not,  upon  the  whole,  been  unprofitably  employed,  he  was 
sensible  that,  with  respect  to  the  principal  obj-ctof  his  in- 
structions, it  was  now  only  the  commencement  of  his  voyage; 
and  that,  'therefore,  his  attention  was  to  be  called  anew  to 
every  circumstance  which  might  contribute  towards  the  safety 
of  the  crew  and  the  ultimate  success  of  the  expedition.  Ac- 
cordingly, he  had  examined  into  the  state  of  the  provisions 
whilst  lie  was  at  the  Society  Islands ;  and,  as  soon  as  he  had 
left  them,  and  had  gotten  beyond  the  extent  of  his  former  dis- 
coveries, he  ordered  a  survey  to  be  taken  of  all  the  boat- 
swain's and  carpenter's  stores  which  were  in  the  ships,  that 
he  might  be  fully  informed  of  their  quantity  and  condifion, 
and  by  that  means  know  how  to  use  them  to  the  greatest 

advantage.  .     , 

It  was  on  the  8th  of  December,  the  very  day  on  which  he 
had  touched  there,  that  the  commander  sailed  from  Bolabola. 
;'i  the  night  between  the  2 2d  and  23d  he  crossed  the  hne,  in 
the  longitude  of  203°  15'  east,  and  on  the  241!!  land  was  uis 


CAPTAIN   cook's   VOYAGES.  '' 

the  28th,  an  eclipse  of  the  sunw.K'^"!^'  ''"^  ^^^^' «" 
of  the  season  of  the  year  the  "f  observed.  On  account 
he  judged  to  be  ^Llt%t^^^^^^  '^^  land,  which 

ference,  Christmas  Island  '^'''>'  ^-^S:ues  in  circum- 

On  the  2d  of  januarv  i77«  th.     u-  > 

to  the  northwari  and  ^ho^u^Jl  tetflvideT^'  """^  ™"^- 
the  vicinity  of  laud  none  wL  ^,1^^'='^*'  evidences  occurred  of 

an  island  made  its  appeamnc^l  "^•'"''  ""  ">«  '^th,  when 
Soon  after  more  land  ?Ja,  s^en  hW  i"^  "^^f^^'  ^y  «^«- 
entirely  detached  from  tl'e  farmer  Vh^"^'  "^?  "°'-*'  ='"d 
distin.^.uished  by  the  discovery  rf.  Ih  ?"<^'='=,^*ng  day  was 
tion  of  west-northwes    and  a,l  "''"'*  '"  "'«•  *rec- 

reach.  I„  steering  tovv.rds  the  t  T",  ''f  *<=  «>"=  ™"W 
doubt  whether  the^a°,d  before  rh.  "'^"^  "'^y  '>''*  some 
matter  was  speedilyXred  uV  bv  H^'  '"'^=''^''"=<^ '  ''"' *is 
canoes  from  the  sho're,  c^nainiLl*'!,  ?!«;"»  ."^  °^  '""'' 

toS'ls;  tr;-i*het^'S^.  ^7^T^^^ 

tnr"?-fii-;|nrnlS--"--''^ 
the  northward.     The  Ion',,  lo!; '7  '""''"'^'^  *<=!■•  ^"■-se  to 

was  seen  on  the  7th  of  4°d^,t  V"""'^  °^  '^"'  '^"''°" 
latitude  of  44»  33- north  a,  d  n  Vl  ,  'P'  >"'"?  tiien  in  the 
As  the  vessels  ran/.Talo"  /  he  we'T'''^.^''^"' ^^5°  =0'  east. 
tan,  Cook  gave  names  to  seve  .?!  IT  '"^''/f  ^""'"''''  Cap- 
appeared  in  sight.  At  len.nh  ^I'^P'^'^  ""'^  ['badlands  whiih 
to  an  anchor  afan  inlet  vl  f  e  th"  f'  '«"''  "^^  '^P'^'"  came 
differed  much  from  what  had  bee!, ?P'^7"'^'=  °f  "'«  country 
"fountains,  the  summit,  -  which  ,  "  '"^^°''^'  ^"'"^  f""  "f 
-vhile  the  valleys  betwe,,;hl,''t,";r''  '^"^•'■•'■>=d  "ith  sncw 

coast  high  as^vell  as  io..,:  w™c  'coveref  t""^'  °"  ",'«  ^'=^- 
breadth  w  th  hinh  stral-rhf  „  '^°Y«"-n  to  a  considerable 
Ifospect,  as  of  ot  vas^te  r'N^''"''  '°™^^  ^  ''^^""^"1 
that  the  coast  was  inhab  ted  fn,l  ,  '  ™""=diately  (otmd 
R;=solution  three  canoT,  cont^  r in  ■^'°""  '^""=  "^  '"  *« 
»■  '0  could  not.  however  be  nrevn-;  I  ■"'"'-''^"  "^  "''^  "«i^e=. 
wives  on   bo..,rd       m;;.  '  Jl  P^^f.-'e-J  tip^n  to  venture  then,. 

peaceable  dispo'sition,  'showH  g  eli  ^^l^jine^^  ^^P'^^yod^ 

^rcdc  readiness  to  pare  with 


I02 


AXTAIiCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


anything  they  had  in  exchange  for  what  was  offered  them,  and 
expressed  a  stronger  desire  for  iron  than  for  any  other  of  our 
commercial  articles,  appearing  to  be  perfectly  acquainted  with 
the  use  of  that  metal. 

The  ships  naving  found  an  excellent  inlet  the  coasts  of 
which  appeared  to  be  inhabited  by  a  race  of  people  who  wej^ 
disposed  tu  maintain  a  friendly  intercourse  with  strangers, 
Captain  Cook's  first  object  was  to  search  for  a  commodious 
harbor,  and  he  had  litde  trouble  in  discovering  what  he 
wanted.  A  trade  having  immediately  commenced,  the  articles 
which  the  inhabitants  offeree'  for  sale  were  the  skins  of  various 
animals,  such  as  bears,  wolves,  foxes.  Jeer,  raccoons,  and 
polecats.  To  '.h  :.e  were  added  the  skins  in  their  native 
shape,  garments  made  of  them,  anothe--  sort  of  clothing  formed 
from  the  bark  of  a  iree,  and  various  lifT^rent  pieces  of  work- 
manship. But  of  all  6^  ihe  articles  brought  to  market,  the 
most  extraordinary  were  human  skulls,  and  hands  not  yet 
quite  stripped  of  dieir  flesh,  some  of  which  had  evident  marks 
of  their  having  been  upon  the  fire.  The  things  which  the 
natives  took  in  exchange  for  their  commodities  were  knives, 
chisels,  pieces  of  iron  and  tin,  nails,  looking-glasses,  buttons, 
or  any  kind  of  metal.  Glass  beads  did  not  strike  their  imag- 
inations, and  cloth  of  every  sort  they  rejected.  Though  com- 
merce in  general  was  carried  on  with  mutual  honesty,  there 
were  some  among  these  people  w^ho  were  as  much  inclined 
to  thieving  as  the  islanders  in  the  Southern  Ocean. 

On  Captaiii  Cook's  first  arrival  in  this  inlet  he  had  honored 
it  with  the  name  of  King  George's  Sound,  but  he  afterwards 
found  that  it  is  called  Nootka  by  the  natives. 

On  the  26th  of  April,  the  repairs  of  the  ships  having  been 
completed,  everything  was  ready  for  the  captain's  departure. 
When  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day  the  vessels  were  upon  the 
point  of  sailing,  the  metcury  in  the  barometer  fell  Ui'usualiy 
low,  and  there  was  every  other  presage  of  an  approaching 
storm,  which  might  reasonably  be  expected  to  come  from  the 
southward.  This  circumstance  induced  the  commander  in 
some  degree  to  Jiesitate.  and  especially  as  night  was  at  hand. 
whether  he  should  venture  to  sail  or  wait  till  the  next  morn- 
ing. But  his  anxious  impatience  io  proceed  upon  the  voy- 
age, and  the  fear  of  losing  the  present  op^  ortunity  of  getting 
out  of  the  sound,  made  a  greater  impression  upon  his  mind 
than  any  apprehension  of  immecaatc  oangcr.     t.  iC  determinec! 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES.  ' 

into  execution' that  eve"  it'"' He  w:*"^'^  P"''^d  his  design 
pectations  of  a  storm.  Sc%rcdvZrl  T  ''""""""^  '"  his  ex- 
sound  before  the  wind  incr^'ed  J!  !,  ''  '"'f '^  °"'  °f  'he 
and  ram,  accompanied  by  so  dart-  i-  'i""  *^  '  "'*  '1"^"' 
si.ps  could  not  be  seen  HaSoilv  H,  ^  *"',*'^ '«"g">  °f  «he 
that  blew  them  from  the  coaVt"}t  h  """u  ^°°^  ^  '^'■■'=«i°n 
to  a  perfect  hurricane,  anci  tl  'e  R^so^n'^th  the  .en;,e3t  rose 
no  matenal  damage  ensued       '**='°'""°"  ^P^ng  a  leak,  but 

par;uV^/SnfS;a'lt^ra^?f  'T^5'^  ^'f- his  de- 

east      Hename?,\t;e'stland    '""^  '""^""de  of  .,6"  Vs' 

-^t  an  inlet,  where  f-N^  d,: 
and  to  which  Captii  r„'T'  "''"""  f"  ^"  anchor  on  the  i-th 
William's  Sound  he  lmf°°'',S"«  'he  appellation  of  P  i'nce 
the  leak  which  tl  e  Re'oHft",°PP°«"""y  "°'  ""'^  °f  stoppi,'" 
and  of  prosecuting  hi,  nauHcal  »  ,'''™"S^  '"  'he  late  storm° 
but  of  making  con^id^rab  e  addkbnft°„^"P|'""'  ^--erie"' 
inhab.tants  of  the  American  coasV  '^"""-'edge  of  die 

which  was  made  concernin,T  Z  't/      'r  7'^''^  observation 
part  of  the  coast  it  appeared  t"  ft,?"?  °(""=  "^''^<^^  "f  'his 
blance  to  those  of  th^'ksq  lau^"'^^,  '•^'"  =>  ,^'*ing  resem- 
canoes,  their  weapons,  and    iTelrlsM    *^''^'="'?"ders.     Their 
huntmg  are  likewise  exactly  de  san^"'""'  '^^  ''^hing  and 
and  construction,  that  are  use  Mn T.I'   ?  '•^"'"'  "^  "«terials 
.n  the  neighborhood  of  Prince  WillSm'."^''"''-.  ^^'^  ^"™^1^ 
eral,  sumlar  to  those  which  are  V.    T  \?o""d  were,  in  gen- 
most  beautiful  skins  here  ofeed  ?o  "  ,'^°°*''-     0"<=  °f  the 
of  a  small  animal,  which  seemed  to  b        '"  v '  however,  that 
Anderson  was  inclined  to  thi^k  th,?  V  ■  PT"''^*" '°  'he  place, 
described  under  the  name  o  "L  Cafan'M^  '"™=''  "'"^h  is 
On  the  27th  of  [une   ,,,q  ','-='"'" .Marmot. 

known  by  the  nam^e  o"'  Ooitfe''?''''^,  \"  '^'^"'^  'h"  is 
behaved  with  a  de^^ree  of  n„r!  '  '*"  '"habitants  of  which 
tribes.  A  young  man  who  had  ,'"'fv""'°"™°"  to  sava'e 
by  this  accident  to  come  on  b^ard  tL  'l''"°'^'  ^'"^  obliged 
Captam  Cook's  cabin  upon  The  fir.,  •  "-P'  "="'  d°»"  hito 
P'-essing  tiie  least  reluctanr^  „l  invitation  without  ex- 

being  wet  the  capta^ga^e  h  m  01"""'      ^'-^  °*"  ^'«h^s 

'""^^  ^^^^'J  as  much  ease  a«   inxrC-  %'•  ,       '""  "e  aressed 

as  any  Enghshman  could  have 


Y04. 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


done.  From  the  behavior  of  this  youth,  and  that  of  some  of 
the  rest  of  the  natives,  it  was  evident  that  these  people  were 
no  strangers  to  Europeans  and  to  several  of  their  customs. 
There  was  something,  however,  in  the  English  ships  that 
greatly  excited  their  attention,  for  such  as  could  not  come  off 
in  canoes  assembled  on  the  neighboring  hills  to  look  at  them. 
In  one  instance  it  was  apparent  that  the  inhabitants  were  so 
far  from  having  made  any  progress  in  politeness  that  they 
were  still  immersed  in  the  most  savage  manners.  Soon  after 
the  vessels  had  come  to  an  anchor  at  Oonalaska,  a  native  of 
the  island  brought  on  board  such  another  note  as  had  been 
given  to  Captain  Gierke.  He  presented  it  to  Captain  Cook ; 
but,  as  it  was  written  in  the  Russian  language,  and  could  be 
of  no  use  to  the  English,  though  it  might  be  of  consequence 
to  others,  the  captain  returned  it  to  the  bearer  and  dismissed 
him  with  a  few  presents,  for  which  he  expressed  his  thanks  by 
making  several  low  bows  as  he  retired. 

On  the  3d  of  August  they  had  advanced  to  the  latitude  of 
62°  34'.  A  great  loss  was  sustained  by  them  in  the  death  of 
Anderson,  the  sur^^-eon  of  the  Resolution,  who  had  been  lin- 
gering under  a  <  sumption  for  more  than  twelve  months. 
He  was  a  young  -an  of  a  cultivated  understandmg  and 
agreeable  manners,  a..d  was  well  skilled  in  his  own  profession; 
besides  which  he  had  acquired  a  considerable  degree  of 
knowledge  in  other  branches  of  science.  How  useful  an  as- 
sistant he  was  to  Captain  Cook  has  often  appeared  in  the 
present  narrative,  and  is  fully  displayed  in  the  voyage  at  large. 
Soon  after  he  had  breathed  his  last,  land  having  been  seen  at 
a  distance,  which  was  supposed  to  be  an  island,  they  honored 
it  with  the  appellation  of  Anderson's  Island.  The  next  day 
he  removed  Law,  the  surgeon  of  the  Discovery,  into  the  Res- 
olution, and  appointed  Samwell,  the  surgeon's  first  mate  of 
the  Resolution,  to  be  surgeon  of  the  Discovery. 

On  the  9th  the  captain  anchored  under  a  point  of  land  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  and  which 
is  remarkable  by  being  the  most  western  extremity  of  Amer- 
ica hitherto  explored.  This  extremity  is  distant  from  the 
eastern  Cape  of  Siberia  only  thirteen  leagues,  and  thus  had 
the  glory  of  ascertaining  the  vicinity  of  the  two  continents, 
which  had  only  been  conjectured  from  the  reports  of  the 
neighboring  Asiatic  inhabitants,  and  the  imperfect  observa- 
tions of  the  Russian  navigators. 


CAPTAIN   cook's   VOYAGES.  ' 

inaC thf  lat^T^Sv^^^:^  ?'''"'  ^-^  -herd 
of  the  island  of  Alaska  which  was  1^■TPf  """^  '°  ^^  "  Part 
■nap.  But.  from  the  %ure  of  th^c J  f  ''°"'?  '"  Sta^hfin's 
the  opposite  shore  oAmerkltnTr'  ^T  '¥  ^""ation  of 
caplam  soon  be^an  to  think^,  '^'°"'  *<=  longitude  the 

of  the  Tchucl<tcfc  on  °he  eastern?  T""^-  ^'"^'^^y  '^e  country 
been  explored  by  Behring In T,"  «  r^^^  "^t'^' ^'"^h  ha^ 
that  th,s  was  in  fact  the  else  ""^  '■^'"''  «  appeared 

..fonSt%-r?asan^ittlt'  "'^>'--^''  -  '"e 
ofAmenca.  After  that  proceeding  fnfl  '''"■'=!'  '°  "'«  -^oast 
on  the  ,  7th  the  latitude  of  ,0"  *"»  '^  "\';  P""''.  "'ey  reached 

was  observed  in  the  northern  hori.on    ;t"%f ''^  ^  brightness 
fleeted  from  ice  inrl  ;=  „  "orizon,  lil<e  that  which  i=  ro 

at  first  but  little  noticed  from?''  ''"'^•"'<=  ^link      Uis  was" 
probability  of  meetln|  w  ^4  7'T"°"  ''f'  "'^^'^  «as 7o 
ness  of  the  air  and  ?he  dooming        r"  \^"'^  >"='  ">«  sharp- 
two  or  three  days  pasfsefmed  to    L'    !^'  ""^"'"^^  ''^^  ^^ 
^l  about  an  hours'^time  the  si<^^t  "f "T  ""  'i'^''^"  '^'^ange. 
Captain  Cook  no  lonirer  in  1  ff    •  [  ^  '""■««  fi<='d  of  ice  left 
tl-e  brightness  of  Sorizon      Tr^*,  "^^^d  '°  ''><=  ^auL  o? 
noon,  being  then  in  the  latitude  S  70 'T,-'  '"  "'^=^■"«  ^'^er- 
edge  of  the  ice,  and  not  ab le  ,n    /    i'^' '  '"^"^  '^'ose  to  the 
■he  1 8th  when  the  vess°  s  were  in   he"!?!'  T'  l^"'^^'"-     On 
■.ce  on  the  side  of  them  was  a!  ?  ^'""'''^  "^  70"  44',  the 

judged  to  be  at  least  t"n  or  twelveT,"- "^  ^  "^"'  ''"^  was 
to  the  north  it  appeared  to  be  much  IT\  '"  ''?«'"'     farther 

"Pon  the  ice,rd  sL!AToTT'  °^-'-- <]  ? 
for  food,  there  bein<r  at  fhi,  l^  '"^  '9''''  were  procured 

When  the  animalsVe  e  ^ro  Z  m" t,"' "'  '''f'  P™"^'"- 
mall  disappointment  to  many  of  thf      ^  ''^''^'^'  ''  "as   no 
their  eyes  for  several  davTw^h  ,h      ''''""^"' '"'"'  had  feasted 
'0  find  that  they  were  It   '.^  ""*=  P^'P"^"  °f  eating  them 
but  sea-horses.     This  disaoootr""'  ^'  "'^>'  ^""^  supposed' 
occasioned  or  the  differenceTnowThadTh'"  ""'  '',^^'  be- 
to  be  one  or  two  sailors  on  board  wl,^  1,  J  r*"  "°'  happened 
and  who  declared  what  these  anl^^I      ""^  ^'"'"  '"  Greenland, 
was  customary  to  eat  them^^^  ^^Z:^^"!^  '"at  it  neve; 
■        change  o,  ci,et  as  to  overcome' this"p;:-;;dlcr'The^ 


io6 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


lived  upon  the  sea-horses  as  long  as  they  lasted,  and  there 
were  few  who  did  not  prefer  them  to  the  salt  nu-at. 

Captain  Cook  continued  to  the  29th  to  traverse  the  icy  sea 
beyond  Behring  Strait  in  various  directions  and  through 
numberless  obstructions  and  difficulties.  Every  day  the  ice 
increased  so  as  to  preclude  all  hopes  of  attaining,  at  least 
during  the  present  year,  the  grand  object  of  the  voyage.  The 
season  was  now  so  far  advanced,  and  the  time  in  which  the 
frost  was  expected  to  set  in  was  so  near  at  hand,  that  it  would 
have  been  totally  inconsistent  widi  prudence  to  have  made 
any  further  attempts  till  the  next  summer  at  finding  a  passage 
into  the  Adantic.  The  attention  was  now  directed  to  other 
important  and  necessary  concerns.  It  was  of  great  conse- 
quence to  meet  with  a  place  where  they  might  be  supplied 
with  wood  and  water.  But  die  point  which  principally  occu- 
pied the  captain's  dioughts  was  how  he  should  spend  the 
winter  so  as  to  make  some  improvements  in  geography  and 
navigation,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  be  in  a  condition  to  re- 
turn  to  the  north  in  further  search  of  a  passage  in  the  ensu- 
ing summer. 

Before  Captain  Cook  proceeded  far  to  the  south  he  em- 
ployed a  considerable  time  in  examining  the  sea  and  coasts 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Behring  Strait,  both  on  the  side  of 
Asia  and  America.  In  this  examination  he  ascertained  the 
accuracy  of  Behring  so  far  as  he  went,  demonstrated  the 
errors  with  which  Stcehlin's  map  of  the  New  Northern  Archi- 
pelago abounds,  and  made  large  additions  to  the  geographical 
knowledge  of  this  part  of  the  world. 

On  the  2d  of  October,  1778,  they  came  withm  sight  of  the 
island  of  Oonalaska,  and  anchored  the  next  day  in  Sarnga- 
noodha  Harbor.  Here  the  first  concern  was  to  put  the  ships 
under  the  necessary  repair ;  and,  while  the  carpenters  were 
employed  in  this  business,  one-third  of  the  crew  had  permis- 
sion, by  turns,  to  go  and  collect  the  berries  with  which  the 
island  abounds,  and  which,  though  now  beginning  tobe  in  a 
state  of  decay,  did  not  a  litde  contribute,  in  conjunction  with 
spruce-beer,  effectually  to  eradicate  every  seed  of  scurvy  that 
might  exist  in  either  of  the  vessels.  Such  a  supply  of  fish 
was  likewise  procured,  as  not  only  served  for  present  con- 
sumpdon,  but  afforded  a  quandty  to  be  carried  out  to  sea ;  so 
that  hence  a  considerable  saving  was  made  of  the  p/ovisions 
of  the  ships,  wnicn  wab  ut  uiib  time  an  xj^j\,^i  oi  ..iij  '/.—*--• 


\A.*tir\rp. 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S    VOYAGES. 

ent,  wl  ,ch  was  that  of  a  ryefoafo'^r^''^' "''"«'''■•'■■  P--"- 
of  a  loaf,  for  it  inclosed  ZmllZ„'^",  ?  P'«  "'  '1"^  form 
P'Pper.     This  man  had  a  I  L-!  °"  '"S'''y  seasoned  with 

and  a  note  for  each  of  the  two^aS:"  '°'  ^^P'^'"  ^"'-kt 
which  none  on  b    ird  could  „n,f?'  T'""'"  '"  «  diaracter 
suppose  that  the  presents  cam.  T'"""'-     "  "'"-^  '"tural  to 
ncghborhood  ;  and  therefore  "f<-     t!"   '""'  ^"'''•''"■''  "•  "'° 
porter  were  sent  to  thise  unk„own  fri°"  '"'^"^  ^"'"'  *"'<-'  ^^ 
nghtly  juda:ed  that  such  ardc  es  tonfl  ,'  '"  '■•^'"™  ■  "  ''^'^''^S 
than  anythinsj  else.     Corpor  1  •  edTa.d   ,f  H  "'""^  ."^-^'Ptable 
teli.gent  man,  was,  at  the  same't^  „  ^      the  marines,  an  in- 
Derramoushk  for  the  purpo  e  of    ,  nln     f  "f  '°  ''^^'npany 
and  w,th  orders,  if  he  me   wTth  an'v  Rn?     "  '1^  '"'°'-'"^tion  ; 
endeavor  to  make  them  unJe    tind  ^Z"'T"'  "'^'  ''^  ''">"^'> 
men,  and  the  friends  and  alhes  oTi  •       '-^^^  "'^'"'^  t:"J.'hsh. 
the  corporal  returned  with   1  ree  R  ,  ''''  "'"™-     '^"  "»=  'oth 
who,  w,th  several  others,  re   ded  it  pt"  '??""'  °''  ''^"■'•'■efs, 
had  a  dwellinsf-house  snm„  t!        1      %oochshac,  where  thev 
thirty  tons  bSrtheT'  One  of^their '''  '"^  ^  ^'°°P  "f '-"bou' 
or  mate  of  this  vessel;  anotl  e    of  ,1^""  ""'  •="''"  '"^''er 
hand,  and  was  acquainted  wlrfi  '*''"  "^'^  ■''  ^'ery  irood 
sensible  and  well' be  Laved  p 'r^r"' i  ='"'' ^"  °f 'hen' tvere 
,^;Pf  "j  Cook  every  possiSe  d";;e:  o/i?,?  ''""y  '°  ^-'e 
great  difficulty  in  thfe  rerentl^^  ,  j  information.     The 
gence  arose  f^om  the  vanroran  ht"'"'"'""'"=^"'''"  "^  ""'"^ 
Russian    landed    at    OonLlask"   vh''?''""'-     «"  *«  ,4th  a 
Gregorioff  Sin  Ismylofi;  and  who   r/.%r"'""^-  ™^    ^msim 
among  his  countrymen  in  tWrand  til        P.T^P''''  P«'-='°" 
Besides  the  intelligence  wl  i.h  fi         1    "eighboring  i,  iands 
versations  with  Ismyloff  and  which"^'  "^""""^  ''"'"'•«  con- 
assisted  by  figures  and  nT         ''  ""'■'=  '^^'''•'ecl  on  by  ,1,^, 
him  the  silht^of  two  char°    r'd'''^''""^^^'  "'^V  obtained  fom 
Both  or  them  were  malms'  ,Ws'=rncrr'"'='^  to  copy  th^ 
»uthenticity.     The  first  included  ,h»   of-  "'''y  "'^--k  of 
oast  of  Tartary  down    to   the  u^i'^'^t'''^'''"  Sea;  the 
Islands  and  the  peninsu'a  of  iJj  .    1.'''',°'^  4i°;  the   Kuril 
second  chart  tbatlas  the  mo3t  inr^''?"'"-     ^"'  "  ^^^s  the 
font  comprehended  all  tl,c  dTs  overief  "^,'\^"P'^'"  Cook! 
:,.*.lf''^'";-d  of  Kamtscha  ka  Z\'^d"'''--^""  ^"^^-"^ 
"'  """""''""^y  °'  "-  voyages  of thr^ranTtsdS 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


2.5 
2.2 


L25  i  1.4 


20 


1.8 


1.6 


% 


^%>^' 
<p^  3 


^"  <^ 


om 


Sciences 
Corporation 


^'^ 


<^ 


<^ 


o^ 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716;  372-4503 


t^i'-fe 


'  % 


io8 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


koff,  amounted  to  little  or  nothing.  Indeed,  all  the  people 
with  whom  the  captain  conversed  at  Oonalaska  agreed  in 
assuring  him,  over  and  over  again,  that  they  knew  of  no 
other  islands,  besides  those  which  were  laid  down  upon  this 
chart ;  and  that  no  Russian  had  ever  seen  any  part  of  the 
continent  of  America  to  the  northward,  excepting  that  which 
lies  opposite  to  the  country  of  the  Tchucktchis. 

When,  on  the  21st,  Ismyloff  took  his  final  leave.of  the  Eng- 
lish navigators  they  intrusted  to  his  care  a  letter  to  the  Lords 
Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty,  in  which  was  enclosed  a 
chart  of  all  the  northern  coasts  the  captain  had  visited.  It 
was  expected  that  there  would  be  an  opportunity  of  sending 
this  letter,  in  the  ensuing  spring,  to  Kamtschatka  or  Ochotsk, 
and  that  it  would  reach  Petersburg  during  the  following  win- 
ter. Ismyloff,  who  faithfully  and  successfully  discharged  the 
trust  reposed  in  him,  seemed  to  possess  abilities  that  might 
entide  him  to  a  higher  station  in  life  than  that  which  he  occu- 
pied. He  had  a  considerable  knowledge  of  astronomy,  and 
was  acquainted  with  the  most  useful  branches  of  the  mathe- 
matics. Captain  Cook  made  him  a  present  of  an  Hadley's 
octant;  and,  though  it  was  probably  the  first  he  had  ever 
seen,  he  understood,  in  a  very  short  time,  the  various  uses  to 
which  that  instrument  can  be  applied. 

While  the  ships  lay  at  Oonalaska  they  did  not  neglect  to 
make  a  diligent  inquiry  into  the  productions  of  the  island, 
and  the  general  manners  of  the  inhabitants. 

All  things  having  been  gotten  ready  for  his  departure, 
Captain  Cook  put  to  sea  on  the  26th  day  of  October,  1 778, 
for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  it  being  his  intention  to  spend  a  lew 
months  there  and  then  to  direct  his  course  to  Kamtschatka,  so 
as  to  endeavor  to  reach  that  country  by  the  middle  of  May 
in  the  ensuing  summer. 

On  the  26th  of  November,  when  the  ships  had  proceeded 
southward  till  they  came  to  the  latitude  of  20°  55',  land  was 
discovered,  which  proved  to  be  an  island  of  the  name  of 
Mowee,  that  had  not  hitherto  been  visited.  It  is  one  of  the 
group  of  the  Sandwich  Islands.  As  it  was  of  the  last  im- 
portance to  procure  a  supply  of  provisions  at  these  islands, 
and  experience  had  taught  them  that  they  could  have  no 
chance  of  succ^  jding  in  this  object  if  it  were  left  to  every 
man's  discietion  to  traffic  for  what  he  pleased,  and  in  what 
manner  he  pleased,  the  captain  published  an  order  prohibiting 


)roceeded 
land  was 
name  of 
ne  of  the 
z  last  im- 
;e  islands, 
I  have  no 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES        " 
11  '  109 

pointenrhimsdf'and"(SDtafnT;"^  ="=''  ^'  ^''<"<'d  be  an 
were  enjoined  to  trade  onTy  t  ^  ^^'j!:  ^ven  these  persZ 
Wh,le  they  lay  off  MoJeXbkh'T.%^"'^  --efresfiments. 
friendly  intercourse  was  main,,-     J     "f^  '°''  ^ome  davs    a 

Another  island  4rd'CS  on  r''*!'"''*'''^"^^^ 
by  the  natives  Owhyhee     As  ^  .l"""  ^?'^'  ^^"=^  ''^  called 
extent  and  importance  than  anJV Xt?''  '°  >?.  °f  greater 
been  visited  in  this  part  of  the  w„.M  J-^"'^^  *'"'=''  had  yet 
Whi^r^'"  weeks  in  sailing  round  and  'P'''^^°°''  =P«" 
While  he  was  thus  employed  the  inhahit»  ?™"""^  "'  "^"^^t' 
time  to  time  in  their  <Snoes  and  readn'    ''  "^"J^  °^  from 
In  the  conduct  of  this  business  the  Sh^-"^^^''''  '"  '^ffic. 
was  more  entirely  free  from  =,      ■■  ''^"avior  of  the  islander^ 
had  ever  yet  expLSedSr  Th"'  ^^=T^  *an  Cook 
with  whom  he  had  been  so  imimL  1*^  P!°l^'«  of  Otaheite 
nected,  had  displayed  such  a  full^o'fij  """^  repeatedly  con- 

bers  from  all  P^nJZt^erllVeZ? t""!^  '"  ^"^^  ""n,- 
around  the  two  shios  m^l,  „f  .u        °'  '"^^^  'ban  a  thousand 
well  laden  with  Iiog^  k^d  othtord  "T"^"^  "'*  P^'e  ani 
was  a  satisfactory  proof  of  the;ff-"^'°?'  °^  *e  island.     It 
was  not  a  single  person  am^        u'"">''"'«""°ns  that  there 
weapon  of  an?  kiSd     tradra"„*d  '^"^  ^^°  ^^  with  him  a 
'0  be  the  motives  which  actua?.^",7°-"y  ^'°"«  ^ppearTne 
such  multitudes  as  at  times  wen        T  '°."'^""-    ^mon? 
deemed  surprising  that  some  sfT^^M  T  ^°"'^  "  will  not  bl 
s.t.on.    One  of  them  tookTut  Zht  r'^'T  ^  *'^"'^''  *spo! 
der  and  made  off  with  it  so  =„„  j-i     J^'-^o'i'ion  a  boat's  rud- 
'o-ered.      Captain   Cook    1^^  ^' "  T'''  ""^  ^Vrl 
opportunityofshovvingtheseDfonl      '   '°   \^   ^   favorable 
accordingly  he  orderef  two  ortTrt       "f  °f  ^'-e-arms,  and 
four-pounders  to  be  fired  over  the  cln"'"?  ^"^  "^  '"^"7 
rudder     It  not  being  intenid  Lf"         ''r'u '^^''"'^d  off  the 
ake  effect,  the  surroSndin- mul,    ,j     7  S*^  "'^  =''°'  should 

tad  been  examinedt'''BliMT'  '^  ^"."u"*"^  ''"  ">«  bay  -vhich 
4e  '"habitants  it  dKr.K^'''''^''  '^  '^^"^d  Krakatoa  bv 
™uch  crowded  with  L^^fe/LTd  ^.e'Jrr-^. -"E'-f  to  bl 

•■'-"=  -  canoes.     Cap.in  Cook,'  in^h^Se" Tou^;*  ^^^ 


no 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


voyages,  had  never  seen  so  numerous  a  body  of  people  as- 
sembled in  one  place.  For,  besides  those  who  had  come  off 
to  the  ship  in  their  canoes,  all  the  shore  of  the  bay  was  cov- 
ered with  spectators  and  many  hundreds  were  swimming 
round  like  shoals  of  fish.  The  navigators  could  not  avoid 
being  greatly  impressed  with  the  singularity  of  this  scene,  and 
perhaps  there  were  few  on  board  that  now  lamented  the  want 
of  success  which  had  attended  the  endeavors  of  .getting 
homeward  the  last  summer  by  a  northern  passage.  "To  this 
disappointment,"  says  the  captain,  "  we  owed  our  having  it  in 
our  power  to  revisit  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  to  enrich  the 
voyage  with  a  discovery  which,  though  the  last,  seemed  in 
many  respects  to  be  the  most  important  that  had  hidierto 
been  made  throughout  the  extent  of  the  Pacific  Ocean." 

The  reception  which  the  captain  met  with  from  the  natives 
on  his  proceeding  to  anchor  in  Krakatoa  Bay  was  flattering 
in  the  highest  degree.  They  came  off  from  the  shore  in  as- 
tonishing tiumbers  and  expressed  their  joy  by  singing  and 
shouting  and  by  exhibiting  a  variety  of  wild  and  extravagant 
gestures. 

During  the  long  cruise  off  the  island  of  Owhyhee  the  in- 
habitants had  almost  universally  behaved  with  great  fairness 
and  honesty  in  their  dealings  and  had  not  shown  the  slightest 
propensity  to  theft.  But  after  the  arrival  of  the  Resolution 
and  Discovery  in  Krakatoa  Bay  the  case  was  greatly  altered. 
The  immense  crowd  of  islanders  that  blocked  up  every  part 
of  the  ships  not  only  afforded  frequent  opportunities  of  pil- 
fering without  risk  of  detection,  but  held  out,  even  if  they 
should  be  detected,  a  prospect  of  escaping  with  impunity  from 
the  superiority  of  their  numbers. 

Soon  after  the  Resolution  had  gotten  into  her  station 
Pareea  and  Kaneena  brought  on  board  a  third  chief,  named 
Koah,  who  was  represented  as  being  a  priest  and  as  having 
in  his  early  youth  been  a  distinguished  warrior.  In  the  even- 
ing Captain  Cook,  attended  by  Bayley  and  King,  accompanied 
Koah  on  shore.  Upon  this  occasion  the  captain  was  received 
with  very  peculiar  and  extraordinary  ceremonies,  with  cere- 
monies that  indicated  the  highest  respect  on  the  part  of  the 
natives  and  which,  indeed,  seemed  to  fall  litde  short  of 
adoration. 

Early  on  the  4th  the  ships  sailed  out  of  Krakatoa  Bay,  be- 
ing followed  by  a  large  number  of  canoes.     It  was  the  com 


CAmiN  COOK'S  VOYAGES.        „  ,„ 

ter  sheltered  than  ti.e  ba;  heTadl^rV"^  T"'  =»  ™ad  bet- 
succeedmg  i„  this  respect  he  nnrn''     i  ''''^'-     '"  "^^se  of  not 

should  find  an  excellent  harbor  '™'  ""^"™«d  'hat  he 

ine  circumstances  whiVh  1,^^     r..  ,-. 
Krakatoa  Bay  and  the  unh.„     "^'^  ^^^P'^''"  Cook  back  tc 

gerous  manner  that'^Captain  Co^l   w/^'^r^'r  '"'^  ^  dan- 

was  Cooaha,  a  priest.     Ae  had  h^  1'  ''^"''-     Amon^  C° 
cocoanuts  in  his  h.-.nd,  which  af,e?hf'  '  'T^"  P'S  «"d  som^ 
ences,  he  presented  to  Can  kfn  O  ''f  "S.^'i^nted  a  fexv  sen" 
nastenedon  board  the  Reso^ut  n„  /o     'V    "^  "'^"  1'^''  «  and 
ceremony  before  CaptairCooL      °vl'''^°"l  *«  =ame  friend^ 
that  day,  we  could  not  gain°he  ha^b/,;"^,''"',''^'"  "'"^s  a^ 
chief  of  the  first  rank,  and  neLlv  re  t;  ..'"  "j«  afternoon  a 
US  a  visit  on  board  the  Discover      h''^''  '°  Kariopoo,  paid 
He  was  dressed  in  a  very  rSi  f"lt  "^"l^  "'a^  KameimeL 
seemed  to  have  brought  for  si  K."'"'"?'.  ''°^'^'  "'hich  he 
nothing  except  iron  da  Jers     Th^   "r'''',P^««'i'h  it  for 
before  our  departure,  R?d  preflrred  .  '"  ''''"'"^'  ^^""^  ''■"« 
having  received  a  plentiful  su'^plvo?!,  .  ^""'^  """^'^J  fw, 

'In  the  morning  of  the    itfl,  „r  n-  i. 
fored  again  in  IcVakatoa  bav  ,nd     '""'""y.  *«  '^ps  an- 
Aately  made  for  landing  the  Re^;h?ri„'^*''r'^"°"  '"''^  '■"■"«- 
.visited  but  by  few  of  tl?e  Indian?  ^        "  foremast.     We  were 
m  the  bay.    bn  our  "nTel^^'TT  '^^'^  "'^''^  b"t  few 

had  repaired  to  their  se'v^^rauL'Lr.'^^i^' '°  °'''- P-'^ 

-«-.  «wd  were  again  to 


112  ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

collect  from  various  quarters  before  we  could  expect  to  be 
surrounded  by  such  multitudes  as  we  had  once  seen  in  that 
harbor  In  the  afternoon  I  walked  about  a  mile  in  the  coun- 
try to  visit  an  Indian  friend  who  had  a  few  days  before  come 
near  twenty  miles  in  a  small  canoe  to  see  me  while  the  ship 
lay  becalmed.  As  the  canoe  had  not  left  us  long  before  a 
eale  of  wind  came  on,  I  was  alarmed  for  the  consequence ; 
however,  I  had  the  pleasure  to  find  that  my  friend  had  es- 
caped unhurt,  though  not  without  some  difficulties.  1  take 
notice  of  this  short  excursion  merely  because  it  afforded  me 
an  opportunity  of  observing  that  there  appeared  no  change 
in  the  disposition  or  behavior  of  the  inhabitants.  I  saw 
nothincr  that  could  induce  me  to  think  that  they  were  dis- 
pleased  with  our  return  or  jealous  of  the  mtention  of  our 
second  visit.  On  the  contrary,  that  abundant  good  nature 
which  had  always  characterized  them,  seemed  still  to  glow  in 
every  bosom  and  to  animate  every  countenance.^ 

"The  next  day,  February  the  12th,  the  ships  were  put 
under  taboo  by  the  chiefs,  a  solemnity,  it  seenis,  that  was 
requisite  to  be  observed  before  Kariopoo,  the  king,  paid  his 
first  visit  to  Captain  Cook  after  his  return.  He  waited  upon 
him  the  same  day,  on  board  the  Resolution,  attended  by  a 
larcre  train,  some  of  which  bore  the  presents  designed  for 
Captain  Cook,  who  received  him  in  his  usual  friendly  manner 
and  save  him  several  articles  in  return.  This  amicable  cere- 
mony being  setded,  the  taboo  was  dissolved,  matters  went  on 
in  the  usual  train,  and  the  next  day,  February  the  1 3th,  we 
were  visited  by  the  natives  in  great  numbers.  The  Resolu- 
tion's mast  was  landed,  and  the  astronomical  observatories 
erected  on  their  former  situation.  We  landed  at  the  town  ot 
Kavaroah,  where  we  found  a  great  numb  of  canoes  just 
arrived  from  different  parts  of  the  islano,  and  the  Indians 
busy  in  constructing  temporary  huts  on  the  beach  for  their 
residence  during  the  stay  of  the  ships. 

"On  our  return  on  board  of  the  Discovery  we  learned  that 
an  Indian  had  been  detected  in  stealing  the  armorer  s  tongs 
from  the  forge,  for  which  he  received  a  pretty  severe  flog- 
eing  and  was  sent  out  of  the  ship.  Notwithstanding  the  ex- 
ample made  of  this  man,  in  the  afternoon  another  had  the 
audacity  to  snatch  the  tongs  and  a  chisel  from  the  same 
place,  with  which  he  jumped  overboard  and  swam^  for  the 
shore      The  master  and  the  midshipman  were    instantly 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES.  ,,  II, 

despatched  after  him  in  a  small  cutter     Th.  T  j- 
himself  pursued  made  for  a  r=n™    u-  "*  '"^'3"  seeing 

on  board  and  paddled  as  swift  L;r°""'7r^" '"^"^  h™ 
shore;  we  fired  several  musklteaf^h^'""'''  '""^"^^  *« 
they  soon  got  out  of  the  reach  nf  !.'",;  *""  '^  "°  ^^^t.  ft"" 
the  chiefs,  the  was  at  tha^^^.  T  ']"'*,:  P^''^^''-  °"^  of 
derstanding  wh«  had  h^n„  ^?">^'■t"'^  Discovery,  un- 
promisingfobri"  tck  X   "^f^-  ™™e*ately  went  aVhore, 

far  distanced,  irchasfn"  the  ca-'"  l^-'^l  P"'  l'""  "«=  ^o 
on  board,  that  he  ha^tfme  to  maket'  ^'''  '?''""  ">«  "^'^^ 
try.  Captain  Cook,  who  Us  Ten  ,^ho  '^^5  '"'°  "'^  ™""- 
tercept  his  landing    but   '^seem?,hilT'  ^"''f  ^--^d  ^  in- 

way  by  some  of ^he  natives  who  h'dnS"-  '1  °V«  "f  the 
themse  ves  as  euides      aI  ,L  ""°^™o  officiously  intruded 

the  landing-pla^e  he  watme  bylome*  of  XTS''"^  ^^^^ 
canoe;  they  had  brouo-ht  hr.^l,k    f  ■    ^  Indians    n  a 

with  another  artide  thit  we  hL  ?"?'  ""."^  "^l^'^^'-  'ogether 
to  be  the  lid  of  the  watelcask  h'^'"'*  ^^''^  ^'PP'"'-'i 
things  he  was  returning  on  h^,A     u     "^  recovered  these 

ResSlution's  pinnTce  ;"fh  five  mel  '^?  ^'°  T^  "'t'  ''^  "><= 
orders,  had  come  frnm  ,K«  \  .^■^'  "''O'  without  any 

Being  thus  urp««X  er„ft"rh?;h"  '°J^?  ^^^'^'-- 
enough  to  insist  upon  hSth.,K-f°"S''i'''"''«'f«™"S 
took  him  in.  delivered  upTs^eprsat '  W'^  .''"°^  ^^''^ 
turned  back ;  and  havino-  fn,,n^^[  ^'"'  *"  ^''ew  he 

was  preparing  to  laui^chftiZth?^  ?"°\°"  *«  ''^^<^'"'« 
his  appJaranfe,  and  insisted  °  on  hrsn'oftrf^^^^^''  "^de 
It  was  h  s  proDertv     Th,  ^ffl-  "'  taking  it  away  as 

seized  upon  hfm^pin,-oned^k  ^  "°'  'TS'^'^S  him  the  chief 

by  the  hiir  of  th"e  head^n'Thirone'^f'th;  '"1  '"'''  '''"' 
him  with    an    oar-    Pareah    ;„.;    .i         ."^,^^''°''^  struck 

snatched  the  oar  out  rfthe  ma^s  S'an'i'""'.^  "^"  °^'^'' 
two  across  his  knee.  At  len^A  ,h.  f-'^  5"^??^'' ''' '" 
atmck  our  people  with  sto  e  f^Thermade  som/  ^■^^"  '° 
but  were  soon  overpowered  anH  nW:    !•  ?  "-esistance, 

to  the  small  cutter.Xh  lay  ?arthe^out  thrT'""''-  '^^^"^ 
The  officers  not  beincr  Pvn^-f  "^rcner  out  than  the  pinnace. 

reck  in  the  water  Xe?hevr"'"'^''  T'^^'^"^  ^^  ^  ^"^^11 

Indians.     One  ,4n  darted  ahrJ'^  '^°'''y  P^''^"^^  by  the 

his  foot  slippinci  at  the  t.WK       -^^  ?^.'.  ^'  '^^  '"^s^en  but 

saved  the  X?r's  I  fe     At  last'?*^'''^^  "^'  ^^'^^  fortunately 

end  to   their  violence     The   Jn^r^  ^"'7^"'*"^  ^"^  P"^  a" 
.^  lence.     ihe  gentlemen,  knowing  that  his 


114 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


presence  was  their  only  defence  against  the  fury  of  the 
natives,  entreated  him  to  stay  with  them  till  they  could  get 
off  in  the  boats;  but  that  he  refused  and  left  them.  The 
master  went  to  seek  assistance  from  the  party  at  the  observa- 
tories ;  but  the  midshipman  chose  to  remain  in  the  pinnace. 
He  was  very  rudely  treated  by  the  mob,  who  plundered  the 
boat  of  everything  that  was  loose  on  board,  and  then  began  to 
knock  her  to  pieces  for  the  sake  of  the  iron-work  ;  but  Pareah 
fortunately  returned  in  time  to  prevent  her  destruction.  He 
had  met  the  other  gentleman  on  his  way  to  the  observatories, 
and,  suspecting  his  errand,  had  forced  him  to  return.  He 
dispersed  the  crowd  again,  and  desired  the  gentlemen  to  re- 
turn on  board;  they  represented  that  all  the  oars  had  been 
taken  out  of  the  boat,  on  which  he  brought  some  of  them 
back,  and  the  gendemeii  were  glad  to  get  off  without  further 
molestation.  They  had  not  proceeded  far  before  they  were 
overtaken  by  Pareah  in  a  canoe ;  he  delivered  the  midship- 
man's cap,  which  had  been  taken  from  him  in  the  scuffle, 
joined  noses  with  them  in  token  of  reconciliation,  and  was 
anxious  to  know  if  Captain  Cook  would  kill  him  for  what  had 
happened.  They  assured  him  of  the  contrary,  and  made  signs 
of  friendship  to  him  in  return.  He  then  left  them  and  pad- 
dled over  to  the  town  of  Kavaroah,  and  that  was  the  last 
time  we  ever  saw  him.  Captain  Cook  returned  on  board 
soon  after  much  displeased  with  the  whole  of  this  disagree- 
able business ;  and  the  same  night  sent  a  lieutenant  on  board 
the  Discovery  to  learn  the  particulars  of  it,  as  it  had  originated 
in  that  ship. 

"  It  was  remarkable  that  in  the  midst  of  the  hurry  and  con- 
fusion attending  this  atfair,  Kanynah  (a  chief  who  had  always 
been  on  terms  particularly  friend^  with  us)  came  from  the 
spot  where  it  happened,  with  a  hug  to  sell,  on  board  of  the 
Discovery.  It  was  of  an  extraordinary  large  size,  and  he  de- 
manded for  it  a  pahowa,  or  dagger,  of  an  unusual  length. 
He  pointed  to  us  that  it  must  be  as  long  as  his  arm.  Captain 
Clerke,  not  having  one  of  that  length,  told  him  he  would  ^et 
one  made  for  him  by  the  morning,  with  which  being  satisfied 
he  left  the  hog  and  went  ashore  without  making  any  stay 
with  us„  It  will  not  be  altogether  foreign  to  the  subject  to 
mention  a  circumstance  that  happened  on  board  the  ResoKi- 
tion.  An  Indian  chief  asked  Captain  Cook  at  his  table  if  he 
was  a  Tdta  Tm,  which  means  a  fighting  man,  or  a  soldier. 


CAPTAIN   cook's   VOYAGES.  , 

a  scar  upon  it  dividin  "  C  1°"L  r "  "«'"  ^"d,  which  had 
length  of  tl,e  metacarpal  bones  Th?T  f''  ^^S?''  ""=  "''"'« 
vinced  of  his  being  a  Toa  out  thp  1  "'  ^^'"^  "'"=  <:on. 

gentleman  present!  but  h; '^,apne„ed  7o  ,'"'"='"°"  "  ^"°">« 
distinguishing  marks.  The  chief  thl  f  1  "°'^''  "^  ""^^« 
wasaToa,and  showed  the  scarf  of  !^  "'  """.  ^^  ''™«'f 
c«ved  in  battle.  Those  who  wer^  on  .?  T""''?  ''^  ''="'  '•^■ 
tones  were  disturbed  Jurin"  ,h!  „?  u  '^"^^  ^'  ""=  observa. 
choly  sounds  issuing  from  fl,eJ,'f''  ""■'',  '^"^^  ^"^  -nelan. 
took  to  be  the  lamentrons  of  t  "'  ""^«^^'''  "'"-^h  'bey 
quarrel  between  us  S  have  filled  'th™'"'^"-  .  ''•=™P»  'I^^ 
hensions  for  the  safpf5  „f  ,t  *    [     .  ''"^"'  "'"ds  w  th  appre- 

may,  their  mournful  cr^s  struck  t"he'"'''-^  Y'  ^'  ""'^^ '' 
awe  and  terror.  ™''''  "><=  sentmels  with  unusual 

th:  5hT:tk'ta';z'  &"  •:  t  "  *^  '"■'-^'  - 

swamped  at  the  buoy  of  one  of  h'^       ,^^  """^'^  "'"'^h  'ay 
fied  her  off  so  quietl   h^t  L  did  n.?'' '"^     ^'"^^  ''^^^  «^- 
mg,  Sunday.  February  the   ,J^    AT-  ''"/,""  "'^  "'°'-"- 
time  in  waiting  upon  Caotain  r„Ai,  .   P'^'"    ^^'''^e  "o'"  no 
accident;  he  ?etu?ned  on  boa^d  tih"  "?""'";  «■"  ^''th  the 
and  cutter  to  go,  under  the  commind  ^rt"  ^°'  "'^  '^""'^h 
ant,  and  lie  off  the  east  noint  o^fT  1     '^•"'^  ^^<^°"''  "^"ten- 
all  canoes  that  mi  "in  aftemnt  L      ^^^  '"  °'''^<='- '°  '"'^^--cept 
necessary,  to  fire  uVon  them      Afth°"''  ""'^'■'^  ''«  ^""dlt 
lieutenant  of  the  Resolution  with  the  I   ^^T  T'^  '^^  '"rd 
was  sent  on  the  same  serwre  tn  fu      ""''  ^"'^  ^'"^"  "'tter, 
hay.-  and  the  master  was Ts'chH^  "PPu^^'f"  point  of  the 
pursuit  of  a  double  canoe   aCJll'.  ""=  f ^e  cutter,  in 
best  of  her  way  out  of  the  harbor      U^'  '^'''  """^'"S  *e 
her,  and  by  firincr  a  few  r^     i         ,  '     ^'^  *°on  came  up  with 

Indians  lef^her^  Tltepenld  tT  IT  °"  ^''°-'  ""'  'he 
man  who  bore  the  title  of  Orono  H*"  '^"?"  °''  O'"'^^-  => 
and  it  would  have  been  forh?„,;  -V  "^'  °"  ^oard  himself, 
l»m,  for  his  person  waT  hM  '^  "i""  P^^P'^  had  secured 

During  this  time  Caotain  rn  I  '"'"'"'^  ^'  *at  of  the  king 
l-imsel?  at  the  ^olnT^^.'^.rotkT FT'''""^  '°  S°  ^^^or^e 
son  of  Kariopoo,  before  he  Tl' i?  Z"^"'  '°  ^^^^  the  per- 
'""self  to  another  part  of  t',e  island  o'^  f'™'  '°  ™'">dLw 

geared  the  most  effec.Li  s  1  that    -^  A"'  "T""-    ^'^^^ 

bcep  mat  cuuld  be  taken  on  the 


ii6 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLOtvATIONS. 


present  occasion  for  the  recovery  of  the  boat.  It  was  the 
measure  he  had  invariably  pursued,  in  similar  cases,  at  other 
islands  in  these  seas,  and  it  had  always  been  attended  with 
the  desired  success ;  in  fact,  it  would  be  difficult  to  point  out 
any  other  mode  of  proceeding  on  these  emergencies  likely  to 
attain  the  object  in  view. 

"  We  had  reason  to  suppose  that  the  king  a.id  his  attend- 
ants had  Ikd  when  the  alarm  was  first  given  ;  in  that  case  it 
was  Captain   Cook's  intention  to  secure   the  large  canoes 
which  were  hauled  up  on  the  beach.    .He  left  the  ship  aboi-t 
seven  o'clock,  attended  by  the  lieutenant  of  marines,  a  ser- 
geant, corporal,  and  seven  private  men ;  the  pinnace's  crew 
were  also  armed,  and  under  the  command  of  Mr.  Roberts. 
As  they  rowed  towards  the  shore  Captain  Cook  ordered  the 
launch  to  leave  her  station  at  the  west  point  of  the  bay,  in 
order  to  assist  his  own  boat.     This  is  a  circumstance  worthy 
of  notice,  for  it  clearly  shows  that  he  was  not  unapprehensive 
of  meeting  with  resistance  from  the  natives,  or  unmindful  of 
the  necessary  preparation  for  the  safety  of  himself  and  his 
people      I  will  venture  to  say  that,  from  the  appearance  of 
things  just  at  that  time,  there  was  not  one  beside  himself  who 
judged  that  such  precaution  was  absolutely  requisite;   so 
litde  did  his  conduct  on  the  occasion  bear  the  marks  of  rash- 
ness or  a  precipitate  self-confidence.     He  landed  with  the 
marines  at  the  upper  end  of  the  town  of  Kavaroah ;  the  In- 
dians  immediately  flocked  around  as  usual,  and  showed  him 
the  customary  marks  of  respect,  by  prostrating  themselves 
before  him.     There  were   no  signs  of  hostilities,  or  much 
alarm  among  them.     Captain  Cook,  however,  did  not  seem 
willing  to  trust  to  appearances,  but  was  particularly  attentive 
to  the  disposition  of  the  marines,  and  to  have  them  kept  clear 
of  the  crowd.     He  first  inquired   for  the  king  s  sons  two 
youths  who  were  much  attached   to  him,  ana  generally  his 
companions  on  board.      Messengers  being   sent  for  them, 
they  soon  came  to  him,  and  informing  him  that  their  father 
was  asleep  at  a  house  not  far  from  them,  he  accompanied 
them  thither,  and  took  the  marines  along  with  theni.    As  he 
passed  along  the  natives  everywhere  prostrated  themselves 
before  him,  and  seemed  to  have  lost  no  part  of  that  respect 
they  had  always  shown  to  his  person.     He  was  joined  by 
several  chiefs,  among  whom  was  Kanynah,  and  his  brother, 
Koohowrooah.     They  kept  the  crowd  in  order,  according  to  i 


CAPTAIN   cook's   VOYAGES.        *  j,y 

or  other  provisions  he  toklH,  T  'f,''^«^"'<=c!  any  hogs 
his  businesswas  to'see  hekt"'  Wh  ''\'"''  "°'' ""^  "^« 
house,  he  ordered  some  o    the  Sdial  ^  ^^  -"'""^  ^'  ">« 

Kariopoo  that  he  waited  without1^"3peakl°it'h  h"''  '"-[?™ 
came  out  two  or  three  timn^  ,„j  •  ^  j  ,  '"'"•  T'ev 
answer  from  the  kh^^  pre  "n  ^h"  '"''"■^'^  °'  r^"™!"?  any 
him,  which  made  Cawain  Co„T  ^  ^1"'^'^  °^  '^<^  -^'oth  W 
house;  he  ther7fore'^desiredth^''rP'^'  "'"' ''?  '^^^  "°'  i"  "'« 
in.  The  lieutenant  found  1  ^1  r"''^"''"'  °^  '"^""«  '«  go 
sleep,  and  seemS  alarmed  at  H,.  """"  J"^' .^^^^kened  from 
witl,out  hesitation^  ^Can"l^'^^"•Tf?"^ 

in  a  Wendly  wa-  asked  C" to  ."o^nboir^t^"  't^  I'T''  ""'' 
readily  consented.    Tluis  far  ■«=;,  '  ^°.  *'"<'''  '>«^  "^^y 

train,  and  the  na  ives  d  d  nnt.lT  ^PP^^'i^d  '"  a  favorable 
hensive  of  hostili  ty  ^n  oj  ide  a"l  wh^'i  r^™?''  ^^  ^PP^«=- 
pressed  himself  a  little  surDri.,?!.--";  ^"P"'"  ^ook  ex- 
of  that  town  appeared  Lore:fT"*f-'^''''«'"l'^''itants 

should  not  molest  them  but  thltl'"'''"^  "'",  ™"«'-'  i»= 

board  Kariopoo  satTown  before  lis" doofLt  ''■"=  °" 
rounded  by  a  ereat  crowrl  •  i,-,         i         ,  °'^'  ^"'^  "as  sur- 

both  very  activ^in  keeping  order"    '  '"''  i'"'  '"•""'^^  *«■■« 
time,  however,  the  Indians  were  oLt'"""/  '^^^-     '"  '^  'i"'* 
with  long  spears    clubs    and  H.  "^'""""^  ?™'ng  themselves 
mats,  which  "^^hey  use  as  armor  ^?'%^"^-,P""'"ff  °"  '>"'=k 
creased,  and  became  more  ararmfn"'o°'J!'"  ^PP^^-^n^e  in- 
men  in  a  canoe  from  the  opnoZ  fid        ''t  ".""^^  "^  '^™ 
news  of  a  chief,  called  Karemoo  L  '      °l  ""=  ''='>'•  «'*  "'« 
of  the  Discove;y's  boats      ir^rit^'""^^  ^"^  '^"'^''  by  one 
also  delivered  tWs  account  to  eich''n'?r^\-''™^^  ^^^  had 
information,  the  women  vv,o,.,         °  •"'^  ^'"P''-     "P""  'hat 
their  breakfasts!  and  con  ^r,i^'7  "■?"?  "P°"  "^«  beach  at 
the  boats,  retired  and  a  conSr'''^'''^  "'"'  ?"'  P^^P'^  '" 
crowd.     An  old  priest  came  mr  ^^"r^  ^Pr""^  "^^"gh  the 
in  his  hand,  which  he  heTd  ouf  t^T"  ^°°''  "'"^  ^  ^°™='""« 
same  time  singing  very  bud      H°  *?  *  P5^'*="''  «  "'e 

silent,  but  in  vain;  he  continneH   ■      '  °'^"="  ^^^'""^  ^  be 
some,  and  there  w^s  no  such  thinrP""""""  '""^  "-""ble- 


iiS 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


being  at  the  same  time  surrounded  by  a  great  crowd,  thought 
his  situation  rather  hazardous  ;  he  therefore  ordered  the  Heu- 
tenant  of  marines  to  march  his  small  party  to  the  water-side, 
where  the  boats  lay  wid)in  a  few  yards  of  the  shore.  The 
Indians  readily  made  a  lane  for  them  to  pass  and  did  not 
offer  to  interrupt  them.  The  distance  they  had  to  go  might 
be  about  fifty  or  sixty  yards;  Captain  Conk  followed,  having 
hold  ol  Kariopoo's  hand,  who  accompanied  him  very  willingly. 
He  was  attended  by  his  wife,  two  sons,  and  several  chiefs. 
The  troublesome  old  priest  followed,  making  the  same  savage 
noise.  Keowa,  the  younger  son,  went  directly  into  the  pin- 
nace, expecting  his  father  to  follow;  but  just  as  he  arrived 
at  the  water-side,  his  wifo  threw  her  arms  about  his  neck,  and, 
with  the  assistance  of  two  chiefs,  forced  him  to  sit  down  by 
the  side  of  a  double  canoe.  Captain  Cook  expostulated  with 
them,  but  to  no  purpose ;  they  would  not  suffer  the  king  to 
proceed,  telling  him  that  he  would  be  put  to  death  if  he 
went  on  board  the  ship.  Kariopoo,  whose  conduct  seemed, 
entirely  resigned  to  the  will  of  others,  hung  down  his  head, 
and  appeared  much  distressed. 

"  While  the  king  was  in  this  situation,  a  chief,  well  known 
to  us,  of  the  name  of  Coho,  was  observed  lurking  near  with 
an  iron  dagger  pardy  concealed  under  his  cloak,  seemingly 
with  the  intention  of  stabbing  Captain  Cook  or  the  lieutenant 
of  marines.  The  latter  proposed  to  fire  at  him,  but  Captain 
Cook  would  not  permit  it.  Coho  closing  upon  them,  obliged 
the  officer  to  strike  him  with  his  piece,  which  made  him  retire. 
Another  Indian  laid  hold  of  the  sergeant's  musket,  and  en- 
deavored to  wrench  it  from  him,  but  was  prevented  by  the 
lieutenant's  making  a  blow  at  him.  Captain  Cook,  seeing 
the  tumult  increase,  and  the  Indians  growing  more  daring  and 
resolute,  observed  that  if  he  were  to  take  the  king  off"  by  force 
he  could  not  do  it  without  sacrificing  the  lives  of  many  of 
his  people.  He  then  paused  a  litde,  and  was  on  the  point 
of  giving  his  orders  to  re-embark  when  a  man  threw  a  stone 
at  him,  which  he  returned  with  a  discharge  of  small  shot. 
The  man,  having  a  thick  mat  before  him,  received  little  or 
no  hurt;  he  brandished  his  spear,  and  threatened  to  dart  it 
at  Captain  Cook,  who  being  still  unwilling  to  take  away  his 
life,  instead  of  firing  with  ball  knocked  him  down  with  his 
musket.  He  expostulated  strongly  with  the  most  forward  of 
the  crowd  upon  their  turbulent  behavior.     He  had  given  up 


CAPTAIN   cook's   VOYAGES, 


f^"&:af:^:.vii'l^^^^^^^^^ 


care  was  then  only  to 


lip 


im- 


on  hearin-r  the^first  firin'    ZH  aVtisT""'''  ^'''"S^^-rLd 
shore  aijarn  ;  for  even  at  (hLf-f       5,  T  P""-«="y.  P"t  on 

manded  her/did  not  app  e  td    hal  cl''nt^"''r'%^'^°  ^°'"- 
was  in  any  danger   otherw^ri,.  ,  P'f"  ^°°^^  P^'-^on 

prince,  which,  no^doub  wo  ,  d  l,=  u'^  '"""'  ''«^''"«''  'he 
the  Indians.  One  man  vvl  ob,i  t  ,  ^f "  ^  S^at  check  on 
in  the  action  of  daX "his  sn,.  ',  r*"'""^  ^^''°""«  ^^"°«. 
forced  to  fire  at  him  n^fs  own  H.?  ^^"J'*'",  "^°°'''  "l""  "»» 
another  close  to  h^  equallvTnrff'r"'  u"'  ''»PP«n<=d  to  kill 
geant  observing  ZtTK*^^^^  "      ser- 

Feceivecl  orders  to  fire  at  bim      u-^u  uKT"  '"'  ^'"led  at, 

By  this  time  the  mpetuosi  y  of  TiJetd'  ''"''  ^"''  ^'^^"^  '"'■"• 
pressed ;  they  fell  back  in  »  li  i  ,  ^^"^  "^^  somewhat  re- 
being  pushedVn  Vt1.ose  behi^d'^th  ^^f™^^  ^^S^ered,  but 
and  poured  a  volley  of  Itonj"'  ^  ■[""''"^^d  to  the  charge, 
out  waiting  for  orders  re  °rn!H^°"^  ""'^  "'"'•""'■  '^^°'  wi'h' 
musketry,  whicrwas,w3  '.' n'"'  \S^"<^'^i  discharge  of 
boats.  At  this  Caot^in  r 'i\  °"?''  ^X  ^  ^^'^  f™-"  the 
astonishment;  he  Ced  hk^  ^f  ^"V^  '°  ""P"-^"  his 
them  to  ceas;  firinrand  t  "^  '"  "'^  '•°^'^'  ^^''^d   to 

marines.  ^'  ^"''  '°  '=°'"''  "'^•^"  in  to  receive  the 

th^s^iJoVe^^shfcoZtvitS  ''™"^'!'  "-^  P'"--  ««  -^'ose  to 
showers  of  stoLs  hat  fe    an' f  "^  ^"^'  ""'"'"'^'^"ding  the 

ant,who  command^d^•nth:    rnfhtsSo/ '^ ''■'=• ''^'T- 
assistance  of  Captain  Cook  wifM„    f-   u  °f  P""ing  m  to  the 

moment  that  evemhin°   s^em^  mV''' ''T' '^''^'^^^ 
timely  exertions  of^thos^e    nThe  boa^'  n^u"'^"'^  "P°"  *^ 
he  mistook  the  signal,  but  be  that  as  t  ™,  ^,K-"  °""  ^"°""' 
appears  to  me  to  have  Z^^IJ  .f   /    i^^'  *is  circumstance 

to  have  removed  every  ch^te  lb'  S"'  """  °i  '^^  """^i^'  ^"^ 
Cook  of  escaping  w2  his  life  rt  b"^'"''^  T"'  ^^P'^'" 
marines  out  of  the  water    „  busmess  of  saving  the 

gather  upon  the  pinnace    I'Tl'^''''^^^''^  *"•  ^'l  »""- 

crowded  ?hat  he  ?  ew  w;re  in  a  t:»^  ^'''"''  '°  ""'^'' 
from  using  their  firearmf  Ar     ?  .S"^^*' /"<=»="«.  prevented 

otherwise  might  have  done  trr^T'-'^r^''?'  ^^'i^tence  they 
ignt  nave  done  to  Captam  Cook,  so  that  he  seems 


I20 


ANTARCTIC  EXPLORATIONS. 


at  the  most  critical  point  of  time  to  have  wanted  the  assist- 
ance of  both  boats,  owing  to  the  removal  of  the  launch. 
For,  notwithstanding  that  they  kept  up  a  fire  on  the  cr^^wd 
from  the  situation  lo  whicl'.  they  removed  in  that  boat,  the 
fatal  confusion  which  ensued  on  her  being  withdrawn,  to  say 
the  least  of  it,  must  have  prevented  the  full  effect,  that  the 
prompt  co-operation  of  the  two  boats  according  to  CaptpJn 
Cook's  orders  mi'st  have  had  towards  the  preservation  of 
himself  and  his  people.  At  that  time  it  was  to  the  boats 
alone  that  Captain  Cook  had  to  look  for  his  safety ;  for,  when 
the  marines  had  fired,  the  Indians  rushed  among  them,  and 
forced  them  into  the  water,  where  four  of  them  were  killed ; 
their  lieutenant  was  wounded,  but  fortunately  escaped  and 
was  taken  up  by  the  pinnace.  Captain  Cook  was  then  the 
only  one  remaining  on  the  rock ;  he  was  observed  making 
for  the  pmnace  holding  his  left  hand  against  the  back  cf  his 
head  to  guard  it  from  the  stones,  and  carrying  his  musket 
under  the  other  arm.  An  Indian  was  seen  following  him,  but 
with  caution  and  timidity ;  for  he  stopped  once  or  twice  as  if 
undetermined  to  proceed.  At  last  he  advanced  upon  him 
unawares,  and  with  a  large  club,  or  common  stake,  gave  him 
a  blow  on  the  back  of  the  head,  and  then  precipitately  re- 
treated. The  stroke  seemed  to  have  stunned  Captain  Cook; 
he  staggered  for  a  few  paces,  then  fell  en  his  hand  and  one 
knee  and  dropped  his  musket.  As  he  was  rising,  and  before 
he  could  recover  his  feet,  another  Indian  stabbed  him  in  the 
back  of  the  neck  with  an  iron  dagger.  He  then  fell  into  a 
pool  of  water  about  knee-deep,  where  others  crowded  upon 
him  and  endeavored  to  keep  him  under;  but  strugglinp^  very 
strongly  with  them  he  got  his  head  up,  and  casdng  his  look 
towards  die  pinnace  seemed  to  solicit  assistance.  Though 
the  boat  was  nut  above  five  or  six  yards  distant  from  him,  yet 
from  the  crowded  and  confused  state  of  the  crew  it  seems 
it  was  not  in  tJieir  pover  to  save  him.  The  Indians  got  him 
under  again  but  in  deeper  water  ;  hr  was,  however,  able  to 
get  his  head  up  once  more,  and  being  almost  spent  in  the 
struggle  he  naturally  turned  to  the  rock,  and  was  endeavor- 
ing to  support  himself  by  it  when  a  savage  gave  him  a  blow 
with  a  club  and  he  was  seen  alive  no  more,  fhey  hauled 
him  up  lifeless  on  the  rocks,  where  they  seemed  to  take  a 

urtv-jtcTf^   n1f»acnrf»   In    iiQincr   pverv  barbarltv  to   his   dead   boQV. 
"&"   I """    &    "■ — ^    /    "~    ■' ' 

snatching  the  daggers  out  of  each  other's  hands  to  have  the 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES.       n 

horrid  satisfaction  of  piercing  .k.  r  ii        .  '" 

barous  rage.  Piercing  the  fallen  victim  of  their  bar 

It  IS  tmly  painful  to  reflect  rh^T.,'^'' "^  admired ;  afd 
sacrifice  merely  for  want  of  K  •  ^^  ^^"'"^  »<>  have  fallen  a 
angularly  to  b^  lamrnted  as  hS'?Pf ^'^  ^"PPorted  f  a  fate 

they  might  have  been  b  0!^^^'^ ,?"  *«  ^each.  although 
formation  of  four  or  five  m^H  v        ''  ^PP^ars  from  the  k 

spot  at  the  conclusion  of, he  fLtlT-"'  "''?  ='™«d  «"  t^e" 
then  almost  entirely  deserted  bvthJ??'  *^'  "'^  ''^^•^h  was 
had  given  way  to  the  fire  nf  ,K  7  ^  Indians,  who  at  lenmh 
the  towns,  so^hat  there  seemed  no  ?  '""  ?^P«"«d  thS 
he  recovery  of  Captain  Cook^  h°/''^l'  °''='*'='«  ^  Prevent 
turned  on  board  without  makinl^hf^l.'""  ""^  "eutenant  re- 
sary  to  dwell  longer  on  thTs  n,Sf      ^^'•'''"P'-    't  is  unneces- 
complaints  and  censures  that'^frU      'f  J^"'  ^"<i  '»  relateThe 
tenant.    It  will  be  sufficient  to  I"  ""^  '='^"''"«  <>f  the  lieu! 
loud  as  to  oblirre  Caota^n  A    t    °''^«'^e  that  thev  weri  .„ 

to  take  the  dep^lifef  .Sc^uLf^  '« -'- 'h^mfan^d" 
captain's  bad  state  of  heal  h  anH  /  '^T."  '"  ^^ting.  The 
supposed,  induced  him  to  destrotTr''""^  *'^»I"t1on.  t  is 
before  his  death.  '^^'^J'  'hese  papers  a  short  time 

v.hicr:erttte'^cV;ttfcV° "°''-  --—s 

strict  regard  to  truth,  how'^ver  com^'Ji'^'i"''  °^  ""V  "">"■     A 
of  these  facts,  which  I  have  nff     J    '^''  *"«  *<>  the  insertion 

'"?.  about  an  W"afterca"ptf '  ?^''^  ".'^'"^'^ '"  *«  -orn- 
The  principal  actors  we^re  ^-2:^ ^^t^;^ ^^^^^ 


132 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


king's  relations  and  attendants ;  the  man  who  stabbed  him 
with  the  dagger  was  called  Nooah.  I  happened  to  be  the 
only  one  who  recollected  his  person,  from  having  on  a  former 
occasion  mentioned  his  name  in  a  journal  I  kept.  I  was  in- 
duced to  take  particular  notice  of  him,  more  from  his  personal 
appearance  than  any  other  consideration,  though  he  was  of 
high  rank,  and  a  near  relation  of  the  king ;  he  was  stout  and 
tall,  with  a  fierce  look  and  demeanor,  and  one  who  united  in 
his  figure  the  two  qualities  of  strength  and  agility,  in  a  greater 
degree,  than  ever  I  remembered  to  have  seen  before  in  any 
other  man.  His  age  might  be  about  thirty,  and  by  the  white 
scurf  on  his  skin  and  his  fore  eyes  he  appeared  to  be  a  hard 
drinker  of  Kava.  He  was  a  constant  companion  of  the  king, 
with  whom  I  first  saw  him,  when  he  paid  a  visit  to  Captain 
Gierke.  The  chief  who  first  struck  Captain  Cook  with  the 
club  was  called  Karimano,  craha,  but  I  did  not  know  him  by 
his  name.  These  circumstances  I  learnt  of  honest  Kaireekea, 
the  priest;  who  added  that  they  were  both  held  in  great 
esteem  on  account  of  that  action  ;  neither  of  them  came  near 
us  afterwards.  When  the  boats  left  the  shore  the  Indians 
carried  away  the  dead  body  of  Captain  Cook  and  those  of 
the  marines  to  the  rising  ground  at  the  back  of  the  town, 
where  we  could  plainly  see  them  with  our  glasses  from  the 
ships. 

"This  most  melancholy  accident  appears  to  have  been  alto- 
gether unexpected  and  unforeseen,  as  well  on  the  part  of  the 
natives  as  ourselves.  I  never  saw  sufficient  reason  to  induce 
me  to  believe  that  there  was  anything  of  design  or  a  pre- 
concerted plan  on  their  side,  or  that  they  purposely  sought 
to  quarrel  with  us ;  thieving,  which  gave  rise  to  the  whole, 
thev  were  equally  guilty  of  in  our  first  and  second  visits. 
It  was  the  cause  of  every  misunderstanding  that  happened 
between  us ;  their  petty  thefts  were  generally  overlooked,  but 
sometimes  slightly  punished;  the  boat,  which  they  at  last 
ventured  to  take  away,  was  an  object  of  no  small  magnitude 
to  people  in  our  situation,  who  could  not  possibly  replace  her, 
and  therefore  not  slightly  to  be  given  up.  We  had  no  other 
chance  of  recovering  her,  but  by  getting  the  person  of  the 
king  into  our  possession;  on  our  attempting  to  do  that  the 
natives  became  alarmed  for  his  safety,  and  naturally  opposed 
those  whom  they  deemed  their  enemies.  In  the  sudden  con- 
flict that  ensued  we  had  the  unspeakable  misfortune  of  losing 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES..  '  . 

our  excellent  rom«,o   j       .  '^"^ 

^''^^h  seems  tn  hi 
bringing  about  this  fataf  faster  "'^P^'^lpal  instrument  in 

'■"■«  fess;  S  """'"--•"  "'"■^' 

loss  to  account  how  surh  .JJ    ?        "*^"^  ^''ror,  yet  still  af  , 
they  had  recourse  to  a  stratfr''"",^?'  ^""^  kSong    he„, 

naturally  conrded  ^h'^^^ t^u'ld  t  'i^^^^'^St^ 
^efa!-^t^lHrefrot^t5-^ 

«,°f  "°"=  and  threateninls  we  J°^^I  ''"■"P"^^'  '^ough  ne'' 
more  than  the  principal  narTof  f'.'^''"^"''>'  ^^P'oyedjittfe 
great  difficulty)  cSuldb^eUcu,e/  Zt""'  '^"^  '^a  S 
'  /rr;"="^'^d  to  perform  thelaft^offi  P°^=^?'°n  °f  *em 
fntn  ""'°"""ate  commander  Tl  »  h^  '^"1'°  "'^''-  ^"''nent 
into  a  coffin  and  the  servir^  L-  ,  "'=^>  ^av  na  been  n,  f 

What  were  the  feeline,  of  th/  '^  V'"al  military  honors 

anyle;\V;;;-eK^:^"-  '^«  ''  ^^-nTirthTi^re;  ^^f 


124 


.ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


A  proniotion  of  officers  followed  the  decease  of  Captain 
Cook.  Captain  Clerke  having  succeeded  of  course  to  the 
command  of  the  expedition  removed  on  board  the  Resolution. 
By  him  Lieutenant  Gore  was  appointed  captain  of  the  Dis- 
covery. A  .  1      •       V      . 

The  war  of  England  against  the  American  colonies  having 
broken  out  in  the  meantime,  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin,  then 
ambassador  at  Paris  from  the  United  States  of  America,  is- 
sued the  following  requisition : 

"  To  all  captains  and  commanders  of  armed  ships,  acting 
by  commission  from  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  now  in  war  with  Great  Britain. 

"  Gentlemen  : — A  ship  having  been  fitted  out  from  England 
before  the  commencement  of  this  war  to  make  discoveries  of 
new  countries  in  unknown  seas,  under  the  conduct  of  that 
most  celebrated  navigator  and  discoverer  Captain  Cook ;  an 
undertaking  truly  laudable  in  itself,  as  the  increase  of  geo- 
graphical knowledge  facilitates  the  communication  between 
distant  nations  in  the  exchange  of  useful  products  and  manu- 
factures, and  the  extension  of  arts,  whereby  the  common  en- 
joyments of  human  life  are  multiplied  and  augmented,  and 
science  of  other  kinds  increased  to  the  benefit  of  mankind  in 
general.  This  is  therefore  most  earnesdy  to  recommend  to 
every  one  of  you  that  in  case  the  said  ship,  which  is  now  ex- 
pected to  be  soon  in  the  European  seas  on  her  return,  should 
happen  to  fall  into  your  hands,  you  would  not  consider  her  as 
an  enemy,  nor  suffer  any  plunder  to  be  made  of  the  effects 
contained  in  her,  nor  obstruct  her  immediate  return  to  Eng- 
land by  detaining  her,  or  sending  her  into  any  other  part  of 
Europe,  or  to  America,  but  that  you  would  treat  the  said  Cap- 
tain Cook  and  his  people  with  all  civility  and  kindness,  afford- 
ing them,  as  common  friends  to  mankind,  all  the  assistance  in 
your  power  which  they  may  happen  to  stand  in  need  of.  In 
so  doing  you  will  not  only  gratify  the  generosity  of  your  own 
dispositions,  but  there  is  no  doubt  of  your  obtaining  the  ap- 
probation of  the  Congress  and  your  other  American  owners. 
I  have  the  honor   to  be,   gendemen,  your  most  obedient, 


humble  servant. 


B.  Franklin, 


Minister  Plenipotentiary  from  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  at  the  Court  of  France.  ^^ 

"At  Passy,  near  Paris,  this  loth  day  of  March,  1779. 


CAPTAIN   cook's   VOYAGES.'  j^ 

ever  relates  to  the  knowSe  o?  J  "'^^  ''^.'"'"'"^  "^  *h«. 
habitants  obtained  Kamf^X.?  "'^"'  P^ductions  and  in- 
friendly  intercourse  mai'nS'wUh^^hVR  ^''•'  ^"1^  ^^^ 
that  country.     The  na^rlrrJ^^  .  '"^  Russian  officers  of 

and  hospitable  J^llZnT^oTErB^  "'•^  ""'''  S^-™" 
commander  of  the  garrison  «  BoS,'^^]'/"  ■"particular,  the 
W  the  north  in  pursuit  of  the  ?ranH  ,.M   7    /''^V  Pro<:eeded 
Having  passed  through  Behrif^sfratt-'f  ^""^  "^^  expedition, 
thing  more  than  sixty-nine  de^r^l?  '    ?''  "'.'"""^'^  '°  ^ome- 
latitude,  they  found   it  absolufelv  Ln"''  -k  "'^  °^  "°«h«^n 
through  the  ice,  either  on  the  side  of  a'^'"-"^   '°  P'="«'^'« 
of  Asm.    Every  hope  beinTexrh-nL  T"'^  °'  °"  *^  ^ide 
way  a  passage  into  the  Xtnri  "f  accomplishing  this 

obliged'  to  come  to  the  deter^l?^"^  '^T^''"  ^^^'^^  was 
southward.     On  the  ..d  of  ™  ^'st  „1' K '"^  '?^*  '°  *e 
month  after  this  determination  X        !^?'  ^j^'"?  '«ss  than  a 
t'on.     Captain  Gore  succeeded  to  th''     "  ^""^."^  '=°"="'"P- 
covery.    A  second  visit  was  naid  ^o  R^  command  of  the  Dis- 
further  acquaintance  was  tafned  ^^hhTt'"'"^■^  ^^  ^^''=^'  « 
and  no  small  accession  of^infomrt  n„         P"'  '?'^"'^  ^"■•'d; 
spect  to  geographical  scien4  n  "e „e  "l      Tr'^""'"^  '"*  ^«- 
course  by  the  coasts  of  Japan  fnd  n  '•         J  P"'™^''  *«■'• 
stay  at  Canton ;  thence  tliev  nr„      j  J""^ '  "'^V  "ade  some 
Hope.     They  ckme  ?o  an  aX  ff t    '°  "''  ^'P<^  "^  ^ood 
May,  1 780.     Both  ships  arrived  safe  1^^"'^  ""  "'^  "<^  °f 
cf  October  after  an  absence  of  f„  ""^  ^"""^  °"  ««  4th 

twenty-two  days.  Durin  "  the  Jh^r  ^f?'  '"'°  '"°"*s.  and 
Resolution  lost  only  five  t^enbVlt  ""^  "j^  ""dertaking  the 
m  a  precarious  state  of  heaUh  L  1""''^  """^^  of  whom^ere 
land,  while  the  Discoverv  d  H  n^J  T       '  <l?Pa«ure  from  Eng- 

"  The  constitution  of  aDl?nr°'?  .^  t'¥^  '"^"• 
ured  to  labor,  and  cambL  of      f ''°''>  ^°'^y  '^^'s  robust,  in- 
ships.     His  stomac^'iorL  wkh^^t  H^S"^,  '\  ''^"'''  h^^d- 
most  ungrateful  foo.i:  g^It  was  ,h!  -'"i^ ''^'^ '^"^■•sest  and 
he  submitted  to  every  I'nd  of  selM!  'P^'^%f"<=^  w'th  which 
his  mind  were  of  the  sam^MrHf-"''-  J^^  '3"''l'ties  of 
his  body.     His  undersandinl   ^'  '"^°'°"^  ^'"'^  «-"!>  ^ose  of 
Hisjudl^ment,  in  whatev"r'"S:r5  5°"^  and  perspicacious, 
gaxed  in,  quick  and  sure  "  HiTh"  •'"        services  he  was  en- 

-d  bothl  the  conc"^tio„"k^„^dirthrrodrof^lSL^^ 


126 


ANTARCTIC  EXPLORATIONS. 


bore  evident  marks  of  a  great  original  genius.  His  courage 
was  cool  and  determined,  and  accompanied  with  an  admirable 
presence  of  mind  in  the  moment  of  danger.  His  temper 
might  perhaps  have  been  justly  blamed  as  subject  to  hasti- 
ness and  passion,  had  not  these  been  disarmed  by  a  disposi- 
tion the  most  benevolent  and  humane. 

"  Such  were  the  rjutlines  of  Captain  Cqpk's  character ;  but 
its  most  distinguishing  feature  was  that  unremitting  perse- 
verance in  the  pursuit  of  his  object,  which  was  not  only  su- 
perior to  the  opposition  of  dangers  and  the  pressure  of  hard- 
ships,  but  even  exempt  from  the  want  of  ordinary  relaxation. 
During  the  long  and  tedious  voyages  in  which  he  was  engaged 
his  eagerness  and  activity  were  never  in  the  least  abated. 
No  incidental  temptation  could  detain  him  for  a  moment ; 
even  those  intervals  of  recreation,  which  sometimes  unavoid- 
ably occurred,  and  were  looked  for  by  us  with  a  longing,  that 
persons  who  have  experienced  the  fatigues  of  service  will 
readily  excuse,  were  submitted  to  by  him  with  a  certain  im- 
patience, whenever  they  could  not  be  employed  in  making  a 
further  provision  for  the  more  effectual  prosecution  of  his 
designs. 

"The  character  of  Captain  Cook,"  says  Mr.  Samwell,  "will 
be  best  exemplified  by  the  services  he  has  performed,  which 
are  universally  known,  and  have  ranked  his  name  above  that 
of  any  navigator  of  ancient  or  of  modern  times.  Nature  had 
endowed  him  with  a  mind  vigorous  and  comprehensive,  which 
in  his  riper  years  he  had  cultivated  with  care  and  industry. 
His  general  knowledge  was  extensive  and  various :  in  that 
of  his  own  profession  he  was  unequalled.  With  a  clear  judg- 
mei^  strong  masculine  sense,  and  the  most  determined  reso- 
lution;  with  a  genius  peculiariy  turned  for  enterprise,  he 
pursued  his  object  with  unshaken  perseverance :  vigilant  and 
active  in  an  eminent  degree ;  cool  and  intrepid  among  dan- 
gers ;  patient  and  firm  under  difficulties  and  distress ;  fertile 
in  expedients ;  great  and  original  in  all  his  designs ;  active 
and  resolved  in  carrying  them  into  execution.  These  quali- 
ties rendered  him  the  animating  spirit  of  the  expedition :  in 
every  situation  he  stood  unrivalled  and  alone ;  on  him  all 
eyes  were  turned ;  he  was  our  leading  star,  which,  at  its  set- 
ting, left  us  involved  in  darkness  and  despair. 

««  Hie  or>pc«-i*-i!«-iop  "'oc  cfrnnrr   hlc  mnrlf»  nf  hvincr  1"f»mnprate. 

He  was  a  modest  man,  and  rather  bashful ;  of  an  agreeable 


CAPTAIN   COOK'S   VOYAGES. 

address  and   appearance      Hi"   h^"' ''^  "'^^  ?'=>'"  both  in 
wh,ch  was  a  dark  brown  ke  wore  .l^d  Tv  J™ "iL '    ''^^  ^^"  ' 
full  of  expression ;  his  nn«»  .        J?  behind.     His  face  was 

eyes,whichweres;'i^randofabrow"^'y  "^"  ^^a.ed;  4 
prercmg;  his  eye-brows  prominenT   1 'l''' ""«  qiick  and 

nance  altogether  an  air  of^ausS'"''''^''  ^^"^  hi!  counts. 
He  was  belovprl  K„  u;         "-"v- 

to  a  father,  and  obeyed  his^c^P'^'  "'l°  '°°ked  up  to  him  as 
confidence  we  placed  in  h;  ™""nands  with  alacrity  Th» 
of  Ws  great  £iems  itZ^l^T""''''"^ '^  °- aZvaSn' 
qualities  affectionate  and  ^ncere  "''""  ^°'  '">'  Kood 

™nd:Y::sXTttri:^^^^^^^^^  f  'He  activity  of  his 
attention  'o  every  object  ofTheservi^.  '° T-P^y  =">  ""wearied 
he  observed  in  the  eipenditure  of  th.   u^^^  ''""  ^'""""'Y 

Z:iu""r"l  """  he  employel  for  th.     ^^  ''"■•<=■'■  '"'l  the 
health  of  his  people,  were  ti^e    °    ^^  Preservation  of  the 
prosecute  discoveries  in  r?m^      <^^"^«  that  enabled  him  to 
length  of  time  as  had  be^detS  •  °^"'^  ^^°'^-  f-    "  ''  a 
navgators.     The  method  he  &ST''''"'^  ''•^  f"™-^ 
hea  th  of  seamen  in  long  vovap-e,  I?n  ?    "''  P^serving  the 
posterity  as  the  friend  and  bentl.;       r  "'''"'"''t  his  name  to 
which  attended  it,  afforded  tlti"  [ru w'  °^  ""'"^'"'^ '  the  success 
tion  than  the  distinguished  feme  h«  ftTj"^l!"'"''  ^^tisfec! 
"England  has  been  unanimous  in  hl^^u '"'''''"^°^'^'-ies. 
to  his  virtues,  and  all  Europe  ha,  hn     '"'""'^  "f  "PP'ause 
merit.     There  is  hardly  a  comer  of  ^""^  testimony  lo  his 
mote  and  savage,  that  will  not Tn„     ""^  ^^"h,  however  "e! 
ence  and  humanity.    -^  "  gratrful^TnT""?''"^  ^is  benevo- 
Poin  ing  to  the  herds  ?razini  l!'    r     •,*^"'  '"  time  to  come 
h's  children  how  the  pS^stofk^f  11"''"  P'"'"''  ^""  ^C  to 
the  country;  and  the  name  of  r    1™  ",f  '"troduced  into 
among  those  benign  spiAs  wl5  ^S"^  ^'"  ^^  ''emembered 
«f  every  good.  an5  thSt^!^o"f  r^e^X^P  ^ '^e  ^o^r:^ 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE   UNITED   STATES   ANTARCTIC   EXPLORING    EXPEDITION    UNDER 
THE   COMMAND   OF   LIEUTENANT   CHARLES   WILKES,  U.  S.  N. 

Instructions  of  the  Navy  Department  to  Lieutenant  Wilkes— Departure  from  the  United 
States— Arrival  at  Funchal,  on  the  Isle  of  Madeira— The  Squadron  Sails  from  Madeira 

Arrival  at  St.  Jago Porto  Praya — Arrival  at  Rio  Janeiro— The  City  of  Rio  Janeiro^ 

Passing  Cape  Horn— Anchoring  in  Orange  Harbor— Preparations  for  a  Short  Cruise  to 
the  Antarctic  Sea. 

In  the  year  1838  the  government  of  the  United  States  of 
North  America  sent  out  an  exploring  expedition  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant  Charles  Wilkes  of  the  United  States 
Navy,  who  received  the  following  instructions : 

"Navy  Department,  August  nth,  1838. 

"  Sir  : ^The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  having  in  view 

the  important  interests  of  our  commerce  embarked  in  the 
whale-fisheries,  and  other  adventures  in  the  great  Southern 
Ocean,  by  an  act  of  the  i8th  of  May,  1836,  authorized  an  ex- 
pedition to  be  fitted  out  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  and  sur- 
veying that  sea,  as  well  to  determine  the  existence  of  all 
doubtful  islands  and  shoals,  as  to  discover  and  accurately  fix 
the  position  of  those  which  lie  in  or  near  the  track  of  our 
vessels  in  that  quarter,  and  may  have  escaped  the  observa- 
tion of  scientific  navigators.  Liberal  appropriations  have 
been  made  for  the  attainment  of  these  objects,  and  the  Presi- 
dent,  reposing  great  confidence  in  your  courage,  capacity,  and 
zeal,  has  appointed  you  to  the  command  of  the  expedition, 
requiring  you  to  proceed  to  the  performance  of  the  duties  of 
that  station  with  the  vessels  placed  under  your  orders,  con- 
sisting of  the  sloops  of  war  Vincennes  and  Peacock,  the  ship 
Relief,  the  brig  Porpoise,  and  tenders  Sea-Gull  and  Flying- 

Fish. 

"As  soon  as  these  vessels  are  in  ever>'  respect  ready^  you 
will  accordingly  take  your  departure  from  Norfolk,  and  shape 
your  course  to  Rio  Janeiro,  crossing  the  ime  between  longi- 
tude 18°  and  22°  W.,  and  keeping  within  those  meridians  to 
(128) 


WILKES'   ANTARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

about  latitude  io°  S    with.    •  ^29 

of  certain  vz^as  or  sholui.J'^''  *°  ^letermine  the  exist^n. 
and  whose  position.  Thtw    fhT  i"  V^^  ^^^rts  as  doublT 
deemed  useful  to  the  inte^el  ^o  exist^H 

At  Kio  Janeiro  you  will  ..«^i     •  .^^'""lerce  to  ascertain 
aS    wh-  '^  '"^"'^'  yo^; se,  t-.^^^^^^^^    supph-es^'Sg 
articles  wliich  are  considered  thrKi  .     ^"^'^"^^  ^^  all  thosf 
ches  for  the  scurvy.     You  li  I  A      P'-^^entives  and  reme 
that  place,  as  well  as  of  C^.    1^  ^^"^'"^  the  lonmtude  of 
either  detach  a  vesseT  or  .P^^"° '  ^^^er  which   von  n°n 

scentific  corps  may  have  rfv^^f  ^l  "'^'^'-^  'he  members  of  the 
t.ng  their  researches     IS  It  °P,P°""""'«^  of  prosecu! 
moored,  and  the  officers  and  ^    ^^  '^'"S^''  ^"sels  securelv 
"vedu:,^-s,  you  will  prZ!"LTrTP'"^  '">  *eir  resp:? 
tenders,  to  explore  the  southern  In^  ^"?  ^°'P°'''^'  ^n^the 
of  Powell's  Group,  and  between  t       "'a'  '°  ">«  southward 
lowing  the  track  of  Wedde  1  as  "loLf ""  S'"''*''^''  Land  ?d 
deavonng  to  reach  a  hiah  so,?  h     ^  ?'  practicable,  and  en- 
however,  „ot  to  be  obliged  to  n'^^^u  '*"'"'^«.-  taking  care 
rejom  the  other  vessels^etweeftht  ^^'^^  there,  fnd  to 
begmnmg  of  March.     The  attl^-^  ""'i'^'^  "f  February  and 
Terra  del  Fuego,  will  in\h.  *"''""°n  of  the  officers  &f  =» 

r  o^'XT^  ---"at  SK  =P-i^""''ected 
veys  ot  the  bays,  ports  inlcv/,!  j         examinations  and  <i<,r 
"lay  yerijy  or  extend  thS  cL"°""S?- '"  ^^t  region  /j 
f  e  m  future  to  vessds  en  J^d   '"  \'"S'  ^"<*  ^e  lervlce! 

'"  v:nj^  :;:e?r^-^S  ^asfa!.  *'-«^''-'-  -^^ 

F«ego,  with  all  your  sa„.J'"'"^   '^^  ^es'sels   at  Tern,   ^  I 
.  t^e  Navigato";:  Gr^u  ':i.?eK^  ^^  ^'-c  yofi^-cou^st 

fe^iS  st:r  -  :7^vrr?4a:ii:L'^: 

"  ^1  "  '^^^  -'^^  --^eter^i^lntZi;  S%:ft.ti- 


1 


I30 


ANTARCTIC    EXPIX)RATIONS. 


wAl  as  that  of  all  others  which  may  be  discovered  in  this  un- 
frequented track.  When  you  arrive  in  those  latitudes  where 
discoveries  may  be  reasonably  .anticipated,  you  will  so  dis- 
pose  your  vessels  as  that  they  shall  sweep  the  broadest  ex- 
panse of  the  ocean  that  may  be  practicable,  without  danger 
of  parting  company,  lying-to  at  night  in  order  to  avoid  the 
chance  of  passing  any  small  island  or  shoal  without  detection. 

"  It  is  presumed  you  will  reach  the  Navigator's  Group  some 
time  in  June,  1839.  You  will  survey  this  group  and  its  har- 
bors, with  all  due  care  and  attention.  If  time  will  permit,  it 
will  be  well  to  visit  the  Society  Islands,  and  examine  Eimeo, 
which,  it  is  stated,  possesses  a  convenient  harbor. 

"  From  the  Navigator's  Group  you  will  proceed  to  the 
Feejee  Islands,  which  you  will  examine  with  particular  atten- 
tion, with  a  view  to  the  selection  of  a  safe  harbor,  easy  of  ac- 
cess, and  in  every  respect  adapted  to  the  reception  of  vessels 
of  the  United  States  engaged  in  the  whale-fishery,  and  the 
general  commerce  of  these  seas  ;  it  being  the  intention  of  the 
government  to  keep  one  of  the  squadron  of  the  Pacific  cruis- 
ing near  these  islands  in  future. 

"After  selecting  the  island  and  harbor  best  adapted  to  the 
purposes  in  view,  you  will  use  your  endeavors  to  make  such 
arrangements  as  will  insure  a  supply  of  fruits,  vegetables,  and 
fresh  provisions,  to  vessels  visiting  it  hereafter,  teaching  the 
natives  the  modes  of  cultivation,  and  encouraging  them  to 
raise  hogs  in  greater  abundance. 

"  These  objects  will,  it  is  presumed,  occupy  you  until  the 
latter  end  of  October;  and  when  attained  as  far  as  maybe 
possible,  you  will  proceed  to  the  port  of  Sydney,  where  ade- 
quate supplies  may  be  obtained.  From  thence  you  will  make 
a  second  attempt  to  penetrate  within  the  Antarctic  region, 
south  of  Van  Diemen's  Land,  and  as  far  west  as  longitude 
45°  E.,  or  to  Enderby's  Land,  making  your  rendezvous  on 
your  return  at  Kerguelen's  Land,  or  the  Isle  of  Desolation, 
as  it  is  now  usually  denominated,  and  where  you  will  proba 
bly  arrive  by  the  latter  end  of  March,  1840. 

"  From  the  Isle  of  Desolation  you  will  proceed  to  the  Sand- 
wich  Islands,  by  such  route  as  you  may  judge  best,  from  the 
information  you  may  acquire  from  such  sources  as  fall  in 

your  way.  .„  , 

"A  £tore-ship  from  the  United  States  will  meet  you  there. 
:*.u  ^  -..,^»n1..  «f  r^^-^•^r,'c|rsnc   iti  th '^  mopfh  of  Anrll.  i8ilO. 


W.LKES'    ANTARCTIC    EXPED,T,ON. 


Cal,forn,a,  with  special  reference  [o^hfn'  '''"."^  "-^  ~ast  of 
as  you  can  accomplisli  bv Vl"  ,    ^"^  "^  San  Francisco 

your  arrival.  P""''  ''>'  *«  """"h  of  October  foCwino' 

"  Vou  will  then  proceed  to  ,1, 
yo..r  route  as  man^y  doubtW    sland?"  °^  ^'P*"'  '=''<'"?  i" 

a  view  to 'as"rt^rn\vt'.hr.tr:fs"'r'^^r  ---"ation,  with 
«'H|cHw,„  shorten  the  9^^:^^":^^:^^^:;; 

^•^^":^:^^y:,^Z;^V^r,c^r  attention  to 
">g  mstructions  to  navi  Jtors  {,  "'"^^''"^  '°  '"'"i^^^  saS? 
ascertam  the  disposition^  the  inh^T,^  ''"  ^'•^°  advisable  o 
th.s  archipelago  for  commerce  tt^  "'"5  "-■« '^'''"ds  of 
so;"-ces.  mmerce,  their  productions  and    re- 

S.ra"^of|ura!"p1:f  ttuTth^Sr -"''"rP^-^d  to  the 

%\,  P™''*'^«  you  may  arrive  about  ,h.  °/ ^l"S?P<"-e,  where 
.S4.,  and  where  you  wi„  ^eettst^rth.fe'leVnS 

of  pTni-S,^  £ro:lT  i'  If  P^--^  "-  objects 
|ngy  after  receiving  your  ^rpn?'!'!':^''"'^  VO"  will,  accS 
United  States  by  §,e  Cape  of  Po  If  ?f''P°''«'  "'eturn  to  the 
course  as  may  be  most  likelv  ,„  r  °''u  ""?«■  '''king  such  a 

dysentei^l^^orTny  oZr"fataf  '°"^*"!'"  '^"'"des,  should  the 
among  your  crews?  yo'  have  Zt"T  ""'^'^  «=  appearance 
«rd  u„,i,  t,,e  dis;a^se  Shan  ither  w-  P''°''="=''  to  ?he  north- 
ga  ed  as  to  admit  of  the  resumptron  IV  PP"^'"'  °'  ^  «°  "liti- 
a„;^'l^_  department  does  no^fl"!'  ?,f/°"  '""i^^y^- 
'  ^P--   ^— ions  forprese-rWntthTSh^o'ftrsf 


132 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


under  your  command,  confiding  in  your  own  experienco. 
the  care  and  precautions  ot  the  able  surgeons  with  wliom 
you  are  provided,  and  in  the  conviction  you  must  feel,  that 
on  the  health  of  your  crews  mu£t  depend  the  success  of  the 
enterprise. 

"  In  the  prosecution  of  these  long  and  devious  voyages,  you 
will  necessarily  be  placed  in  situations  which  cannot  be  antic! 
pated,  and  in  which,  sometimes  your  own  judgment  and  dis- 
cretion,  at  others,  necessity  must  be  your  guide.  Among 
savage  nations,  unacquainted  with,  or  possessing  but  vague 
ideas  of  the  rights  of  property,  the  most  common  cause  of 
collision  with  civilized  visitors  is  the  offence  and  the  pun  Mi- 
ment  of  theft.  You  will  therefore  adopt  every  possible  pre- 
caution against  this  practice,  and  in  the  recovery  of  the  stolen 
property,  as  well  as  in  punishing  the  offender,  use  all  due 
moderation  and  forbearance. 

"  You  will  permit  no  trade  to  be  carried  on  by  the  squadron 
with  the  countries  you  may  visit,  either  civilized  or  savage, 
except  for  necessaries  or  curiosities,  and  that  under  express 
regulations  established  by  yourself,  in  which  the  rights  of 
the  natives   must  be   scrupulously  respected   and  carefully 

guarded. 

"  You  will  neither  interfere,  nor  permit  any  vyanton  inter- 
ference  with  the  customs,  habits,  manners,  or  prejudices  of  the 
natives  of  such  countries  or  islands  as  you  may  visit;  nor  take 
part  in  their  disputes,  except  as  a  mediator ;  nor  commit  any 
act  of  hostility,  unless  in  self-defence,  or  to  protect  or  se- 
cure the  property  of  those  under  your  command,  or  whom 
circumstances  may  have  placed  within  reach  of  your  protec- 
tion. 

"You  will  carefully  inculcate  on  all  the  cancers  and  men 
under  your  command,  that  courtesy  an*  ';"in..  ss  towai  Js  the 
natives,  which  Is  understood  and  felt  by  all  classes  of  man- 
kind; to  display  neither  arrogance  nor  contempt,  and  to 
appeal  to  their  good-will  rather  than  their  fears,  until  it  shall 
become  apparent  that  they  can  only  be  restrained  from  vio- 
Ici-ce  by  fear  or  force. 

Yo  J  will,  on  all  occasions,  avoid  risking  the  officers  and 
meii  unnecessarily  on  shore  at  the  mercy  of  the  natives. 
Treachery  is  one  of  the  Invariable  characteristics  of  savages 
and  barbarians  ;  and  very  many  of  the  fatal  disasters  which 

«  1      /•  11      .      .- J!__-     _~..:»»<.Av.>r.     Itmra     nt-Icon     (rr\rn    tfifi 


prcccuin^ 


WILKES'    ANTARCTIC   EXPEDITION.  ^^ 

pressions  made  on  thdr  m.^ds  hv   h  •'"fi''"P?"''  °"  "-^  '"'- 
your  vessels.  ^^  ''>'  ''''•■"'  "■'st  intercourse  with 

...d  'n:t:rlT4lttt:r:i^  t'  "?„~''er  benefits 
deavon;,  wherever  you  mavVn  t/?  "'"u","?  •™"'-  "^^^  en- 
impression  ofyour?ou„™y'a,?d'coumr™e^,''"?-f  ^  ^''^"^^'^'^ 
.s  not  for  conquest,  but  discovery  Its^ob;":/''^  expedition 
ful :  they  are  to  extend  the  emnir;.  J  ■'™'^  '"''^  =>''  Pe»<^e- 
co  diminish  the  hazards  of  theTean  a'nT""'''"  """'  ='''="'=«  = 
navigators  a  course  by  wl  ch  df^^^'n  P°".'!  °""°  f"'"™ 
find  safety.  ^       '"  ""=y  "'='y  "void  dangers  and 

which  all  enlightened  natbTs  are  .nT"-^''  ■"  pursuits  in 
right  to  expect  the  good  w  1  and  Zf  ^«""^'''^f"''  ''"^  * 
civilized  world.  Should  our  countrf^K  °?'^'  ?^  ''"=  *'>°'e 
involved  in  war  durinn-  vo„r  -,K         ^'  ""^''efore.  be  unhappily 

acts  of  hostility  whSr^s  it  ?.'"■  T.  ^' '  '<=''^'''"  f™^  »" 
will  be  committed  agahS  you  'L'°f'^^"'^y  Sieved  none 
case,  It  is  not  to  be^doubted  thaf  even  l""" •,"'''  '^«''"S  "-« 
respect  your  purposes  and  l^  i  "  ''°^"'«  "^""'is  will 
accomplishment    "^       '     ^   ''^""^   ''""Y  facility  to   their 

"Finally,  you  will  recollect  flit  tU, .    t 
be  carried  biyond  the  sol  ere  of  !-!  •    S  r^""  ""^y  frequently 
of  law.  yet  that  the  ob^^^  fons  o^'^u I    ''  ""^  t''^  '^'''''"^ 
always  and  everywhere  equahy  impS  Je  fn  n  ''""'"''y  "' 
with  men,  and  most  esoerlill,,  '  "P'^'^*"ve  in  our  intercourse 

not  they  us;  and  that"^?;' w'j  S™! t 'ti, 'h"  "'  'f^  *«■"' 
from  the  Intercourse,  we  should  endeavor  t""^  .advantages 
m  return.  enaeavor  to  confer  benefits 

n-l'foTfhVg^lrtttrests^of?'  "'^  ^"P^"^'"'-  ^  '^e  pro- 
you  will  take  ill  occasions  „„f'°"''""'''=^?r''  "^^igation^yet 

poroses  of  your  undertSMo^^^^Xhe"!'  ™'?  'r*"^  ^reat 
and  promote  the  acq„|,itlon  o°  kn.   i  5    ''°"?.'''°f  ^"ence. 

successful  attainment^o  E  a  corostf  ^- '  -^"^  "'^  ""'^^ 
consisting  of  the  follows"  'Llf'P'f  ='='e"'ific  gentlemen. 
*n,and  are  Placed ^  u^^; V^^^^ ---P^;:y^h-xpe. 


134 


ANT...RCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


lologist ;  Mr.  Pickering,  Mr.  Peale,  naturalists  ;  Mr.  Couthouy, 
conchologist ;  Mr.  Dana,  mineralogist;  Mr.  Rich,  botanist; 
Mr.  Drayton,  Mr.  Agate,  draughtsmen;  Mr.  Brackenridge, 
horticulturist 

"  The  hydrography  and  geography  of  the  various  seas  and 
countries  you  may  visit  in  the  route  pointed  out  to  you  in  the 
preceding  instructions,  will  occupy  your  especial  attention; 
and  all  the  researches  coniiecu^d  with  them,  as  well  as  with 
astronomy,  terrestrial  magnetism,  and  meteorology,  are  con- 
fided exclusively  to  the  officers  of  the  navy,  on  whose  zeal  and 
talents  the  department  confidently  relies  for  such  results  as 
will  enable  future  navigators  to  pass  over  the  track  traversed 
by  your  vessels,  without  fear  and  without  danger. 

"  No  special  directions  are  thought  necessary  in  regard  to 
the  mode  Oi  conducting  the  scientific  researches  and  experi- 
ments which  you  dre  enjoined  to  prosecute,  nor  is  it  intended 
to  limit  the  members  of  the  corps  each  to  his  own  particular 
service.  All  are  expected  to  co-operate  harmoniously  in 
those  kindred  pursuits,  whose  equal  dignity  and  usefulness 
should  insure  equal  ardor  and  industry  in  extending  their 
bounds  and  verifying  their  principles. 

"As  guides  to  yourself  and  to  the  scientific  corps,  the  de- 
partment would,  however,  direct  your  particular  attention  to 
the  learned  and  comprehensive  reports  of  a  committee  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia,  the  report  of 
a  committee  of  the  East  India  Marine  Society,  of  Salem, 
Massachusetts;  and  to  a  communication  from  the  Naval 
Lyceum  of  New  York,  which  accompany,  and  are  to  be  re- 
garded as  forming  a  part  of  these  instructions,  so  far  as  they 
may  accord  with  the  primary  objects  of  the  expedition  and  its 
present  organization.  You  will,  therefore,  allow  the  gentle- 
men of  the  scientific  corps  the  free  perusal  of  these  valuable 
documents,  and  permit  them  to  copy  such  portions  as  they 
may  think  proper. 

"  The  Russian  Vice-Admiral  Krusenstern  has  transmitted 
to  the  department  memorandums  reladng  to  the "  objects  of 
this  expedition,  together  with  the  most  approved  charts  of  his 
adas  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  with  explanadons.  in  three  voliir.es. 
These  are  also  confided  to  your  care ;  and  it  is  not  doubted 
that  the  friendly  contributions  of  this  distinguished  navigator 
will  essentially 'contribute  to  the  success  of  an  enterprise  in 
which  he  takes  so  deep  an  interest. 


WILKES-    ANTARCTIC    EXPEDmON.  ,,, 

furnSrn/aiy^eSslt'hf  '"^'''  ^""^  ~'""'»"d  ^om 
drawing,  painting,  or  informatio^n  „f'  '"T.°'?nd"m,  specimen, 

"It  being  considered  hilhl ,  P  '"'  expedition, 
these  voyales,  either  DartK/.PT^"'  ."'^'  "°  JO'"-nal  of 
without  'th?  authorit/and  uTderZ  ''  '''°"'''  be'published 
ernment  of  the  United  Stete.1.,„K  ""P^'^^'on  of  the  gov- 
tion  is  undertaken  you  rflh^f/^""^  ^^P^"^«  'his  exp^di- 
the  United  States  reouTre  from  ''°"  '^'^  'he  waters  of 
command  the  surr^nl^r  of  al^Tn  ^^7  P^""™"  """^^^  y°'^' 
marks,  writings,  drawings  skech-'.??'i''  "?^'?°'^"d"ms:  re- 
all  specimens^  of  every  kind  ^olT'  f"?  P^'"""?^.  ^s  well  as 
your  absence  from  tlie'uni'ted  Statlf'  °'  P'^^P^-'^  -^-'ng 

^r^^V^'oV:':sz:T^^^^^^    \'^  -^^e  and 

whom  they  were  collected  n^  oHicers,  and  by  the  parties  by 
to  be  carefully  seSed  by  the  ^sX'ffi '  ^°"  "i"  "'"''  '^'^ 
such  dispositio'n  as  .he  deVarL?  ?  °a";Tre« '  ''"'="'=''  '°' 
and"^:  seTyeir':;:lr'  ?'^-'-(~s  to  prepare 
collec^ted,  and  o^Id  any  ooDo"rtu'iv  ^'"'°'y  *="  "^-y  •>« 
home  by  a  vessel  of  w^r  of  the  n„V  ^c"'^'"''  '^''  ^«"ding 
formation,  or  duplicates  of  soeri,!^'^  ^'^'^''  <^°P'<=^  °f  '"- 
you  may  deem  i?  iCrtantPtrp"Tserve  ?"'  °t'  "'^'^™' 
future  accident,  you  ^ill  avli  yo^Sf  ^f  T  "'"  '^^'\°^ 
warding  as  freauenrlv  ==  r„,   \/"y^^"  °'  the  occasion,  for- 

your  vSyage  and  "ts  most  m^^'t"^  ^''^  ^^"""y'  details  of 
strictly  prShibitin..  all  commimt',-  '^'"'''  ^'  ">«  ^^""^  '™e 
ment/from  any  person  ataZ?'""!  ^'''^P'  '° '^^  depart- 
to  discoveries,^  or   any   cln^^'°  "'^  expedition,  referring 

progress  of  your  enterprise      "'^"'''   '""""''"^   ^'"^    'h? 

no';peda'^!;^d;iVo"d;r:cti^^:rdr^-"--nd  require 
in  mind,  as  they  no  doubt  wifr?K^\''''P''","'^"'-  Bearing 
they  are  about  ass"stinrto.^iir>.'-^  undertaking  which 
attracts  ihe  attention  of  fl..?TP]"'''  '?.°"^  "'^'  necessarily 
and  interests  of  thefrcountrin^'-''"''  *^'  "'^''°"«^ 
-Its,  it  is  not  fc^rmrjn?  d^ul^^r  t;"™'!!'"-"^  -^ 
uicy  Will  so  conduct  themselve«5  a«;  "t7  JJJ  T  u"  uccasion 
our  navy  has  so  justly  acquted  arhle'llilbtd"^"''"'"" 


I3<5 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


"  With  the  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  the  expedition, 
and  the  safe  return  of  yourself  and  your  companions, 

"  I  am,  very  respectfully, 
(Signed)  "J.  K.  Paulding. 

"  To  Lieutenant  Charles  Wilkes, 
"  Commanding  the  Exploring  and  Surveying  Expedition,  etc." 

Together  with  these  instructions  Lieutenant  Wilkes  received 
orders  to  put  to  sea  the  moment  he  was  ready.  His  squadron 
was  composed  of  the  following  vessels:  the  Vincennes,  a 
sloop  of  war  of  780  tons,  originally  single-decked,  but  in  con- 
sequence of  the  intended  cruise  a  light  deck  was  put  on  her 
for  the  protection  of  the  men  and  to  afford  more  room.  The 
accommodations  thus  became  those  of  a  small  frigate. 

The  Peacock,  a  sloop  of  war  of  650  tons,  originally  built 
with  a  deck  like  that  of  the  Vincennes.  She  had  made  two 
cruises  previous  to  her  sailing  ia  1838. 

The  Porpoise,  a  gun-brig  of  two-and-thirty  tons ;  the  tender 
Sea-GuU  of  1 10  tons ;  the  tender  Flying-Fish  of  96  tons ;  and 
the  Relief,  a  new  vessel,  originally  intended  as  a  store-ship 
for  the  navy.  She  was  built  for  carrying,  and  her  slow  rate 
of  sailing  made  her  ill-adapted  for  the  cruise. 

Orders  were  given  to  rendezvous,  in  case  of  separation,  at 
Madeira.  It  was  soon  found,  in  the  trial  of  the  sailing  quali- 
ties of  the  vessels,  that  the  Relief  was  unsuited  to  act  with 
the  rest  without  great  detention,  and  after  four  days  Lieuten- 
ant Wilkes  determined  to  part  company  with  her,  giving  her 
orders  to  proceed  to  the  Cape  de  Verdes. 

On  the  25th  of  August  the  winds  became  favorable,  and 
the  squadron  was  enabled  to  lay  its  course  towards  Madeira. 
They  continued  to  keep  the  direction  of  the  Gulf  Stream  to- 
wards  the  Western  Islands.  They  felt  its  influence  until  they 
reached  the  longitude  of  48°  W.,  and  found  it  to  set  for  the 
last  few  days  to  the  northward  of  east.  The  winds  had  been 
light  and  the  sea  smooth,  indicating  no  other  impulse  than 
the  flow  of  the  stream.  The  temperature  gradually  decreased 
from  83°  to  75°. 

On  the  night  of  the  26th  the  ships  parted  company  with 
the  Peacock  and  Flying-Fish  in  a  squall,  and  did  not  again 
meet  them  until  they  reached  Madeira.  The  5th  of  Septem- 
ber, being  near  the  reported  shoal  of  St  Anne,  he  determined 
to  pass  over  its  position. 


WILKES'  ANTARCTIC   EXPEDITION.  ,3 

an°Satgf  3^~Cv  trn-T^H^*^  '='-<^  °f  Madeira. 
Funchal.  ol.  its  souai^rn  sWe  T^'  ^  ''«5'"'ned  to  pass  to 
son.  but  vessels  bound  ?o  thai  Jrt  "'*,?  ''^  '^°"^  "  'his  sea- 
the  eastern  point  of  the  iS'^^Vhen'V^.'f"  going  round 

of  Madeira  lie  experienced  a  ven^lon^  hi  ™'=''",^"  P°'"' 
gave  liim  an  opportunity  of  trvin7,h.^'i  ^^^  V"^^-  "hicli 
by^no.„,the  time  t,ie  sLe  re^4\^  ^^^^  ^^J-aves 

anflaS,1L'Ve?e\ret;;r"P^"^.^"'' ''-  ^"..oHe 
cocic  and  Flying-Fish  morning  jomed  by  tlie  Pea- 

byl': taurore'i^ii'th  ^frJ::-  ""TT^  --  boarded 
permission  to  land.  P'^'"  °'^  "»«  port,  who  gave 

paS  whh"fome^li"d'?'dffiruhv'nr^,,'''^''^^  '^  ««°ni- 

surf,  but  more  from  the  not?  .^r  P?"'y  °"  »'^'=°"nt  of  the 

the  native  boatmen  in  thdreCf^'T'  ^"^,  "P™^"-  ""^de  by 
the  beach.  This  operation  , hi  ?  '"''^S:  their  boats  up  on 
well  accustomed  tofaS°hoeL^°T'?^  understand,  and^re 
wise  to  employ  them       "'°'^*''°  desire  to  land  dry  will  be 

The;;ir^1^^:^:/„Vtlli^^^^^^^^^^^  ™-->le  huts. 

h.gh,  with  a  roof  rising  on  aU  sWe,V^°"'  ^"^  "'  ''='  feet 
thatched  with  straw  o?  bmom'and  cont,^"  "'"'f  P°'^'  '''^ 
The  only  aperture  for  hVhf  =,n!^'        r  •^°."'3in  only  one  room 

but  litde'  ne'cessity  for  fhimneys  as  Ir:'  ' '^  t"''     '^'>-«^^ 

"  *- northern  part  of  the  inland  some  of".hl  ''°'"  ''"i"'""^- 

their  habitation  in  caves  or  exral,^>  ,     P<=asants  make 

In  the  town  of  Funchal  there  are  1°"  '^'  '"■"^''^'=- 
ments,  and  much  luxury  amonl  th.  T7  "^T"'  «tablish. 

poorer  classes  are  lodged  mTerlbv  rf 'k  ''^"'=='  ''^  *e 
.  ally  of  one  story,  of  which  4emerioTf.°"n'1  """"  S^"'"' 
neatly  whitewashed  •  but  fh/ „f„  ■  •  '^^*'"  ''ept,  being 
able.  They  have  b«  o^f  :^?^r;  "^^8  but'comfort^ 
with  round  stone,  and  the  walk  ^.^'r  t  ^°°''^  ""  P^ved 
no  better  an  appearance  thin  L  1°"?^  ''°"«'  Presentinc 

is  scanty  and  ^^A^^Z'tt  Zr""''"'''''-  ^he  furniturS 
ravellmg  is  performed  in  sedan-ch.irc      t.,:.  _ .  ,    .      . 

*e  mountains.     Horsis  aid  m^^''  P^"'™ '^--ly  in  crossing 
norses  and  mules  are  seldom  used.     On 


138  ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

leavinj^  Funchal  for  the  country  it  is  one  continued  ascent  be- 
tween high  stone  walls,  these  forming  abutments  to  the  ter- 
races,  which  are  covered  with  vines,  and  afford  protection 
from  the  sun.  After  reaching  the  hills  one  enjoys  a  delight- 
ful view  of  the  beautiful  gardens.  The  roadsides  are  lined 
throughout  with  flowers  (to  us,  those  of  the  green-house), 
among  them  Fuchsias,  digitalis,  rose  geraniums,  Punica  gra- 
nata,^Rosa  indica  coccinea,  Hydrangea  hortensis,  mixed  with 
box-trees,  myrtles,  etc. 

The  valleys  are  covered  with  the  Belladonna  lily,  and  the 
mountain-passes  cannot  be  compared  to  anything  more  ap. 
propriate  than  to  a  rich  flower-garden  left  to  grow  wild. 
Added  to  this,  a  climate  which  resembles  our  finest  spring 
weather. 

Such  of  the  peasantry  as  do  not  gain  a  subsistence  in  the 
vineyards,  have  usually  a  small  patch  of  ground  which  they 
cultivate,  raising  grain,  corn,  potatoes,  and  the  taro  (Arum 
esculentum),  in  quandties  barely  sufficient  to  eke  out  a  scanty 
living.  The  cultivadon  is  commonly  performed  by  hand,  al- 
though a  plow  of  very  simple  construcdon  is  sometimes  used. 
Many  of  the  peasantry  are  employed  as  carriers,  and  one  is 
much  struck  by  their  numbers  when  entering  Funchal  early  in 
the  morning,  with  sheep-skins  filled  with  wine  on  their  shoul- 
ders,  that  look  at  a  distance  more  like  the  live  animal  than  a 

filled  skin. 

The  south  side  of  Madeira,  although  not  the  most  fertile, 
produces  the  finest  wines.  Every  point  which  can  be  cul- 
tivated successfully  is  attended  to,  and  earth  is  brought 
to  increase  the  soil  from  other  parts.  The  kinds  of  grapes 
are  various,  and  the  wines  manufactured  are  numerous.  The 
common  Madeira  is  obtained  from  a  mixture  of  Dual,  Ver- 
delho  and  Negro  MoUe  grapes ;  the  Malmsey  and  Sercial 
from  grapes  of  the  same  name.  There  is  a  great  difference 
in  the  spots  and  peculiar  exposure  where  the  vine  grows;  and 
different  kinds  of  wine  are  produced,  according  to  the  state 
of  maturity  to  which  the  grape  is  allowed  to  arrive  at  before 
being  gathered.  After  being  expressed,  it  is  put  into  casks. 
undergoes  the  process  of  fermentation,  is  clarified  with  g>'p- 
sum  or  isinglass,  and  a  small  portion  of  brandy  is  added,  two 
or  three  gallons  to  the  pipe. 


Thf-  deportment  of  the  lower  classes  is  a  mixture  of  polite- 


ness 


and  servility.     The   language   spoken   in   Madeira  is 


WILKES'   ANTARCTIC   EXPEDmON.  ,3^ 

Portuguese  coins^urreM  i„  Lis£,n'wni    "?'  "'^J'^  "^'"^s  of 
The  want  of  a  small  descrbtion  nf  °  P*'=  '"  Madeira. 

rent  setting  nofthtst  b%^'of  /bot'^-P-'-ced  a  cur- 

f"  l-""^  "«il  they  reachK  htUude  oH"       '    °^  ^  "'"" 
the  Cape  de  Verde  Islands.        '*"'""«  °'  Bonavista,  one  of 

wa?er,  '^V^tif,ptlT,';:^''j\Zn%f  1""'  *^"'°^ed 
On  entering  it  the  thermSne'er  fe  1  o„°  ^^^  "f  "j?™ ^'  '''^P"'. 
grees.  The  distance  run  in  it  tt^  "1-  ^  ''^'"^ '°  '""^  de- 
fifty  miles.  Repeated  casts  of  tiredet""'  f?"-" ''""dred  and 
from  two  to  three  hundred  LhL.T^^  '^^.'^  "'^''^  had  i" 
The  water  was  particularly  etZ^'J"  "°  ^°"?">  found, 
none  were  detected.  On  leaving  ?t  1.  •''  ^T^'™'*'  ^ut 
took  place  of  two  degrees-  and^,,,  ^  u"^  ,°f  temperature 
seen  when  they  had  passed'out  of^'^  Phosphorescence  was 

bay  TheTrn?:fltjj';'''^^^"^''°^^''  '"  P-'°  P-ya 
ance  from  Madeira  pa/tSrlv  th?  '  tu'  '^'^^''"'  ^PP^a- 
it,  tWugh  its  formation  sknolnJK^*?^-?'^''"  P-"-"""  °f 
many  high  peaks  and  mountarsini,       '""''*■■•,    '^^''"^  are 

fi^e^^^ackground  for  ^"^^^  ::r;;s^::^i^^ 

isW%tVue"rpre::^i"/Vt  '''  -^"^  ~^  *he 
tl>an  it  does  ^t  othe'r  LSons  of  ?he  ve7r  '"'^'""  ^eamnce 

in.wr„s:^Vh^rr'e°^:;i'rJs^ 

the  lanjing  unpleasan'i  anSXur"  T^'r/n,":^!'' L^-^^ 
'  «  oinaii  rocK,  some  distanrp  f•-r^«,  ^uT    -^  '""^"ig-piace 

w  tat  „ .« *„■»"»  Swtr?.i;;s„" 


Hi 


I40 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


it  is  now  entirely  gone  to  decay.  It  commands  the  bay,  and 
ir  situated  about  two  hundred  feet  above  the  sea.  The  hori- 
zontal stratification  of  the  red  and  yellow-colored  sandstone 
shows  most  conspicuously  in  this  cliff,  and  forms  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  objects  on  this  part  of  the  island.  It  is  of 
tertiary  formation,  and  contains  many  fossils. 

On  landing  a  stranger  is  immediately  surrounded  by  num- 
bers of  the  inhabitants  with  fruit,  vegetables,  chickens,  turkeys 
and  monkeys,  all  pressing  him  with  bargains,  and  willing  to 
take  anything  for  the  purpose  of  obliging  their  customers. 
Many  of  them  continue  to  follow  until  they  meet  with  some 
new  customer. 

The  soil,  rocks,  and  everything  around  on  the  surface,  show 
unequivocal  marks  of  volcanic  origin.  The  rock  above  the 
tertiary  formation  is  a  thick  bed  of  cellular  lava,  with  frag- 
ments of  the  same  strewn  in  every  direction  over  it.  A 
thin  and  poor  soil  gives  but  litde  sustenance  to  a  light  her- 
bage. Goats  and  asses  are  found  in  great  numbers  grazing 
upon  it. 

The  walk  from  the  landing  to  the  town  is  very  fatiguing, 
and  the  road  deep  with  sand.  The  first  view  of  the  town  on 
entering  it  is  anything  but  striking,  and  all  the  ideas  formed 
in  its  favor  are  soon  dispelled.  The  houses  are  whitewashed, 
and  in  general  appearance  resemble  those  inhabited  by  the 
lower  orders  in  Jladeira,  but  they  are  much  inferior  even  to 
them.  The  northeast  part  of  the  town  is  composed  of  rough 
stone  houses,  covered  with  palm  leaves.  The  streets  are 
wide,  and  in  the  centre  is  a  large  public  square,  the  middle 
of  which  is  occupied  by  a  small  wooden  monument.  A  chapel, 
jail  and  barracks  constitute  the  principal  public  buildings. 
The  fort,  which  flanks  the  town,  is  almost  entirely  in  decay. 
This  is  the  case  with  almost  everything  we  saw  here ;  the 
place  is,  indeed,  litde  better  than  an  African  town.  The 
houses  are  of  stone,  one  story  high,  pardy  thatched,  and 
others  t'led.  Their  interior  presents  only  a  few  articles  of 
absolute  necessity.  Of  comfort  and  cleanliness  they  have  no 
idea.  The  houses  and  streets  are  filthy  in  the  extreme ;  and 
in  both  of  them  pigs,  fowls  and  monkeys  appear  to  claim, 
and  really  possess,  equal  rights  with  the  occupants  and 
owner. 

The  population  is  made  up  of  an  intermixture  of  descend- 
ants from  the  Portuguese,  natives  and  negroes  from  the  adja- 


WILKES'   ANTARCTIC   EXPEDITION.  , 

cent  coast.     The  nep^ro 

hair,  flat  noses  and  thick  iLs^h?"  '°  Predominate,  woolly 

with.     ^  ^'PS  being  most  frequently  met 

the;Po^trgrsfarn%^;%l^^^^^^^^  j5>-ed  by  a  mixture  of 
their  native  tongue.  Hale  our  nV,,'^. °^  ^^^  ^^^^ks  speak 
vocabulary  of  the  Mandrnl  i  PJ^'^ologist.  obtained  here  a 
with  that  liven  b^-  MungoT^k"^"^^^'  ^"^  ^^""^  ^'  to  ag^e^ 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  226  nf  m 
took  alight  wind  from  The  southe.r^''i^^'>^  ^^"adron 
stood  in  for  the  magnificent  harbor  V^S^  T^  ^"  ^^^^  «et 
attention  was  drawn'first  to  the  M  f  .^'°  -^^^^'r^-  Their 
peaks  of  Gavia,  the  Sugar  Loaf  and  r  ""''>  ^"^  ^^rupt 
whilst  on  the  right  thev  had  fh!  1"?^ ^^^.^ovado  on  the  left- 
then  before  them  the  cL  of  sL  Q^/"^  T'"'  °^  Santa  Cruz  •' 
San  Domingo,  with  Pmya  cfaTde  t  °-  '"^  '^^  '^^^^o( 
and  fleet  that  lay  between  them  /P.^.^'^te.  and  ^he  islands 

panse  of  water,  ^hele  ob^ectT  w^h  Th^  ^'>  ^-"^iful  ex! 
prgan  Mountains  for  a  backcxron'  J  r  '^^  pmnacles  of  the 
It  would  be  difficult  to  poinf  out  in  T  '"'^  ^  ^^^"^  that 
improved.  The  life  and^s  ir  crea  ed  K^M!'^""""  ''  ^^^'^  be 
sels,  boats  and  steamers  of  vaHo?.  f^  '^^  ""'"ber  of  ves- 
passing  to  and  fro  give  ^reat  In?     ^'       ""^  ^"^  °^  ^11  sizes 

The  mountains  pfesen^a  ve  "  n^'' r"  '°  '^'^  ^^°J«- 
tops  and  sides  ha've  a  rounffi'wt n"" 'P^r^'^^r-     ^heir 
verdure,  with  the  exception  of  herll  I'"'/^''^'  ^^^titute  of 

patch,  produced  by  the  Tillandkswhtl- ^^T^  a  yellowish 
rocks.     The  abruptness  of  tir^.a^V"  F  ^^  ^°^'^^«  the 

^C^^'^y  '^'--^  Santl  ^^J^^^-,:^ 

orlttt^^^^^^^^^^^^  places,  a  dense  forest 

at  anchor,  exhibitine  thdr  nmnn.7  '*y,  ^'''^  ""^^ed  to  lie 
advantage.  They  fre  u  u1l?J^  °"'  """^  symmetry  to  great 
their  didrent  flags  flvinTfn/  ■''^"  ^'?"P'"^  together.^iri, 
>vouId  delight  i„?^      ^  "^'  ^°""'"S  a  picture  that  a  painter 

.har':;V\:,d;m"| ;p'"4^:,ty  -  -'--^  ^e  harbor  of  Rio 
seen,  as  it  were  to  aK^l^.jet^lr;'  T*^^  "'°""'^'"° 
and  ocean.  They  anchored  near  eL^^"°"  i™"  *<=  "'"d^ 
and  found  the  Peacock  had  arr;,!;"/?,l°.!  °f  "°^P!'-' 'sland, 

"-.ana  that  she  was  Proceeding ;vUrher'r:;alrrapidly! 


142 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


The  vessels  being  altogether  unfit  for  the  southern  cruise,  it 
became  necessary  to  effect  the  requisite  repairs  as  speedily 
as  possible. 

The  instruments  and  stores  were  allowed  to  be  landed  free 
of  inspection,  and  every  assistance  they  could  desire  was 
afforded  by  the  government  and  its  officers. 

Every  one,  on  first  landing  at  Rio  Janeiro  or  San  Salvador, 
will  be  struck  with  the  indiscriminate  mingling  of  all  classes 
in  every  place,  all  appearing  on  terms  of  the  utmost  equality; 
ofificers,  soldiers  and  priests,  both  black  and  white,  mixing 
and  performing  their  respective  duties,  without  regard  to 
color  or  appearance.  The  only  distinction  seems  to  be  that 
of  freedom  and  slavery.  There  are  many  wealthy  free  blacks, 
highly  respectable,  who  amalgamate  with  the  white  families, 
and  are  apparently  received  on  a  footing  of  perfect  equality. 
An  air  of  independence  is  creeping  in  even  among  the  work- 
ing classes.  Any  litde  service  that  is  required,  and  for  which 
they  are  well  paid,  they  appear  to  consider  as  a  favor  done 
you.  The  mechanical  arts  are  at  least  half  a  century  behind 
those  of  other  countries.  The  churches,  which  are  numerous, 
are  falling  into  decay,  and,  to  crown  all,  the  steps  of  the 
churches  are  made  a  market-place  for  the  sale  of  sheep, 
pigeons,  fruit,  etc. 

You  can  see  Rio  Janeiro  under  its  most  favorable  aspect 
during  the  holidays,  when  the  church  has  put  on  all  her  finery 
and  decorations,  and  every  one,  slave  as  well  as  master,  seei 
intent  upon  enjoying  himself.  The  Christmas  week  oi  Iioii, 
days  give  a  respite  from  all  labor,  and  various  are  the  amuse- 
ments. The  churches  are  decked,  and  the  services  extraor- 
dinary. 

The  neglect  of  the  public  walks  and  roads  shows  a  want  of 
proper  attention,  and  strikes  the  visitor  as  different  from  the 
usual  order  of  things  around  a  court.  Rio  has  every  advan- 
tage to  make  it  a  clean  city,  but  the  inclination  appears  to  be 
wanting. 

The  houses  of  the  city  are  strongly  built  of  stone,  cemented 
togedier  with  clay ;  this  is  used  in  consequence  of  the  scarcity 
of  lime,  which  is  only  obtained  by  burning  shells  fished  up 
from  the  bay.  The  houses  are  plastered  on  the  outside,  and 
have  a  pretty  appearance  and  color.  The  floors,  beams  and 
roofs  are  made  of  the  hard  wood  of  the  country,  of  great  size 
and  strength,  which  are  indeed  necessary  from  the  heavy  tile 


roof 

cella 

incoi 

to  hi 

venk 

stran 

Th 

sive 

the  s; 

the  I 

been 

is  tru 

execu 

The 

some  : 

The 

Rio    V 

Amonj 

cut  off 

it  appe 

pain  tec 

so  glar 

been  in 

exposu 

put,  the 

The  Fi 

J  spect  tc 

*     On  tl 

run  wei 

The; 

to  Rio 

westerly 

when  se 

la  Plata, 

river. 

On  th 
low  sand 
of  vegetc 
The  c( 
of  sand-h 
a  scatter 
blowing  1 


WILKES-   ANTARCTIC   EXPEDITION.  ,^, 

Sirs  o^j:rden°s  'Tc^nsl'Ztlf/^^^"^'^^  have  yards, 
incommoded  from  the  wlnt^r^  .      dwellers  are  still  jrreatlv 
to  health  and  comfort  and"'„o U^ W^n"'"''  ^^'"'"^"'^'  ^o* 
ven.ence  to.  the  inhabitants  theZ  T  ^""°y^"<^^  and  incon- 
stmnger  in  passing  througtthe  sTreet^"'  '"'  ''''''''  "'V  "-e 
rl^'^r^ll^^^^^^^  ■•n-ior  with  mas. 
t  ^  lV-a^^,r£:£ H^KislSa  P^^'  o°[ 
been  effected  by  .he  saints'Tntercession  '  TlF^'l^  '"  ''«^« 
.  truly^d-sgnsting,  although  th^yTr^- faJtm^ "I";- 

sognte^S^^^itrE^nih  a^°/Sf-  '^-^^ 

RiJ^t^^rte-nsi^-  Sfa^r    r^^^^^^  at 

Among  other  things  the  head  of  ,1.?  °"  ""^  ^^acock. 
cut  off  eighteen  inches, Tn  consenueitT'!,"-?'"^'  ''=«' '°  be 
It  appeared  had  been  filled  uowlh?"  '"  '''  *'""'' 

pamted  over  at  her  outfit  Thrte'r"""'  t"'^  P""^'  a"d 
so  glanng,  that  in  goin<r  to  the  h!„K  f  t''°!i' "'.^  ^^^^^' were 
been  impossible  to  secu?e  the  crew!  """•"  "  ^"°"'d  have 
exposure.  Even  in  the  state  in  ^I-i.""!  ^"^^'^  suffering  and 
put,  they  had  every  apprehe„^^  rf\f,'l^  ''J"^^™"  "a?  now 

to^^etlSV/et"-^^^^^^^^^  ready,  the  s.uad- 

The  winds  proved  lio-lu  ol.^       •  ,^"  ^"^  harbor. 

to  Rio  Negro*; and  t  f 'o^c^'iSv \'"""^  '--T  P^-^'?^ 
westerly  current,  of  little  stren«h  T^  experienced  a  south- 
when  seventy-ei<rht  mile,  S^!  >    °","'e  'Sth  of  January 

la  Plata,  the^  paLe^  "rotr^eXor  T*  °'  "^  ^° 
river.  '«>"  ^"^  ai«coIored  water  of  that 

^o^s.Xm':Xl^lftZ"1,  't  T-l^'-  T"'?"  '=  a  line  of 
of  vegetation.    In  the  eveninr,^         ''i.^"'  '""^  appearance 

The  coast  and  the  binks  f  f   h?  p" '  m'"^  "^  *e  bar. 
of  sand-hills  of  from  thSy  to  fiftl  L^t'?  V"?T  ^'^  ^'"Posed 
?  scattered  erowth  of  J,!"  .1^,^ "  '"  height,  covered  with 

blowing  away.    These  gi^duaVl^tHri  t^i^^/'Z 


144 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS 


hundred  feet,  except  to  the  southward  of  the  river,  where  the 
bank  is  perpendicular ;  at  this  height  the  ground  stretches 
away  in  a  level  prairie,  without  a  single  tree  to  break  the 
monotony  of  the  scene,  and  affords  a  view  as  uninterrupted 
as  the  ocean. 

The  only  verdure  on  the  prairie  is  a  small  shrub,  which, 
when  the  lower  branches  are  trimmed  off,  serves  a  useful 
purpose.  From  an  optical  illusion  (the  effect  of  refraction) 
they  appear,  when  thus  trimmed,  as  large  as  an  ordinary 
sized  apple  tree,  and  one  is  not  a  litde  surprised  to  find  them, 
on  a  near  approach,  no  higher  than  the  surrounding  shrubs', 
four  or  five  feet.  Shrubs  are  trimmed  in  this  manner  at  dis- 
tances of  about  half  a  mtle  from  each  other,  and  are  used  as 
guide-posts  on  the  prairie.  A  similar  optical  effect  is  spoken 
of  by  travellers  on  the  steppes  of  Russia. 

Game  is  most  plentiful,  consisting  of  deer,  guanacoes,  and 
cavias,  cassowaries,  partridges,  bustards,  ducks,  etc.  Arma- 
dillos were  common,  and  the  ostrich  was  frequently  seen ; 
porcupines  are  also  said  to  be  found.  The  cavias  were  seen 
running  about  in  single  file,  with  a  sort  of  halting  gait. 

The  width  of  the  river  is  less  than  a  third  of  a  mile;  it  has 
a  rapid  current,  and  a  large  body  of  water  is  carried  by  it  to 
the  ocean. 

On  the  3d  of  February  the  squadron  got  under  way,  and 
were  glad  to  leave  an  exposed  and  unpleasant  anchorage. 

On  the  13th  they  made  Staten  Land,  and  soon  afterwards 
Cape  St.  Diego,  Terra  del  Fuego.  The  land  was  broken, 
high,  and  desolate.  The  Straits  of  Le  Maire  were  before 
them  ;  they  were  just  in  time  to  take  the  tide,  and  with  a  fair 
wind  they  sailed  rapidly  through  the  strait,  passing  its  whirls 
and  eddies,  now  quite  smooth,  but  in  a  short  time  to  become 
vexed  and  fretted  by  the  returning  tide.  The  squadron 
glided  along  with  all  its  canvas  spread  to  the  breeze,  scarcely 
making  a  ripple  under  the  bows.  The  day  was  a  remarkably 
fine  one  for  this  climate,  and  the  sight  beautiful,  notwithstand- 
ing the  desolate  appearance  of  the  shores. 

The  coast  of  Terra  del  Fuego  presents  the  same  general 
character  throughout,  of  high,  broken,  and  rugged  land, 
which  appears  of  a  uniform  elevation  of  about  one  thousand 
or  fifteen  hundred  feet,  with  here  and  there  a  peak  or  moun- 
tain covered  with  snow,  rising  to  some  four  or  five  thousand 
The  whole  wears  a  sombre  and  desolate  aspect,    it 


WILKES-   ANTARCTIC  EXPEDITION.  j^. 

by  the  wear  of  ages     Numfr^r  *"=  '^"<'  apparently 

occur  all  along  the^Sast  „a„v   "fV"'?""?'*  '"''^ntation^ 

small  vessels,  and  some  ofXmveJt^'^ff^™'"^  ''"'»«  f°f 

In  passing  Cape  Hnm  ,1?.  P^  ^*'^  ""as- 
sailed within'^two  mileroftht  dreaded'  """'  '^"'"s'"''"'-  They 
not  but  admire  its  worn  and  weafher  hLT""-^""^'  ^"^  ""'^ 
so  long  been  invested  with  alTthl  t;  *2  '"'*''  "'="  ''ave 
ors  Here  they  first  encountereH?/'  i''^'  <^''"  ^^'  ^ail- 
Paofic  but  there  was  scrrcelv  a  Hnnl^  "^  '"^"  °'  *''' 
though  the  landscape  was  covered  J^fh  "  "\="rface.  A|. 
perature  was  4o»  I^hrenheT  '"°"'-  *^  '""^t  'em. 

chored'in'or^te  Hatr%:fiV'  l?^"""?^'''  «  '^^  "••  an- 
tenders,  all  welf  ""*  ^^^  '"""d  the  Relief  and 

sep^Sa"d'TOed"from\l,v  ''^1  °^  Nassau  Bay, 

land-locked,  and  is  the  safeThl^  ^""'  J"'^"''-  ''  i^  nearlV 
on  each  side,  after  seveS,  u^d  Jadonr'''^  '°''''-  ^he  hllK 
and  the  naked  mck  is  eve^where  hrnt"^  ■'"°  """="'  P^^ks, 
line,  with  no  creeping  plante  tr.^^rr  ^"  '"'°  ^  Hg^^  out- 
ness.  Everything  his  a  Weak  .nS""  °''  '^^^  °^  "s  harsh- 
n  excellent  keepfng  44   hfcl^^„r'.""-y/PPearance,  and  i 

"f  pleasing  to  JheV,  bounded  on  alHirf*"  T""?  ^^°" 
hills,  which  are  covered  wifK  »  ^"^^^  ''y  undu  ating 

mountains,  some  of  whTch  aTeUp/lwfth   '°'"^\    ^''^-^ 
m  a  variety  of  forms,  seen  beyond'^the^xL  •°"v'''°°"'"g  "P 
fine  background.     From  the  vessels  fLvnn  ^^^^^  f"™  a 
downs,  and  if  it  were  not  for  the  fnrii    ^'"'  '°°^  '"^'^  ^-"ooth 
the  weather,  they  mi^ht  be  mn,»  ""'}'""^'><=y  and  fitfulness  of 
The  hills  are  c?vlred  with  d'^P'";''  ^'*  =°'"«  Pl<=asure 
wfllow,  and  winter-bark     Some  of  t'hefn''''  °^  ^'''^-  •""^^h 
or  fifty  feet  high,  havin<.  all  theirtl.    l"""  ^"""^  ^'^  fo«y     ' 
by  the  prevaifing  soutllwe  t  wbd    '^Vw  '°  "'^  "°«''^^^'' 
even  as  to  heigKt,  havinrr  moT^  ,L  i     >  ^^  ^'^  remarkably 
heath  than  of  forest  trees  '°°'''  ^'  ^  *5«ance,  of 

canlJ^o^ckt'inii  tv^tlSrt""/^''^'""^  °f  — '  vpl- 
(^^y  investigations  tended  to  prove  the  con- 

Immediately  on  arrival  of  r, ,,    , 

fons  were  m£de  for  a  shorV  c^fse^o  '^:Zt^^:  ''"'''"'• 


146 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


Captain  Hudson,  with  the  Peacock,  and  the  Flying-F^sh, 
under  Lieutenant  Walker,  as  a  tender,  were  ordered  to  the 
westward,  as  far  as  the  Ne  Plus  Ultra  of  Cook.  Lieutenant 
Wilkes  went  in  the  Porpoise,  Lieutenant-Commandant  Ring, 
gold,  accompanied  by  the  Sea-Gull,  Lieutenant  Johnson,  to 
pass  to  the  south,  for  the  purpose,  if  possible,  of  exploring 
the  southeast  side  of  Palmer's  Land,  or,  should  an  opportu- 
nity offer,  of  proceeding  farther  south.  The  Relief,  Lieuten- 
ant-Commandant Long,  was  ordered  into  the  Straits  of  Ma- 
gellan, through  the  Brecknock  Passage  and  Cockburn's 
Sound,  with  part  of  the  gendemen  of  the  scientific  corps,  in 
order  to  enlarge  the  field  of  operations.  Mr.  Peale  volun- 
teered  to  go  south  in  the  Peacock. 

The  Vincennes  was  safely  moored  in  Orange  Harbor,  and 
left  under  the  charge  of  Lieutenant  Craven,  to  carry  on  the 
investigations,  surveys,  etc.,  etc.  Messrs.  Couthouy  and 
Drayton,  of  the  scientific  corps,  remained  in  the  Vincennes. 
Lieutenant  Carr  was  put  in  charge  of  the  observatory. 

The  vessels  were  well  supplied  with  fuel,  provisions,  and 
various  antiscorbutics,  for  ten  months.  A  spot  for  the  ob- 
servatory was  fixed  upon,  and  orders  left  for  the  duties  to  be 
performed  during  the  absence  of  the  squadron. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

WILKES'    ANTARCTIC   EXPEDITION- (G^^^^ 

A  Terrible  Gale  and  „n  Aurora  Au     aHs""f''    "T  °'""=  ''^'''=°'='*  -"  Flying  Fifh-^ 
Peacock  Arrives  at  Valparaiso J^hetj^eTr'IVr  '^"""''  "^"'^^  Nor.hwa^d-Thl 
Anchors-Departure  from  Valparaiso-!l„lut  r  f  "'"  ''"'•  ^'"^"'I-I-Mng  Her 
Peru-Sto.e.Ship  Relief  Ordered  HomeJ^M    e  '    f^jV^""'  '"'°  ""^  ^"'-or  of 
po.se  Sails  for  the  Samoan  Group,  and  the  V in         ^"^"^-Arrival  at  Tahiti-The  Por- 
ra.^-The  Harbor  of  Pago.Pago!:The  tcer^  S^il^  f '''''^r^"'="^'"«  ^-- Ao" 
-Tuva.  Tried  for  Murder-In  the  Hario  of  1'      /T  ^""'*- A  Narrow  Escape 
Wale,    Arrival  at  Sydney-Departure  of  the  SauTr^;'''"''-^"'''"^  '^r  New  SouVj 
Flyng  F.sh  and  Peacock  Separated  from  hJr  '"7"  ^ntarcic  Cruise-The 

The  Peacock  Discovers  a  Guano  Island-I,  .!  ^"7  ''"'  ''"'^°''''  °"""K  ^  Gale- 
"-  V,„cen„es  Northward-Proceeding  of  teP„ "".'"' ''°""""''-R«'-n  of 
Commander  Refuses  to  Speak  the  Porpoise  ^°'P«"'^-^«''«^h  Squadron  Seen-Iu 

On  the  25th  of  Februarv  tS,«  u  • 
rangements  for  the  southern  cruiseT^  ■°"'f'«^'^  *«  ^^■ 
to  be  made  for  the  vessels  to  tZl  ='S"»' "-^^  ordered 
ant  Wilkes  joined  the  PorpoSe  vf  "'^^-  *''""  ^ieuten- 
«:ere  desirous  of  following  K^mand^^  "^"^  °f  "''^  ^'■«* 
d.sappomtment  that  the  Vincenn.;  '^''P''^'^^''  egrets  and 
About  7  A.  M.  the  ships  left  the  harbor  J^'^'  '?°'--  ^^'"^  '°""'- 
the  north,  having  tSe  Sea-Gull  „f  ^'  Z'u  ^  '*■"  ^'^^^^  f™m 
Johnson  was  in  charee  in  mmr.  'a''  ""=''«'  Lieutenant 

harbor  Captain  Hudsfnand  tZ"^  ffi^'    ^'  "><=  """'h  of  the 

The  win^d  continued  Ut  ^hhtT"  T'^  "'^'^  '<^^^«- 
noon.    A  dense  bank  of  cumn  i  t  "k  ""'^'^^''  ""'"  "'"=  ^f^''- 
they  were  not  long  to  enir,  '  ,  "'!,=°'«l™est  foretold  that 
4  P.  M.  a  heavy  squaH  s^n.^l  J^     ^"'''^'^te  weather.    About 

clear  of  the  isfan^ron'Sctrslr-tr''^''  ^^  ^"^  '^"™ 
On  the  26th  thev  fi;«r^,!     <^0"rse  to  the  southward. 

whale-ship  AnleriS,  tm  New  LTla'nfl!^'  ^^^^  ^«  ^^  ^^e 
and  afforded  them  an  nr^^^^  Zealand,  bound  to  New  York 
theyeladlv.v;!i!!?.v_  PP^^^I'ty  of  writinir  home.  wS 

After  dehvenng  their  letters  they  bore  away  to  the  south- 

('47)     . 


148 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


east,  the  wind  inclining  to  the  northwest,  and  blowing  heavy, 
with  a  light  and  remarkably  regular  sea  following. 

At  daylight  on  the  ist  of  March  they  had  snow  in  flurries, 
and  the  first  ice-islands  were  made.  They  excited  much 
curiosity,  and  appeared  to  have  been  a  good  deal  worn,  as 
though  the  sea  had  been  washing  over  them  for  some  time. 
They  were  of  small  size  in  comparison  with  those  they  after- 
wards saw,  but,  being  unused  to  the  sight,  they  thought  them 
magnificent.  At  noon  they  made  land,  which  proved  to  be 
Ridley's  Island. .  It  was  high,  broken,  and  rugged,  with  the 
top  covered  with  snow.  The  rocks  had  a  basaltic  appear- 
ance, and  many  were  detached  from  the  main  body  of  the  isl- 
and,  with  numerous  high  pinnacles,  very  much  worn  by  the 
sea.  The  surf  was  too  great  to  attempt  a  landing  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring  specimens.  As  they  closed  in  with  the 
land,  they  lowered  a  boat  and  tried  the  current,  which  was 
found  setting  to  the  north-northwest,  two  fathoms  per  hour. 

Later  they  had  several  ice-islands  in  sight.  Cape  Mel- 
ville bearing  south  by  east.  They  now  had  light  winds  from 
the  south-southwest. 

The  north  foreland  of  King  George's  Island  was  in  sight, 
and  found  to  be  well  placed  on  the  charts.  The  appearance 
of  all  this  land  is  volcanic ;  it  is  from  eight  hundred  to  one 
thousand  feet  high.  The  upper  part  is  covered  and  the  val- 
leys filled  with  snow  of  great  depth.  Before  night  we  had 
several  other  islands  in  sight,  with  many  bergs  and  much 
drift-ice. 

On  the  2d,  at  daylight,  they  made  O'Brien's  and  Aspland's 
Islands  to  the  eastward,  with  many  ice-islands,  some  of  a 
tabular  form,  and  from  half  a  mile  to  a  mile  in  length. 
Through  the  fog  and  mist  they  got  a  sight  of  Bridgeman's 
Island,  and  stood  for  it,  with  the  intention  of  landing  on  it. 

On  the  3d  the  ships  stood  for  Palmer's  Land.  The  birds 
now  had  very  much  increased.  Cape  pigeons,  with  the  gray 
and  black  petrel,  and  occasionally  penguins,  swimming  about 
in  all  directions,  uttering  their  discordant  screams:  they 
seemed  astonished  at  encountering  so  unusual  an  object  as  a 
vessel  in  these  frozen  seas.  At  6  lirs.  30  min.  they  made  land, 
which  Lieutenant  Wilkes  took  to  be  Mount  Hope,  the  east- 

-j-_ :.-«.     ^f     ■D«1«,<^..'t-     T  or>r1         T  q«-o«-    ^hf^xr    1-iqH     npnpfrafPfl 

Crn      LilJiitl.      VJl      X  aiiiiv^x   a      i^utiU.        i_«l4^.i      kx^.j     •      j 

among  the  numerous  icebergs,  until  they  found  it  impossible 
to  go  farther.    They  had  rarely  seen  a  finer  sight.    The  sea 


ome  ol  a 


WILKES'   ANTARCTIC   EXPEDIIION  ,^^ 

was  literally  studded  with  these  beautiful  masses  some  of 
pure  white,  others  showing  all  the  shades  of  the  opal  others 
emerald  P^reen.  and  occasionally  here  and  there  some  of  a 
deep  blacl^,  forming  a  strong  comrast  to  the  pure  Xe 
Se?rHl\^ -^  '  •  ^t^'^  ^^^  ^^^^  h^d  increaseT  The  tender 
t::flXT' At  iT:Zn'  '°^',  ^^^^^^^  we/e  intmi!: 
ber^s     At  A  A  M  h  Kl.        ^  "^r°^^y  ^'^^P^^  ^^^^ra\  ice- 

wesf    the  tentDe;a^u^TfV''^^^^^^^^  ^^°"^  ^^^^  «0"th. 

wcbu,  cne  temperature  of  the  air  fe     to  27°  and  that  nf  th^ 

water  was  29°;  the  ice  formed  rapidly  on  the  deck  .L 

.n^T  ?^  '?^^  i  '^^  ^^^'^'^^'  ^^^  ^^teness  of  the  season 
and  the  difficulty  of  seeing  around  them,  not  only  durin^the 
several  hours  of  the  night,  but  even  in  the  day-time  t^e^con 
stant  fogs  and  mist  in  which  they  had  been  for  seveml  hours" 
every  day  enveloped,  rendered  their  exertion^  n  W?  j 

precluded  the  possibility  of  doinranvtllT  ^^''[}'''^'  ^''^ 
tend  to  the  sailing  of  the  vessels  "  S  ^  "'^^^^han  to  at- 
them  to  give  up  fhe  endVa^ ^^^^  Jotll  ZZ'r  oThtef 
ing  convinced  that  the  season  for  such  f>vnlr.„,;„      u  j' 

by.  Lieutenant  Wilkes  therefore  o.dere'^'^es'eaGufrt: 
return  to  Orange  Harbor  well  knowing Tw  i,       ?«^->'""  *<> 

much  worse  thai,  his  own ;  rrectinrhef  to  touch  ^n''""  ^^^ 
Island   on  the  way,  while  the "  pi^o  se  pToce^de^'tTTh: 
OnZ,r''KT'""?'""°f*^  "'her  islands  *°  *^ 

IlftJn  h  ^^•;^^'^l'"^^'"S  all  way  to  the  northward  the  [o<r 
lifted  ana  h.gh  land  was  reported  within  a  short  distance  of 

wtr^J'^rr'"''  T'"  ^""^  *«  Po^Poi^-  should  ha^e  been 
wrecked.    This  proved  to  be  Elephant  Island.    The  sea  w« 

I     !l'  u°''u-  '^"''  "°'^  »'^°  =«n  and  observed  uDon     On 
the  .6  h  the  ship  was  off  the  Straits  of  Le  M^re  ^ 
On  the  30th  they  reached  Oranee  Harbor     tL  <;.,  r  ii 


150 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


cheers  from  the  Vincennes  and  Relief.  The  heavy  squall 
from  the  southwest  induced  Captain  Hudson  to  regain  the 
outer  anchorage  of  Orange  Harbor,  and  remain  there  during 
the  continuance  of  the  gale.  The  next  morning,  the  weather 
proving  more  favorable,  they  again  got  under  way,  and  stood 
down  the  bay  with  all  sail  set,  and  a  fine  breeze  from  the 
northward. 

The  heavy  bank  of  cumuli  that  had  been  perceived  in  the 
west,  by  noon  began  to  develop  itself,  and  by  three  o'clock 
they  were  under  their  storm-sails.  This  gale  lasted  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  during  its  continuance  the  tender  Flying-Fish 
was  lost  sigfht  of. 

During  the  gale,  from  her  bad  and  defective  outfits,  no 
vessel  could  be  more  uncomfortable  than  the  Peacock,  and, 
although  every  precaution  was  taken  to  make  the  ports  tight, 
yet  from  their  working,  it  was  found  impossible  to  keep  them 
so. 

They  encountered,  during  the  1 7th  and  part  of  the  i8th,  the 
heaviest  gale  and  sea  they  had  experienced  since  leaving  the 
United  States.  The  ship  was  completely  coated  with  ice, 
even  to  the  gun-deck.  Every  spray  thrown  over  her  froze, 
and  her  bows  and  deck  were  fairly  packed  with  it.  The  crew 
suffered  much  from  the  gun-deck  being  constantly  wet ;  and 
it  being  now  covered  with  ice,  the  ship  was  damp  through- 
out. 

On  the  1 8th  the  gale  continued,  with  a  heavy  sea,  the 
winds  prevailing  more  from  the  south  and  the  south-southeast. 
There  were  many  birds  about  the  ship.  Several  icebergs 
were  in  sight,  and  at  night  they  had  a  beautiful  display  of  the 
aurora  australis,  extending  from  south-southwest  to  east.  The 
rays  were  of  many  colors,  radiating  towards  the  zenith,  aiid 
reaching  an  altitude  of  30°.  Several  brilliant  meteors  were 
also  observed. 

On  the  19th  they  had  another  display  of  the  aurora,  and  it 
exhibited  a  peculiar  effect.  In  the  southern  quarter  there 
was  an  appearance  of  a  dense  cloud,  resembling  a  shadow 
cast  upon  the  sky,  and  forming  an  arch  about  10°  in  altitude. 
Above  this  were  seen  coruscations  of  light,  rendering  all  ob- 
jects around  the  ship  visible.  From  behind  this  cloud  diverg- 
ing rays  frequently  shot  up  to  an  altitude  of  from  25°  to  45". 

i.  ii\-.oC    ci.tji^'\^ct.l  cLiil-v-a     vv^u  liiiLtCvi     Lt  12  t.zx     vicx  y    vici  vv  iiv.,vi«  x  il\-   iiii-iit, 

was  remarkably  fine,  and  many  shooting  stars  were  obsen^ed. 


WILKES'   ANTARCTIC   EXPEDITION.  j     j 

During  the  afternoon  of  this  dav  a  f^o-  k.  i 

in  the  southwestern  quarter  and  tht  ^''-■^^"^^,^^5  perceived 

wards  completely  envS  in  a  fo?  ^Z"'  ^  '^°^'  ^'"^^  ^ft^^" 

they  couldjot  sL  twi^eThe^^ng^fe^helhb  '"'  ^''^^  ^'^^ 

During  the  whole  of  the  2 1  st  ?!,»„  i„  1  j      P" 
in  consequence  of  the  dense  fol^ '°"'''  "°'^«n'"re  to  run. 

cee?ed' bV/ti?-:[:^.lHT£"1.fr  ?^  "-'"^  been  sue 
heavy  bank  of  clouds  ^  that  Tualr  A  '°u  "'^  """^^  «*  ^ 
hauling  to  the  northward  anT  we  ward  V^'  T'  *^  '^'""^ 
thick  weather,  with  some  heavy  s^uairMjr?''l'"°"'  ^'"' 
met  with,  which  were  fortunatelytvo id'ed     %^ '""''rT  ""'' 

';tj::liv  ^-  ^^^  *e  sLr'':?-the'ref a'„''lora 

for°the  t?iL'  daTstrf:trh"'''T  °''^-^"^"°"'  *«  «-t 
68»  a,  longitude  97°  ,8' W  Her.  -.f  '"  '^e  latitude  of 
great  joy,  they  feU  M  with  the"ender  Ftl"T'."«'  !?  ">-' 
near  approach  all  hands  were  tumfdnn'^T^"''- u  °"  ''«'• 
hearty  cheers.     Lieutenant  wJtf  P'  *™  gave  her  three 

son  that  he  had  Wslted  all  ,1^  j  '^''-''^P^'''^''  t°  Captain  Hud- 
of  falling  in  with'tt PetochTn'The'.^l'tr"'  ■"  "^fP- 
wards  the  south  for  Cook's  Ne  Plus  tJlt  J I  ^'''^^ •'"'■"'='*  W" 
way  to  the  southward.  The  weath.;  1  '  ^"^.^""tmued  their 
the  ice-islands  became  numerors^nH  I  '  ^'  '"^^^  ^^-^  thick, 
a  little  floating  ice.     On  The,  sih  1  -^^  occasionally  passed 

and  floated  in^  large  mas'ses  arou  d'them'' aT!i''""''='1:'' 
water  was  much  discolored  anri  .r!^  r  ,"  .  4  a.  m.  the 
the  appearance  of  Tdn  J  but  I J  T  °^J\^  '"^  ^^«°  having 
They  c^,ained  a  cast  7the  L^d  tt  fo  /  l""^  '^'  ^^"^ 
athoms.  At  eight  o'clock  ^eig"  ift^d^lnd  d^^^"  V^ 
tie  amazement  of  all.  a  wall  of  ice  from  fi a  discovered,  to 
h.gh,  extending  east  'and  wesf  as  fa^a,  thf "  '°  twenty  feet 
and  spreading  out  into  a  va^f  w  -.  ^^  ^^"^^  ^^ach. 

rang  st /foulVye-aL  'tTn^^^^^^^^^^^ 

round  to  the  westwaV-H      4 .  ^"ll   .,'  ?"?  '"«  -"'ea  extending 

much  discolored,  and  ma^ylarie  LTe?J"^  ''""  ^^l^'^*'"    ' 
n.end,an  their  latitude  wa^  a^^^^tl^^:  To^l,  ^l 


152 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


when  they  again  stood  to  the  southward,  running  among  the 
ice-islands  with  a  fair  wind,  flattering  themselves  that  they 
should  before  noon  of  the  next  day  get  farther  south  than 
Cook  had.  In  this,  however,  they  were  disappointed ;  for  the 
weather  became  thick,  and  they  were  in  consequence  obliged 
to  heave  to. 

On  the  morning  of  the  23d  of  March  their  latitude  was 
70°  S.,  longitude  100°  16'  W.  The  weather  proved  clear. 
In  the  afternoon  they  again  stood  to  the  southward  and  east- 
ward for  three  hours,  when  they  observed  the  appearance  of 
land,  and  discovered  large  masses  of  ice  and  numerous  ice^ 
bergs.  At  midnight  the  southern  horizon  was  beautifully 
illuminated  with  the  aurora  australis. 

On  the  24th  they  had  a  heavy  fall  of  snow;  passed  many 
icebergs  and  large  quantities  of  floating  ice;  got  suddenly 
into  large  fields  of  packed  and  broken  ice,  extending  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  reach  in  all  directions,  which,  with  the  accu- 
mulation of  snow,  appeared  to  be  rapidly  becoming  solid. 
They  lost  no  time  in  forcing  their  way  out.  All  on  board 
were  of  opinion  that  within  a  short  time  after  they  cleared  it 
it  became  a  firm  field  of  ice.  The  latitude  observed  was  69° 
6'  S.,  longitude  96°  50'  W. 

Having  on  two  occasions  narrowly  escaped  being  closed  in 
by  the  ice,  they  had  determined  to  return,  and  were  making 
their  way  to  the  north  when  they  fell  in  with  the  Peacock. 

The  condition  of  the  Peacock  for  a  winter's  campaign  was 
miserable,  and  on  board  the  Flying-Fish  there  was  no  protec- 
tion in  the  event  of  being  frozen  in.  The  positive  nature  of 
his  instructions,  combined  with  the  report  from  the  Flying- 
Fish,  convinced  Captain  Hudson  of  the  necessity  of  turning 
the  vessels'  heads  towards  a  more  temperate  climate.  On 
holding  a  council  with  his  officers,  he  found  them  all  of  the 
opinion  that  the  season  for  active  operations  in  these  latitudes 
had  passed,  and  that  it  was  advisable  for  the  vessels  to  pro- 
ceed without  delay  to  the  north. 

The  vessels  accordingly  steered  to  the  northward. 

The  weather,  during  the  cruise  south,  was  exceedingly  un- 
favorable ;  for,  with  few  exceptions,  during  their  stay  in  the 
Antarctic  circle,  they  were  enveloped  in  dense  fogs,  or  found 
only  occasional  relief  from  them  in  falls  of  snow.  The  crew 
uunng  tile  WiiOic  tiriie  ciijoycu  an  unusuai  degree  of  health, 
which  is  not  a  little  surprising;   for,  since  leaving  Orange 


WILKES-  ANTARCTIC  EXPEDITION,  ,5^ 

The  usual  order^wte  glve^tlaXn^  K^""  *«  "^'^  h<"i 
drum  beat  to  quarters.  ^0„  ope„^^  S  *^  !"T^''"«-  The 
■ssued  out  in  volumes,  and  firXas  f k1'  ""'J?  '''"'=''•  ^""ke 
ceedmg  from  a  bag  in  full  blaze  Th'''''  ""^"  ''•  P^o- 
deck  and  the  fire  extinguished  it  Z^'r "?'  ^~"  Passecf  on 
m  time,  and  was  founf  to  proceed  ^„  '°«"nately  discovered 
which  had  been  put  below  in  the  l^f^'*  ''"?"'i'^  °^  "'^^'^ 
°'-">^sted.  the  previous  afternoon^'  "  ''^  ^^"  •""■« 

w..  cipL^^Ht^^dS^S  r  "'h'-  ■-^''"de  84=  .cy 

bor  with  his  reports  anH  !:    I-     '^e  tender  to  Orange  Har 

>^^hT.s^rscTarrit.fvV°'^''^^^^^^^^ 

their  surprise  they  found  the  stol  l'    ^^^^Pn't''^'  ^^^'^  to 
arrived  some  days  previous    "'"^'^-'^'P'  '^^  Relief,  which  had 

^/'^^^^^^^  ^.^\of  February, 

Magellan,  to  afford  an  opportunrof  m?l • '"  -'^^  ^''^^''^^ 
and  opening  a  larger  field  for  our ^n^f  "'^.^'"^  investigations, 
or  sixty  days  they^ere  to  be  detained''''',:  ^"""^  '^^  «% 
of  the  scientific  men  were  arror^^  f^"^  """  ^^^  ^^^st.  Most 
she  was  ordered  to  enter^Sck&^^  ^°  h-'  ^"^ 

into  Cockburn  Sound  ^^^ecknock  Passage,  and  thence 

JSo'S- rS^^^^^^^^^^^  'he  e„t.„ce  to 

approached  the  coast,  and  a  rale  en?„^'  '?  '"^^'^  "^^V^'  *«/ 
L.eutenant.Commandant  Lo?f on    hXr""-  *"  jo^'hwest'^ 

haiNsqualls^'rf:^^^rdt:rct?r^d"'^*'*.T^*--^^ 
to  be  about  twelve  miles  Sn,!!.!^!""''^'-*^]^^. judged 

oecoming  thick  they  did  noV  discover'  ,h'.%''*"^S  '°''  ''• '  ^ 

*ey  were  almost  u^p  with  a„'d'T«  LttiLT?:  cttthef 


154 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


These  rocks  presented  a  magnificent  and  fearful  sight,  the  sea 
breaking  completely  over  them.  Three  anchors  were  pre- 
pared. They  rounded  the  southeast  point  of  the  island  and 
stood  in  for  the  bay.  At  about  five  o'clock  they  anchored  in 
seventeen  fathoms,  and  the  anchor  took  effect. 

On  the  morning  of  the  19th  the  highest  point  of  Noir  Island 
was  seen,  capped  with  sn-'v  the  ^''■id  had  abated  somewhat, 
but  not  enough  to  perm  .  >c;ir  landing  in  a  snug  litde  cove 
abreast  of  them.  In  the  .  moon  the  wind  again  increased, 
and  another  anchor  was  let  go.  The  sea  broke'  tremendously 
on  the  reef  astern,  shooting  up  in  columns,  such  as  are  seen 
to  appear  under  the  effect  of  mirage.  After  it  became  dark 
the  wind  shifted  to  the  southward  and  eastward,  which  brought 
the  sea  from  that  quarter,  and  exposed  them  more  both  to 
it  and  the  wind.  The  anchors  shortly  after  began  to  drag, 
and  the  vessel  was  urged  in  the  direction  of  a  rock.  For- 
tunately the  wind  abated  towards  morning,  and  came  from 
its  old  quarter,  southwest,  more  off  the  land,  but  still  blew 
with  violence. 

On  the  morning  of  the  20th  one  of  their  chain  cables  was 
found  to  have  parted.  The  chain  was  hove  in  with  some 
difficulty  and  another  anchor  let  go.  The  weather  towards 
evening  became  again  threatening,  and  produced  no  little 
anxiety.  At  nightfell  it  shifted  in  the  same  way  it  had  done 
the  previous  evening,  blowing  again  heavily.  The  ship  was 
felt  to  be  constandy  dragging,  accompanied  by  that  grating 
kind  of  noise  of  the  chain  moving  on  the  bottom,  which  is 
anything  but  agreeable.  .  The  rock  astern,  together  with  the 
reef  toward  which  the  wind  and  sea  were  both  setting  the  ship, 
rendered  their  situadon  truly  appalling.  The  prospect  of  any 
one  surviving  in  case  they  had  struck  was  extremely  slight. 
The  night  was  dark  and  stormy,  and  the  dragging  continued 
occasionally  until  midnight,  when  they  found  they  had  passed 
and  escaped  the  rock  and  were  near  the  reef.  They  now 
shipped  a  heavy  sea  over  the  bows,  the  shock  of  which  was 
so  great  that  it  parted  their  cables,  and  their  drifdng  became 
rapid.  From  the  set  of  the  current  they  just  cleared  the  reef. 
When  the  point  of  the  island  bore  east  of  south  they  slipped 
their  cables,  wore  round,  and  made  sail,  and  on  the  21st  at 
daybreak  they  found  themselves  off  Cape  Gloucester. 

The  conduct  of  Lieutenant-Commandant  Long,  his  officers 
and  men,  during  the  perilous  situation  in  which  the  Relief  was 


WLKES-  ANTAKCTIC  EXPEDITION. 


placed,  deserves  great  Drak» .  ,1,      j.,    .  '^^ 

respect.     On  the^i3d    o    ZriiZi^^r  "^""y  '"  every 

enders  were  both  left  to  awkit  he^^'"^"^/'?  ^"^  Sea-Gufi 

take  the  scientific  men  on  bo^rd  and    '"T    ^°"  '^"  ^^y^.  tc 

in  order  to  prevent  detentiorby  the  .C"  ^T  ^'  ^^^Paraiso. 

On  the  2oth  he  took  final  leave  of  t    '^'^'"^  °^  ^^at  ship 

2ist  ost  si.c.ht  of  land.  passinlL  .hi    ^'\''^'^''^'  ^"^  on  the 

of  D,ego  Ramieres.      ^^'"^"^  ^°  'he  northward  of  the  island 

company  wi'h  thl"porpoise  ^''''"^  ^^^'''  ^^^  ^^"cennes  parted 

On  the  15th  Lieutenant  Wilkes;  m.  i      u     , 
raiso  and  before  noon  ancha^edTn  The  K  '^'  ^?"^  °^  ^^^P^" 
the  Peacock  and  recelvpri  I^a-  ,       ^^V'  ^here  he  fonnrl 

with  the  store-shirS^p^^f '?^^  ^^  «  the  Rehef  had  Z^j 
nvedon  the  1 6th,  and  the  FW„°  k?k  °-  J)""  P^'-poise  ar- 
;He^^.9jh,  arter   havin,   ^^^:Z^^ '^:^^:^^ 

to  insLlre  the  results  in  the  differ^m  dtr,"^  "'°^'  '•^^i'-^ble 
.    On  the  26th  of  Kay,  i8«  the  P-    "^^         "''' 
.n  order  that  some  rep^irsTnUt  be  3^  "^u"'^  ^°'  ^^"^o. 
On  the  4th  of  lunp  tho    C?  "^*^^  on  her. 

of  the  bay.  but  weie  ob  ted  rairtJ  '"  ""^"^^^  ^°  ^et  out 
season  of  the  year  lio-ht  nor.jf^?  ^°  ,^^^'  ^^^^'or.  At  this 
a  heavy  swell  'requt t  yTets  l^th'ef  "^"^"^  ^^^^  -^ 
stead  very  uncomfortable,  and  a?tme.  d?  "'"'"'"^  '^^  ^°^d- 

On  the  second  day  after  I.!  /       ?r'^,^"^'^''°"s. 
fresh  ga'>  from  the  northwJ^      ^^  Valparaiso   they  had  a 
During  the  nigh,  in  tllt""e  l^tS^f -1^^  "^^^  -" 
cock  and  Flying-Fish.     On  the  oth  tl     "'  u^^''  ^^  '^^  P^a- 
which  blows  along  the  cLst  f?!      f/ ^^^  ^^^^^^  the  wind 
weather  Jmproved^xchano^nl  C  rli'  "'^^^"^^^'  ^"^  'ht' 
winds  for  clear  weather  and  in.?^>     '"',"''^''  ^"d  contrary 

On  fhp  o^.u  :_    r  ^^'  ^"^  W'"as  from  the  co..t»M—         ^ 

.-„  Passage.  •'aWn^loTs^i^IK/adtt^-- 


156 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


and  a  quarter  fathoms  water ;  and  by  the  assistance  of  the 
lights  of  the  other  vessels,  anchored  near  the  rest  of  the 
squadron  at  San  Lorenzo,  after  a  passage  of  thirteen  days. 
They  found  them  all  well  and  proceed  ng  rapidly  with  their 
repairs.     The  Peacock  and  Flying-Fish  had  arrived  two  days 

On  receiving  the  reports  of  the  commanders  of  the  differ- 
ent vessels,  active  operations  were  at  once  begun  to  refit  and 
replenish  the  stores.  The  necessary  changes  in  officers  and 
men  were  made  in  order  to  send  the  Relief  home. 

Lieutenant  Wilkes  found  it  necessary  to  have  the  Relief 
smoked,  in  order  to  destroy  the  rats  with  which  she  was  in- 
fested, to  save  the  stores  from  further  damage.  During  this 
time  the  repairs  of  the  Porpoise  had  been  completed,  and  the 
usual  observations  for  rating  the  chronometers,  and  with  the 
magnetic  instruments,  were  made  on  shore,  and  such  officers 
as  could  be  spared  allowed  to  visit  Lima. 

On  the  30th  of  June  the  squadron  went  over  to  Callao. 
From  here  several  officers  and  the  scientists  made  excursions 
to  the  Cordilleras,  visiting  Lima  and  Ponchoma,  as  well  as  the 
valleys  of  the  Rimac  and  the  Rio  de  Catavillo,  and  the  towns 
of  Obracrillo,  Pasco,  and  Bannos:  the  latter  celebrated  for  its 
mineral  liot-springs,  which    flow  from  the  base  of  a  high 

The  town  of  Pasco  is  at  an  elevation  of  thirteen  thousand 
feet  and  situated  in  the  plain  of  San  Juan,  at  the  head  of 
two' ravines,  or  gullies,  one  called  Rumiallana,  leading  to  the 
northward,  and  the  other  Huanuco,  to  the  eastward,  vvhere 
the  two  great  veins  of  Colquijirca  and  Pariajirca  unite.  These 
are  supposed  to  extend  some  seventy  miles  in  length,  and  the 
town  of  Pasco  is  situated  at  their  junction.  The  part  of  the 
ground  that  has  been  broken  up,  and  in  which  ores  have  been 
found,  is  about  half  a  mile  in  length  in  a  north  and  south  di- 
rection, and  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  east  and  west.  Within 
the  whole  of  this  extent  ores  have  been  mined  of  greater  or 
less  value,  and  the  mines  formerly  worked  and  now  deserted 
are  said  to  amount  to  upwards  of  a  thousand. 

On  the  13th  of  July,  1839,  the  squadron  had  finished  the 
necessary  outfits  and  taken  in  the  necessary  stores.  1  he  re- 
mainder of  the  latter  were  embarked  in  the  store-ship  Relief, 

1-1       --    -..J 1  4.^  \^^A  o   .^orf  rkf  thf^m  at  the  Sandwich 

whicn  was  urucicu  tO  icxn-^  «  j^«,,.  ^..   -— ---  --    --  . 

Islands,  and  the  rest  at  Sydney,  New  South  Wales,  after 


WILKES-   ANTARCTIC   EXPEDITION.  ,5^ 

Mot.  to  proceed  to  the  United  States  by  the  way  of  Cape 

bay  under  all  canvas.  ^  ^  ^°°"  standing  out  of  the 

Lieutenant  Wilkes  had  deterr^ln^A 

take  up  the  examination  of  the  PaTmoir"  ^'"^^"^  ^^"^^' ^o 
to  the  expedition  by  that  dist^cS".^'°"P'  recommended 
moter    of   science,   Admiral    kSc^"^  navigator  and  pro- 
steered  for  the  ishnd  orMlne^a  oTn '"•       ^f    therefore 
one  of  the  most  eastern  of   heTaumo^T^"'  ^^  '^^""^^^e, 
Islands,  as  the  name  implies      He  IT  ^^[°"P'  ^^  ^loud  of 
interesting  point  at  whfch^o  bedn  thT^  '^''  '°  ^^  '^'  ^^^^ 
searches  of  the  naturalists   naS.^  surveys,  and  there- 
and  would  thus  enabl,  hem  ^tot  !rlri^  -^l  'l""^'  '"^^^ited, 
end  of  Polynesia  to  the  Xr   n^     *"  T^^^itants  from  one 
same  time  it  afforded  f ve°y  delira^^^^^^^  f""'^''    ^'  ^he 

servations.  and  a  visit  to  it  wouSso^enl/T"^^^"^^^    ^b- 
dispute  between  the  two  distinluish.Vpr     ?•  ^"^  '°  ^^"^^  a 

^^"^^'ji'^^'c^^^^^^^^  <>«  To„„e„e,  or 

coral  island  met  with,  naturally  exd?ed/'"f  '^^  "'•='  1°" 
At  first  sight  the  island  appeared  m^.r?^  ^^^1°^  '"'^''^'t 
sels  at  anchor,  nothing  but  the  trt.T  K  •  '"''^  ^  "««  °f  ves- 
tance,  and  as  the  ship  rises  and  If  .       -"i^  =^^"  '"  *e  dis- 
ocean,  these  are  alte?natdy  seen  Tnd'  Z^  '^  '"^"  °f  *« 
nearer  approach  the  whole  whfte  K»    i^    '  ^'^}'^  °^-    O"  a 
constituting  a  narrow  belt  of  land  of  ,"  r  T'  ,'^'^""«'y  '^^n. 
up  out  of  the  deep  ocean,  tf,e  surfhrLl  •'^'"  "'^^  ~'°'-'  "''"S 
surrounding  a  lagoon  of  a  beaudfu    W '"^  ?"  "'  ~'-^>  '^<=S, 
smooth.     This  islind  was  twelve  W    u^  ""5'  ^"^^  P^rf^tW 
sea,  and  six  hundred  f^et  wWe  to  hs  I     °''  '^1  '^^^'  °f  *e 
of  coral  debris  and  vege,rble  matter  ^tT  ^l^  '?  ^""'P'^^-d 
and  not  more  than  from  iwe  v»T„  ir     T''^  ^''"'bs  are  few 
nut,  palms,  and  Pandrus!howin°  cor"-*^"  ^f^ '  "'^  ^^oa-' 
It  was  ten  miles  long  by  one  a^dl  h,^f '"':;°"f '^  ^•'°^«  'hem. 

northwest  and  east-fouZast  dLc  ion  ''t'h'  'yfi"^  '■"  «  ^^«'- 
on  the  east  side  of  th^  i.uj  .51"'°1-    ^>^  first  soundin<y 

■     -  -.•■■--.  «-  J.ree  Hundred  feet  from  th?       • 


^^eaa^SStifsgf^j;^:^:?^'^,^ 


vi,  ai 


n- 
one 


158 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


hundred  and  thirty  feet,  seven  fathoms,  hard  coral ;  being  at 
the  edge  of  a  nearly  perpendicular  shelf;  thence  to  the  shore, 
the  bottom  was  uneven,  decreasing  to  four,  three,  and  two 
fathoms,  until  a  second  or  upper  coral-shelf  arose,  over  which 
the  water  at  high-tide  flowed.  This  extended  to  where  the 
beach  is  composed  of  broken  coral  and  shells,  and  arose  on 
a  gentle  declivity  to  ten  feet  high. 

•  The  Peacock  sounded  within  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from 
.the  southern  point  of  the  island ;  at  three  hundred  and  jBfty 
fathoms,  the  lead  brought  up  for  a  moment,  and  then  again 
descended  to  six  hundred  fathoms  without  reaching  bottom. 
When  it  was  hauled  up  it  had  a  small  piece  of  white  and 
another  of  red  coral  attached  to  it.  The  west  side  of  the 
island  is  a  bare  reef,  over  which  the  surf  breaks  violently. 
There  is  no  opening  or  entrance  to  the  lagoon. 

On  the  1 6th  the  ships  bore  away  for  Serle  Icland;  they 
made  the  distance  between  the  two  islands,  twenty-six  miles 
and  two-tenths.  No  signs  of  any  other  island  exist  between 
these  two. 

Serle  is  a  low  coral  island,  and  has  a  large  and  very  regular 
clump  of  trees  on  its  western  end,  which,  at  a  distance,  might 
be  taken  for  a  mound  or  hill. 

On  the  19th  of  August  the  ships  made  Henuake,  Honden, 
or  Dog  Island,  and  came  up  with  it  about  noon.  The  boats 
were  at  once  despatched,  in  order  to  ascertain  if  a  landing 
could  be  effected,  and  the  ships  began  the  surveying  opera- 
tions. The  number  of  birds  seen  hovering  over  the  island 
was  an  indication  that  it  was  not  inhabited. 

On  the  23d  of  AugAist  the  ships  made  the  Disappointment 
Islands  of  Byron :  they  are  two  in  number,  called  Wytoohee 
and  C'ooho. 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th  they  were  off  the  northwest 
end  of  the  former  island.  Many  canoes  came  off  to  the  ship : 
as  they  approached  the  vessels  the  natives  were  heard,  while 
at  some  distance,  singing ;  and,  as  they  drew  near,  the  clamor 
increased,  accompanied  with  much  laughing  and  many  gestic- 
ulations ;  but  none  of  them  could  be  induced  to  come  on 
board,  and  they  were  not  willing  to  part  with  anything  but 
some  pieces  of  old  matting.  An  attempt  was  made  to  get 
some  of  their  paddles,  but  they  rather  ridiculed  the  idea  of 

r»a rtinnr  iirifli   tVi^^m 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  September  the  ships  were  in 


IS  were  in 


WILKES    ANTARCTIC   EXPEDmoN.  ,  ,„ 

sight  of  Metia  or  Aurora  I,!-  ,^      i 

appearance  from  those  we  ha3  met  wl.rf/""'!'^  '''«"«™"'  '" 
the  same  formation.  It  was  a  co«l^  i  ^°"^^  evidently  of 
-ts  formation  distinctly,  a^d  as  such  J''*"''  ^P'"''^'''  ^Posing 
approachmg  its  eastern  end  L,>„,  \^7  interesting.  On 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  fee  y."""'  ^"^^^  sounded  at 
and  found  no  bottom  with  Lrj     T/'  Perpendicular  cliff 

""The^a;:"!  ^P?--    wo"n  intott^  ^''  ^=""--^ 

r;nggold  boarded  tSe  \'incennrs' and  K'^"''".'-^°"'™"dant 
pilot;  he  reported  ali  well  on  boa,d^h-.P™"S^'  °^  J'".  *e 
they  anchored  in  Matavai  Bay  Porpo.se.    At  sunset 

parthg'p^^^^^^^^^  the  Porpoise,  after 

south  side  of  Raraka,  in  fulfiImtn?T v''' .P'^^eded  to  the 
found  the  whole  souihern  mrt  nf  v     I    "'  '"^"-""ions.     He 
break  ng  violently  over  it   '^Whel  ^ff.u'"^  ''"'^'  ""^  the  surf 
the  .sle  of  Katiu  or  Sacken  to  the  south'  =°"\P'''"'  he  made 
to  the  east,  and  connected  t'lem    J^       'J?".''  '^at  of  Makima 
the  westward,  passing  Aratta  Vr   1  Y^'^'^  '"^  Proceeded  to 
Na,rsa  or  Dean's  Islafd,  wKi^h  hi  mln ''°'^'',  '""^   '^ence  to 
western  end,  passed  along  i',  so  "hi"  ■"  "'"  5th;  fixed  its 
thence  to  Krusensterns  Island   tn.K      ''  ™^''^™  ^''de,  and 
circumnavigated;  from  thence  wen%^^  westward,  which  he 
m  Pap,eti  Harbor  on  the  oth  and  thf  "■^"  '°.  ^^'''"'  ^"^''ored 
On'tL  Tith'  place  of^^endet-oul     "'  '^''^  ^'"'^''^"^  «° 
Rurick  Islands  or  Aru'^ua'Th''.  ^"'T^'  ^''''"S  passed  to  the 
'"de  .5°  ..,'S.,  lonSt46o°c^'^?^'^°f.™^^  "es  in  lad? 
tempted  at  several  places  in  th.^L^'    ^  landing  was  at- 
ceeded  near  a  cocoanut-grove  tl  ^°^''-     °"«  "^  *em  suc- 
at  the  village  found  the  s^urftoo  1,  <^hV"°  *"'  ^^«  '»  '''"d 

The  north  shore  of  Arutca  I.^=  f         *"*""?'  ''• 
bore  away,  f.nd  connected  i?  w  th  m!?'  '"^^y^'^'  ''''en  they 
along  which  they  ran  the  whole  ln«l"^  ?■■  ^^^"'^  ^^^^"l 
daylight     The  last-named  Sd  ii  fT.K  ""^  "'  =°'"''  ^'^e  bv^ 
reef,  with  no  opening     The"    ''?'*' "f^JP^"  a  washed 

ttT^:L\----p'-XaUn^^^^ 


t6o 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


to  the  southward,  on  which  the  officers  landed  the  next  day 
on  its  western  side.  Their  examination  confirmed  the  facts 
already  given  relative  to  its  appearance. 

The  next  day  they  made  Tetuaroa.  to  the  northward  of 
Tahiti,  formerly  celebrated  as  the  resort  of  the  Tahitians,  for 
the  purpose  ot  recovering  from  the  bodily  diseases  brought 
on  by  their  debaucheries,  etc.  It  is  a  low  island,  about  six 
miles'  long,  with  a  few  trees  upon  it,  and  a  reef  off  its  south- 
ern end,  extending  half  a  mile.     It  is  plainly  to  be  seen  from 

the  high  ridges  of  Tahiti.  .      ,      ^,     ,     ,    •  .    j 

On  the  14th  the  Flying-Fish  arrived.  She  had  visited  and 
surveyed  King  George's  Group,  which  appeared  well  inhab> 
ited,  and  have  entrances  to  their  lagoons  on  the  West  side. 
The  native  names  of  the  two  islands  are  Tiokea  and  Oura. 
Oura  bears  S.  68°  W.,  distant  four  and  a  half  miles.  Then 
the  tender  passed  to  Manhii  and  Ahii,  round  the  north  side 
of  Nairsa,  or  Dean's  Island,  to  Tahiti.  r    i.-  v  t. 

The  two  peninsulas,  if  they  may  be  so  termed,  of  which  the 
island  of  Tahiti  is  made  up,  are  of  very  different  characters. 
The  smaller  one,  called  Tairaboo,  and  usually  spoken  of  as 
"  the  small  island,"  is  the  most  futile. 

The  whole  island  is  of  volcanic  formation,  but  there  is  no 
longer  any  active  igneous  action,  nor  is  there  any  well-de- 
fined crater  to  be  seen.  Coral  reefs,  with  occasional  open- 
incrs,  are  attached  to  the  shores,  and  the  larger  island  (Tahiti) 
ha's  also  a  sea  reef.  Between  the  two  reefs  is  an  almost  con- 
tinuous channel  for  boat  navigation,  and  on  the  northern  side 
they  enclose  many  safe  and  commodious  harbors  for  shipping. 
On  this  side  also  vessels  may  pass  from  harbor  to  harbor, 
within  the  outer  reef.  This  reef  varies  in  breadth  from  a  few 
yards  to  fifty,  or  even  a  hundred.  The  shore  that  adjoins 
the  coral  reef  is  formed  of  black  volcanic  sand,  occasionally 
mixed  with  comminuted  shells,  which  give  it  a  grayish  hue. 
Basaltic  ridges  reach  the  sea  at  intervals,  and  form  projecting 
points  of  moderate  elevation. 

The  Porpoise,  having  been  refitted,  was  sent  to  sea  on  the 
20th  September,  1839,  for  the  purpose  of  again  visiting  the 
west  end  of  Nairsa,  or  Dean's  Island,  with  Krusenstern  s  and 
Lazareff.  She  was  also  ordered  to  pass  over  the  supposed 
locality  of  Recreation  Island,  and  then  to  meet  the  Vincennes 
at  Kose  island,  tiie  easiernmosi  ui  uic  oauiuou  vi  iiar.^^.o.  s 
Group. 


WILKES'   ANTARCTIC  EXrEDITION.  jg, 

cock  and  FlyinglRsh  To  toke  n^T  ^^--o/ven  to  the  Pea- 
Point  Venus/anf  to  follow  as  soon  a^fhl  J^T/"'^'*^  f™™ 
tender  required  some  repairs  »W^1,  'TyM''°"=  s°-  The 
safety  at  ?apieti.  Both  velseU  telTi.  ^',•''°"«  *'"'  -""^e 
harbor  on  the  24th.  •"  '"^''  ""^  Vincennes  in  that 

Papietl,  in  whose  harbor  the  shin«  «,.r.  1  • 
largest  villages  on  the  island  -Str"!'^  'rU?'  "  °"*  "^  'h^ 
of  the  queen,  and  the  abode  of  the  fif  J  ""'"^'^  ''esWence 
eign  residents  are  also  for  h^i^!^"  ''°"'"'^-  The  for- 
Among  all  its  dwelWs  the  rnv=.T  '-F"  ™"<=««d  here. 
of  Mr^Pritchard  are  tfe  onlv  Z  ™v'1f ""^^  ^""^  '^'^  ^ouse 
of  glazed  windows.     The  houses  of  Th-l'f  P"''"^  *«  '"^"^V 

ing  the  mL?e"i„  Shtsdc'e"is'f/"-°-PP°"""''y  "f  ^««- 
cases.    The  court  was  he/d^ '  V'  ="'"""'\tered  in  criminal 

building  in  the  nath-e  st?  e     The  ,11°""'^  "^  •  "'^'  ^"  °"°"g 
with  intention  of  rape     The  S^    ^^^^  '"""^  ^^^  a^sauft 

having  Paofai,theirThief.  a  httliifenTJ,,'^"^''  °"  '"^'^' 
audience  sat  or  stood  ariund  ThI  ^  1  •  **  '■'^'''  *"d  'he 
called  Ta-ma-hau,  a  man  of  huge  sL  i^"' "^^  =>  P«ty  chief 
what  of  a  bully;  he  stood  dufL  tL  ?  •  fPP^''?"t'y  some- 
one end  of  the  house.  wi°h  an"ir^ofLT^  IT'"^  "««'"=' 
accuser  was  a  damsel  not  remarLw.  f    ""''ffe'-ence.     His 

she  sat  near  the  door,  lo'ng"  numb:?  ToT'  '^""^^ 
The  witnesses  were  patientiv  Lr,^  „  j  1.  °*er  women, 
after  which  the  six  ju'd^es  seve^fw  ''  "l^  ■"""'""■  ^'S"^<i' 
made  remarks  on  th^e  etfdence  to  vhfh'p*?'- ,?P'""'°"^' ^"'f 
attentive  and  dignified  manner  »v  •^°'^'  ''"^"«'  'n  an 
manded,  his  assfn  tor  dfssent  I?^^^"^'  ^'  °"^''°"  ^'- 
verdict  of  the  court,  by  which  fh»  •^"  pronounced  the 
but  did  not  dismiss  him  wTthout  a  hr£."'°"f^'  ^"i"''"'^- 

'»"•  ,\^PP=^^«4  that  a  though  no"  l':^uTTt''''^^- 
alleged,  he  had,  while  intnvtr^^SA     jj  ^   "Y  °'  'he  crime 

gua|e  to  his  acculei      '"'°^"^'^^'  addressed  indecent  Ian- 

coci^'^^ntrst^irf'x  tti  rr """  ^p^^'^  f™-  *^  p- 

-'S"'-'^  aocenainii'  Mount  Aoral     xk^,.      ^"''  .  "'  '■"^  "^*- 

^mediately  in  tt  rear  ofXiU^a''nIb~:^.L^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 


1 62 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


day  had  reached  an  elevation  of  five  thousand  feet,  where 
they  stood  upon  a  platform  about  twelve  feet  square ;  thence 
they  looked  down  eastward  two  thousand  feet  into  the 
Matavai  valley ;  to  the  westward  they  had  a  gorge  about  a 
thousand  feet  deep  running  into  Toanoa  valley ;  to  the  south 
the  platform  on  which  they  stood  was  united  by  a  narrow 
ridge  with  Mount  Aorai,  which  was  apparently  only  a  short 
distance  before  them.  In  this  place  they  were  compelled 
to  psLZ?  the  night  by  a  fog  which  enveloped  them,  through 
which  the  guides  were  unwilling  to  lead  them,  refusing  to 
proceed  farther  along  the  dangerous  path  until  the  clouds 
should  clear  away.  . 

The  next  morning  was  clear,  and  they  pursued  their 
ascending  route  along  the  edge  of  a  ridge  not  more  than  two 
or  three  feet  in  width,  having  on  each  side  an  abyss  two  thou- 
sand feet  deep.  Seen  from  this  ridge,  looking  south.  Mount 
Aorai  seemed  a  conical  peak,  but  as  it  was  approached  it 
proved  to  be  a  mountain  wall,  whose  edge  was  turned  to- 
ward them.  The  only  ascent  was  by  a  similar  narrow  path 
'  between  precipices,  and  surpassed  in  steepness  those  they 
had  already  passed.  The  width  of  the  crest  seldom  exceeded 
two  feet,  and  in  some  cases  they  sat  upon  it  as  if  on  horse- 
back, or  were  compelled  to  creep  along  it  upon  their  hands 
and  knees,  clinging  to  the  bushes.  At  last  they  reached  the 
summit,  where  they  found  barely  room  to  turn  round.  The 
ridge  continued  for  only  a  short  distance  beyond  them,  being 
then  cut  across  by  the  Punaania  valley. 

From  the  summit  of  Aorai  they  had  a  magnificent  view ;  to 
the  south  it  was  speedily  bounded  by  the  peaks  of  Orohena 
and  Pitohiti,  whose  steep  sides  rose  from  the  valley  beneath 
them ;  to  the  east  they  had  the  rapid  succession  of  ridge  and 
gorge  which  characterizes  Tahitian  scenery ;  to  the  west,  over 
a  similar  series  of  jagged  ridges,  Eimeo  and  Tetuaroa  stood 
out  from  the  horizon  of  the  sea  in  bold  relief;  to  the  north 
they  looked  down  upon  the  plain,  studded  with  groves  of 
cocoa-nut  and  orange,  and  upon  the  harbor  with  its  shipping 
and  the  encircling  reefs  of  coral. 

A  short  distance  below  the  summit  of  Mount  Aorai,  a 
mass  of  turrets  and  pinnacles,  which  from  its  singular  out- 
line is  called  the  Crown,  runs  along  the  top  of  a  narrow 
ledge. 

Except  the  plain  of  the  coast  no  level  land  is  in  sight  but 


WILKES-   ANTARCTIC    EXPEDITION.  ,g 

wards  Orohena.  ^^  ''"'^  f"™.  "mning  upward  to- 

the  'ummTof  Ao^arrt"  p^Sis'L'  H  °V"^^-  ''^^«  ^een  on 
places,  do  not  lead  beyond  fh.  1     ?  "^*i:««'on,  as  in  other 
banana  (fahie).     Beyond  the  heiit=,°^  Jhe  groves  of  wiFd 
f™w  the   ground    is    chiefly  c^eln  '''''?  ""^'^  '=^^^  ^ 
(Gle,chen,a),  which  springs "p  ?n  mant  T*    *    *'■>   g"-^'^ 
of  ten  feet,  and  is  every wher?  ilm^f^  P'^"^^"  '°  'be  htight 
tills  was  not  too  high  they  brotrft  TP^-f^ble.     When 
bodies  at  full  length  upon  it-  Jn^    i     ^°7"  ^V  <»«ing  their 
had  recourse  to  cuttinfawaJ  or  brS'"  °^-''"'S-^'  8™wfh  they 
stems,  until  they  had  formed  ,  ""'^^'''"S  "s  stiff  and  crowded 
hght^was  almost  excjuded  ™^  ^'""^^  "-  whence  Ae 

is  seldoXnd  rvfn'inteirevaTed  ""T  '^^y'  °^  ''')'  "rather 
discomfort.  It  is  to  be  recommenld  '^?' "^=  ^"  ^''ditional 
the  mountains  of  Tahiti  to  S™  ■  •'°  ^"^"'^  travellers  in 
venience.  The  party  was  so  murn^f  °"  ^f ^'"^'  "«^  'neon" 
as  to  ejyoy  the  dew  ^po„'th°e  "eavest  a  ?'^  ^"""^  '^''  "^"^^ 
Mr.  Dana  reoorfprl  fK^^  !u      .\^^  ^s  a  luxury. 

tied  one  queS°aUe'  po  "t  t^'' f  ,^°™clusively  set- 
found  upon  its  sumnJ^t  ne  Sie    cfm  °^^  °^  ""= '^'='"d/  He 
which  vague  rumors  have  lonl  lo.^%"°''  ^-^--ew-shells," 
Tahitian  mountains.     Eve^  „nf  !u     u'^  °"  "^^  Wp  of  the 
has  probably  heard  thafsS  ?orjSon"'^'  ^'''}.^^  '^'^  '^'-nd 
positions;    but  the  report  relt^^K,?' ^'"''^'' '"'bese  lofty 
Moera,  the  guide  who'^acSnTed    h^  °"  """^^  ^""-"'y- 
sides  near  One-tree  Hill  inSn  1  .  t^  P^^'  ^"d  who  re- 
promised  to  show  them  '  On  '^elchin   ^X^^"^  '^'"  ''°*.  ='nd 
digging,  and  the  rest  of  the  partv^,-?!,  l"."""'""^  began 
brought  up  what  he  called  corSbLtf-l  '"'"•     "«  ^°on 
grayish  trachytic  rock  •  anH  fu,     b"t  which  proved  to  be  a 
some  time  longer  Te  ci.Td  fi  ^    ^^u-  ''^  ™"tinued  to  dig  fo? 
ture  to  exhibit^as  'sc;ew°stlls       """""^  ^^^'^  ^^  =°"'d  vet 

ern;sit:ft7a'lll7:f"pX  t?  *^>'  ^°"°-''  '^«  west- 
to  that  by  which  the^y  1  ad  ^sc;'^"/  %T°^  ''<'^'=  ''"^'^^^ 
two  hours  thev  reacLn  -  ^'"^'^"dea.     After  proceeding  (•„,- 

™wed  to  a  m"ereledgf  o^f  X ''rock'  *'l"''  ^P-'^'y^narl 
-■•  this  they  wereLnpeS1o74';eT^  oV^lSr'S 


I  64  ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

and  knees,  taking  the  greatest  care  to  avoid  detaching  the 
rock,  which  in  many  places  overhung  a  precipice ;  next  fol- 
lowed a  perpendicular  descent  of  about  twenty-five  feet,  down 
which  they  let  themselves  by  ropes ;  this  difficulty  overcome 
the  rest  of  the  route  presented  no  dangerous  features,  and 
was  performed  in  safety. 

On  the  29th  of  September,  1839,  at  daylight,  the  Vincennes 
got  under  way  from  Eimeo,  and  made  sail  to  the  westward, 
passing  the  Society  Island  Group,  viz. :  Sir  Charles  Saunders' 
isle,  Huaheine,  Tahaa,  Borabora,  Maufili  and  Moutoiti.  All 
of  these,  with  the  exception  of  the  last,  are  high  lands. 

On  the  30th  they  made  Bellinghau sen's  Island,  which  is  a 
low  coral  island,  similar  to  those  which  have  been  already 
described.     It  was  uninhabited,  and  is  of  a  triangular  form. 

In  the  afternoon  they  again  made  sail  to  the  westward. 
On  the  6th  of  October  passed  near  the  locality  of  the  Royal 
George  Shoal,  but  saw  nothing  of  it.  ^ 

On  the  7th,  which  was  the  day  appointed  for  the  rendezvous 
off  Rose  Island,  they  came  in  sight  of  it,  and  at  the  same  time 
descried  the  Porpoise.  That  vessel  had  passed  by  Nairsa  or 
Dean's  Island,  and  connected  the  survey  of  it  with  that  of 
Krusenstern's  and  Lazareff.  They  are  uninhabited,  though 
occasionally  visited  by  the  natives  of  Nairsa  Island.  The 
position  of  Recreation  Island  was  passed  over,  but  no  signs 
of  land  discovered. 

Rose  Island,  the  most  eastern  of  the  Samoan  Group,  was 
discovered  by  Freycinet,  who  gave  it  its  name.  It  appears, 
at  first,  like  a  round  knoll  of  land,  but  on  a  nearer  approach 
this  is  found  to  arise  from  a  large  clump  of  Pisonia  trees, 
similar  to  those  found  growing  in  the  low  archipelago. 

On  the  7th  they  left  Rose  Island,  and  at  sunrise  made  the 
island  of  Manua,  which  is  two  thousand  five  hundred  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  It  has  the  form  of  a  regular 
dome,  rising  in  most  places  precipitously  from  the  water  to 
the  height  of  three  or  four  hundred  feet,  after  which  its  ascent 
appears  more  gende  and  even.  It  is  sixteen  miles  in  circum- 
ference, is  well  covered  with  a  luxuriant  vegetation,  and  has 
many  cocoa-nut  gr jves  on  its  northwest  side. 

On  approaching  it  Oloosinga  was  in  sight  and  shortly  after 
Ofoo.  These  two  islands  lie  to  the  northwestward  at  the 
distance  of  about  four  miles. 

The  island  x"*  Oloosinga  is  a  narrow  ledge  of  rocks,  rising 


WILKES'   ANTARCTIC    EXPEDITION.  jg- 

nearly  perpendicular  on  both  sides    and  ;«  fl,r«o      -i       • 
length-     So  precipitous  is  it  at  its  ends  ^hat  ft  jf  f      "''  uf  '" 

The  island  of  Tutuila  is  hi^h  broken  ^nrl  ^f      i      • 

centre,  a„/a.™^^.  d?^°erL'l^„Tr„r?::,T«rV'- 
less  varied  in  surface  than  the  Sodetv  TdoL        §  •     ,  •  ,    ^^ 
peak,  that  of  Matafoa.  wastun^  7b  1  jl^'fe,^  '.t'^f -' 

hundred  feet,  shox^„rth?bare  basa,tL^  '  1  *Tk  °'  'l^' 

rugged  and^^^-as  no  apptmnce  of  ?nden"^tr„n"  'Tf^^^ 
trance  being  narrow,  is  not  easily  obse?!ed      if«"1  ^'"" 

ina^f  ible  n,ura;;,^eS.  t^  ZZ,'lt:^\:& 

hkened  to  the  valley  of  RasseIas^l,Tnged    „to  a  lake     The 
two  breaks  in  the  precioice  arp  at-  tKo  i?„j    r   i  .'     '""^ 

at  the  Pilot's  Cove    Xe  Wbor  i"  If     °^  *^  ''^'•''°''  ^"'I 

on?:,^srh™fLrbefn^ri?^^^ 

»  upolu  to  commence  the  survey  of  that"island    '"  *''"'""'' 
The  chmate  of  Tutuila  is  mild  and  agreeablt  particularly 


'U^ 


1 66 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


at  Pago-pago,  where  the  temperature  is  lower  than  it  is  else- 
where on  the  island,  in  consequence  of  its  generally  being 
overshadowed  with  clouds  that  hang  on  the  high  land.  There 
is  usually  a  fine  breeze,  which  sets  in  about  ten  o'clock  and 
continues  until  sunset.  The  nights  being  calm,  much  dew 
falls  in  fine  weather. 

The  surveys  of  the  island  of  Tutuila  having  been  completed 
by  the  23d  of  November,  on  the  25th  the  Vincennes  weighed 
anchor.  In  leaving  the  harbor  she  had  a  narrow  escape  from 
wreck ;  the  almost  constant  southeast  wind,  which  is  fair  to 
a  vessel  entering  the  bay,  and  makes  it  easy  of  access,  is 
ahead  on  going  out,  which  renders  egress  difficult ;  it  there- 
fore becomes  necessary'  to  make  frequent  tacks,  and  a  vessel 
must  be  well  manoeuvred  to  escape  accident,  for  to  miss  stays 
would  be  almost  certain  to  bring  about  shipwreck.  When 
she  set  out  the  wind  was  light,  and  it  failed  altogether  just  as 
she  reached  the  most  dangerous  part  of  the  channel ;  they 
were,  in  consequence,  brought  within  an  oar's  length  of  the 
reef,  on  which  a  heavy  surf  was  breaking.  The  moment  was 
a  trying  one,  and  the  event  doubtful ;  all  were  at  their  sta- 
tions, and  not  a  word  was  spoken.  The  crisis  was  luckily 
passed. 

The  distance  between  Tutuila  and  Opolu  of  thirty-six 
miles  was  soon  passed,  and  in  the  morning  they  were  de- 
lighted with  the  view  of  the  latter  island  as  they  ran  down 
its  coast  to  the  westward.  It  appears  much  richer  and  more 
fruitful  than  the  other  islands  of  this  group,  and  may  be  de- 
scribed as  of  moderate  height,  rising  gradually  in  a  succession 
of  ridges  from  a  low  shore ;  here  and  there  broad  and  fertile 
valleys  are  seen,  with  numerous  streams  falling  from  the 
mountains  in  cascades.  The  eastern  portion  of  the  island  is 
much  more  rugged  than  the  western ;  the  main  ridge  runs 
east  and  west,  and  ridges  or  spurs  run  back  to  it  from  the 
northern  coast  in  a  southeast  direction.  Between  these  lat- 
eral ridges  are  broad  and  fertile  valleys,  decreasing  in  width 
as  they  recede  from  the  coast.  The  shore  is  lined  with  a 
coral  reef,  which  is  now  and  then  interrupted  by  channels,  and 
forms  snug  and  convenient  harbors. 

At  noon  they  descried  the  Peacock  lying  in  the  harbor  of 
Apia,  and  shortly  afterwards  Lieutenant  Wilkes  received  a 
mpQsacrp  from  Cantain  Hudson,  savinjr  that  his  presence  was 
required  on  shore.     In  the  hope  that  it  was  not  a  busmess 


Wilkes'  antarctic  expedition. 


167 


of  such  a  nature  as  to  cause  detention,  he  left  the  Vincennes 
he  ran°d  Sf'fou 'd  th'  \^"' ^^ore  in  his  boat.     On  rSng 

called   luvai,  who  had  killed  an  American  named  Edward 
Cavenaugh,  a  native  of  New  Bedford  ^^awara 

It  appeared  ttiat  on  Captain  Hudson's  arrival  the  murderer 
was  pointed  out  to  him  in  the  village,  upon  which  he  ve™ 
properly  determined  to  have  the  offender  punished  and  gav^ 
orders  to  have  him  arrested.  He  was,  in  consequence,  selzld 
m  a  house  near  the  water,  and  carried  on  board  the  Peacock 
Captain  Hudson  then  requested  a  conference  with  the  neS 
bormg  chiefs,  who,  in  consequence,  had  assembledon  the 

The  >«„,  as  such  assemblies  are  called,  was  held  in  the 
council-house,  or  fale-tele,  were  the  chief^  were  collected 
Captain  Hudson  stated  that  the  object  of  his  having  requested 

k!^  ul  ?  J  '  '^  ^'^  S"'''  *^''«  established,  he  mi»ht  be 
brough  to  condign  punishment ;  he  then  pointed  ou™S  them 
the  guilt  and  consequences  of  the  crime  of  murder  and  d^ 
dared  the  course  he  had  considered  it  his  du^  to  adopt 
The  chiefs  listened  attentively  to  this  address,  and  in  reX' 
through  the  principal  one,  admitted  that  the  man  t^keh  was 
in  reality  the  guilty  person,  a  fact  known  to  eve^  period 
upon  the  island.  Captain  Hudson  then  stated  to  them  that  U 
was  absolutely  necessary  that  Tuavi  should  be  pronriv  nun 

ti:tnoTt.^'  °'!''"  -"if'"  ^'  '•^'-^'^d  from'  he'cPom- 
mission  of  the  same  crime.  He  suggested,  however  that  in 
spite  of  the  universal  belief  in  Tuva's  haviCcommi'tted  the 
crime.  ,t  was  proper  that  he  should  underfo  a  trialor  at 
east  an  examination,  in  order  that  he  might^  have  the  privl 
lege  of  being  heard  in  his  own  defence.  ^ 

,hnr.'!,„^^^^^^"°r  ^^'"«  ^PP™''ed,  Tuvai  was  brought  on 
shore  under  a  military  guard,  and  placed  in  the  centre  of  the 

years  otaJ^'aL''  ""  V°°>  f^"^  °'  ''^out  tw^m^eight 
wXhe^S,^".  '"^"'f^'^'i  no  fear,  but  looked  about  fim 
wim  tne  greatest  composure. 

The  trial  was  simple  enough;  he  was  first  asked  by  the 

an'swerel'ltr  h'''  ™'  u^^'''^  °^  '^^  "'•"«'   '°   which  hi 
:Z7ftl^L7^1lh'"S.'^^^'.  asked  why  he  had  com- 
-...-  .v.p„tu  mat  uc  nad  clone  it  in  order  to  possess 

nimself  of  the  man's  property  (clothes  and  a  knife)      ^ 


168 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


The  chiefs,  among  whom  was  Pea,  of  Apia,  to  whom  the 
criminal  was  distantly  related,  made  every  effort  in  their  power 
to  save  his  life,  stating  that  he  was  in  darkness,  and  therefore 
unconscious  of  the  guilt  of  the  action  when  he  committed  the 
murder ;  that  as  they  had  but  just  emerged  from  heathenism, 
they  ought  not  to  be  subjected  for  past  actions  to  laws  they 
knew  not ;  that  these  laws  were  made  for  people  who  occu- 
pied a  more  elevated  station  ;  that  Tuvai  was  a  poor  man  of 
no  account,  and  was  not  a  person  of  sufficient  importance  to 
be  noticed  by  a  great  people  like  us ;  that  faa  Samoa  (the 
Samoan  fashion)  did  not  allow  men  to  be  put  to  death  in  cold 
blood,  but  that  after  so  long  a  time  had  elapsed,  as  in  the 
instance  before  them,  it  admitted  of  a  ransom. 

Pea  was  seconded  in  his  endeavors  by  Vavasa,  of  Manono, 
one  of  the  finest  looking  of  the  chiefs,  whose  attitudes  and 
movements  were  full  of  grace,  and  his  manner  exceedingly 
haughty  and  bold. 

In  reply  to  their  arguments.  Captain  Hudson  told  them 
that  nothing  but  the  life  of  the  offender  could  satisfy  the  de- 
mands of  justice,  and  that  they  must  execute  the  criminal 
themselves.     This  announcement  caused  much  excitement. 

The  chiefs  after  much  reluctance  consented,  but  expressed 
great  repugnance  to  an  immediate  execution. 

At  this  point  of  the  discussion  the  Vincennes  was  announced 
as  being  in  sight,  and  the  proceedings  were  suspended.  An 
officer  was  immediately  despatched,  who,  as  has  already  been 
mentioned,  boarded  that  vessel  off  the  harbor. 

When  Lieutenant  Wilkes  landed  he  found  the  assembly 
anxiously  awaiting  the  result  of  his  arrival.  After  a  full  dis- 
cussion of  the  whole  subject,  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  would  be  best  to  transport  the  criminal  to  some  other 
island,  for  it  appeared  probable  that  this  would  have  a  better 
effect  than  even  his  execution,  as  it  would  be  longer  remem- 
bered, while  to  cause  him  to  be  put  to  death  might  naturally 
excite  a  desire  of  revenge. 

This  decision  was  at  once  communicated  to  the  chiefs,  with 
a  statement  that  in  conformity  with  the  laws  of  Tahiti  in  such 
cases,  Tuvai  should  be  transported  to  a  desert  island,  where 
he  would  never  again  have  an  opportunity  of  killing  a  white 
man.  The  chiefs,  although  evidently  relieved  from  the  most 
intense  part  of  their  distress,  were  still  much  affected  by  this 
decision. 


WliKES-   ANTARCTIC  EXPEDITION.  '    ,6 

."any  tears  a„d  lamentt tions  am„/.    T""".?'  "*"^«  ^i* 
most  affected.  ^'  *'"°"S  whom  his  wife  was  the 

inre:ce'?„1h:^&;°cet:?„  if  ^'"^"';  --"^d  such  an 
within  the  sea-reef  of  UpoTu      I  .''  ?•  °'^^?"=''  '^  situated 

^^^:;^  6%£^  -  til  to°?-tot 

and  exercising  tliis  polit lal  :..  J  '^■°"  °^  ''»  acquiring 
ascribed  to  tSe  pos!^^ ^^'^^P'--j'>>iy  to  bf- 
Bland  of  Apolima.  which  they^used  as  tl,pt^"  > °"  *«.small 
To  th,s  retreat,  inaccessible  except  at  .J  ?°  •°'"  "'^'''='- 
habitants  ofManono  were  in  the  ifihVf  '"^'^  P°'"''  "»e  in- 
by  too  powerful  an  enemy  and  1^'""^ '"'''^"  P'^'^"'' 
Itself  they  thence  returned  to  2^1^^  ""'  -^S^  ^<^  ^pent 
numbers.  "  '°  ""^"^  home  with  undiminished 

-u'nt gf-e^l^Tt?  1^  th'^r "th"^r"°  -"  «--■•  and 
Savaii.     The  coral  reef  atacheH  ?„  I-   l''°''^"  "^  "polu  and 

Apolima,  on  the  most  cn'orv  I   "  '•'  ""J'  ""='"• 
crater  of  an  extinc^vo  cano   %.S'""."^",°"'  '^  evidently  the 

the  sea  around  its  whole  d^cu^^xreorat'^  '•"*,  '"''  '^""^ 
Its  northern  side.     Here  the  lin  Af  .k   ^      '  a  single  point  on 
and  admits  the  wateVof  the  sea^nln      "^f^u ''  ^'°^^"  ''°wn. 
a  safe  harbor  for  boats     The  ^ '^  ^  'mall  bay,  which  affords 
to  admit  no  more  than  one  boa  at"f  ,-'°  '^s  is  so  narrow  as 
whenever  there  is  any  surf     hmav  r^V""'*  L'  dangerous 
fended.    There  is  only  one  otLTI^-^'^^T'  ^^  "^^^V  de- 
>t  is  possible  to  effect  a  landing  namT    °"  ""=  '"^^"'^  *here 
the  westward  of  the  bav  anH^L  ^f^'^'  ^  '""a"  height  to 
the  water  is  perfectly  smooth      nJ  '^"  ""'^  ^  done^vhen      ' 
would  have  made  no  prrres^  r^l  ?"  ^"^""^  ^^""^'"S  here 
reached  from  this  poiS    fhe  ,L°o  t^  "'.^'««rior  ?an  be 
main  to  be  climbed  ^  *"''  precipitous  rocks  re- 

is  fou'rtelSr/!:,^P°.""-  -  ?"  its  south  side,  where  it 

perpendicular  clffwhi A  fa^^e  t''  ''^''^  *<=  ^^^-    The 

lace  the  sea  are  of  course  bare  of 


17© 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


vegetation ;  but  with  this  exception  the  whole  surface  is  cov- 
ered with  cocoa,  bread-fruit  and  other  trees,  or  with  planta- 
tions of  taro,  yams,  etc. 

In  the  centre  of  the  island  is  a  village  of  about  twenty 
houses,  and  the  permanent  population  consists  of  no  more 
than  about  seventy-five  persons. 

By  the  9th  of  November  the  whole  squadron  was  assem- 
bled in  the  harbor  of  Apia,  after  having  been  actively  en- 
gaged in  examining  the  different  islands ;  but  in  making  sur- 
veys of  the  coasts  and  harbors  these  examinations  extended 
to  the  shores  and  reefs,  which  were  all  minutely  surveyed  in 
boats.  The  usual  observations  in  astronomy,  magnetism  and 
meteorology,  together  with  full  record  of  the  tides,  were  made 
and  kept. 

On  the  loth  the  squadron  sailed  from  Apia  to  New  South 
Wales. 

On  the  loth  of  November  they  weighed  anchor  from  Apia, 
and  made  all  sail  to  the  westward;  and  on  the  nth  had  lost 
sight  of  Savaii. 

On  the  1 2th  they  made  Uea  or  Wallis  Island,  and  later  the 
same  day  were  off  its  southern  end.  Instead  of  a  single  island, 
as  m'ght  be  expected  from  the  name,  there  are  nine  separate 
islands,  varying  in  circuit  from  one  to  ten  miles,  and  enclosed 
with  one  extensive  reef.     The  land  is,  in  general,  high. 

On  the  1 8th  they  saw  Matthews'  Rock,  whose  height  is  1 186 
feet.  It  is  of  a  conical  .  'Vipe  about  a  mile  in  circumference, 
and  principally  composed  of  conglomerate.  A  dike  of  basalt 
was  observed  occupying  about  a  third  of  the  width  of  the 
island.  In  order  to  obtain  specimens  a  boat  was  despatched 
to  endeavor  to  effect  a  landing  ;  the  undertaking  proved  diffi- 
cult, but  wfis  accomplished  by  Dr.  Fox  and  Midshipman 
Henry,  who  swam  through  the  surf.  They  brought  off  some 
specimens  of  porphyritic  rock,  and  a  few  small  crystals  of 
selenite.  Patches  were  seen  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
island,  appearing  as  if  covered  with  sulphur. 

On  the  26th  November  the  Vincennes  made  Ball's  Pyra- 
mid, which  appears  to  be  a  barren  rock  rising  abrupdy  from 
tlic  sea. 

At  sunset  on  the  29th  November  she  made  f-\c  light-house 
on  the  headland  of  Port  Jackson.  They  had  a  fair  wind  for 
entering"  the  harbor,  and  althoup-h  the  nicrht  was  dark  and 
they  had  no  pilot,  yet  as  it  was  miportant  to  avoid  any  loss 


WILKES'    ANTARCTIC    EXPEDITION.  ,7, 

of  time,  Wilkes   determined  to  run  in      He  ,Mo,.f«j   .i,- 
resolution,  because,  although   thev   werV   n}f         ^    "^^  *'l 
with  the  channel,  he  was  as^sured  ^haT  the  ?Lrts"tnT'"'"* 
session  might  be  depended  unn,,  =n,4  ,i  "  "'^  P°=- 

press  of  iil,  accom^rnfed  by'  the  Pea  'oTk^'^A'^  T  ""\'  " 

of  the  shipping  witLut-'aW  o^tifg t S  :dVa'':ftfr' 

^Zt,  t'h^e;  ^e^  ^'.i^::i^^-i  %  *«= 

and  unknown  to  the  pilots  '       ^°'''  ^^'"^  reported, 

.eI'rd,-roS:&-^o°n:tralt-^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

sea  was  smooth  and  olarlH  hut  thL   )  ■  ^^^,^^^^-     The 

mg  and  had  a  wintr'y  S^  t^llifh^^'^rrCfc  t!;: 

?^as;.t  dnrw:I^;^■;L':f  ^:r  \n^% 

ships  were  sailing  rapidly  thrZh  the  ^ater^fi?  !"•"'"  "'^ 
and  by  midnight  it  wns  report,  d  that  Z,  J  r?^'"^  =^^ 
was  barely  visible  Lieute^Ln7vVil^  u  '''""  .^^'^"g-Fish 
was  difficult  to  topherl^v  'in  '.u'''°"^"?''  sail,  but  it 
of  January  the°foTLs  de'n^.'a^d'tS:  tZl^yl  '""^ -'^ 
only  were  n  sight :  thePeacok-  3,,^^,;     •  ^  Porpoise 

stan'd  east  and^we^t  in  o  d^t  tnter^^SZ  tTndrV^Tf  ° 
returned  without  success ;  the  sWps  also  firlH'-''"u  ""^^ 

ifSss'Totit^:r,^^'^™r^^^ 

sou.V'X"offi/ '''  '!?'''=^  '"'"^  P'^- '"  *e  lati?ud  "f  :r» 

e^:^nLn^- tS„  Ty  ^^re^rwa^^irrri-^ 
surmises.  -am!..^  in  vaxiuus 

The  barometer  now  began  to  assume  a  lower  range,  and 


172 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


the  temperature  to  fall  below  50°  On  the  3d,  the  fog  con- 
tinuing  very  thick,  the  Peacock  got  beyond  hearing  of  the 
horns,  bells,  drums  and  guns,  and  was  parted  with. 

The  morning  of  the  7th  was  misty,  with  squally  weather.  A 
heavy  sea  rising,  and  a  strong  gale  setting  in,  they  lost  sight 
of  the  Porpoise  for  a  few  hours.  Being  unable  to  see  be- 
yond an  eighth  of  a  mile  it  was  thought  imprudent  to  run  for 
fear  of  passing  Macquarie  Island,  and  they  hove-to  to  await  its 
moderating. 

The  loth  they  encountered  the  first  iceberg,  and  the  tem- 
perature of  the  water  fell  to  32°.  They  passed  close  to  it, 
and  found  it  a  mile  long,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  in 
height.  They  had  now  reached  the  latitude  of  61  °  8'  south,  and 
longitude  162°  32'  east.  The  second  iceberg  seen  was  thirty 
miles,  and  the  third  about  fifty-five  miles  south  of  the  first. 
These  ice-islands  were  apparently  much  worn  by  the  sea  into 
cavities,  exhibiting  fissures  as  though  they  were  ready  to  be 
rent  asunder,  and  showed  an  apparent  stratification,  much  in- 
clined to  the  horizon. 

The  fair  wind  from  the  northwest  (accompanied  with  a  light 
mist,  rendering  objects  on  the  horizon  indistinct)  still  enabled 
them  to  pursue  the  course  southerly.  Icebergs  became  so 
numerous  as  to  compel  them  occasionally  to  change  their 
course.  They  continued  of  the  same  character,  with  caverns 
worn  in  their  perpendicular  sides,  and  with  flat  tops,  but  the 
latter  were  now  on  a  line  with  the  horizon.  Towc'-ds  6  p.  m. 
of  the  nth  the^'  began  to  perceive  smaller  pieces  of  ice,  some 
of  which  were  not  more  than  an  eighth  of  a  mile  in  length, 
floating  as  it  were  in  small  patches.  As  the  icebergs  in- 
creased in  number  the  sea  became  smoother,  and  there  was 
no  apparent  motion.  Between  8  and  9  p.  m.  a  low  point  of 
ice  was  perceived  ahead,  and  in  a  short  time  they  passed 
within  it.  There  was  now  a  large  bay  before  them.  As  the 
vessels  moved  rapidly,  at  10.30  p.  m.  they  had  reached  its 
extreme  littiits,  and  found  their  further  progress  entirely 
stopped  by  a  compact  barrier  of  ice,  enclosing  large  square 
icebergs.  The  barrier  consisted  of  masses  closely  packed, 
and  of  every  variety  of  shape  and  size.  They  hove-to  until 
daylight.  The  night  was  beautiful,  and  everything  seemed 
sunk  in  sleep,  except  the  sound  of  the  distant  and  low  rust- 
ling of  the  ice,  that  now  and  then  met  the  ear.  They  had 
now  reached  the  latitude  of  64"  11'  south,  longitude  164°  30* 


WILKES'  ANTARCTIC   EyPEDITION.  173 

southward,  and  had  imhfh^i  .k  •  "''^''  P'''''gress  to  the 
would  be  an  open  oTe  t^h''l'=  ■■"P-'f^^on. that  the  season 
change  in  the  color  of  thf-  w^^,    /"■•P"sed  him  most  was  a 

faint\ppea.anl°^lmbirg"d  ht  :„ritd^Tut' r"'-;""^ 
twilight,  and  he  did  not  beW  .h7  J       '    jl,"',"  *»s 

no  faith  in  these  indicationralthoulh  "me'^f  th"'  \  ^"' 
were  confident  they  were  no"t  occasi?Ld  by  iccbe;^,°^^?.' 
barometer  stood  at  20  2on  in  •  fK«  f^  -^  "^^^'^ffs.      ihe 

water  32^    The;5a;'to°^„'t  i  fo     ^'cZr'Ts  1   '"  Vf 

p"orX:td\&tt"  z^'t:^^^  10  t"siSt^ 

^|rore  deter.ii^drw^xyrCi?Aott::t^ 

crewTtSfpeacS'LTd  TT^  °"  *^  ^<^  "^  •'^""^^V  ">« 

cane-houses  cTuTkit  af,d    hint'zbrP^"'' '"  \""*"?  ^'-ri" 
wet  and  rnM      Af,  "  ^"'"'^'"ff.  'o  secure  them  from  the 

Tedia^elv  ste;re^lr  fh'T^  ™T^"y  Captain  Hudson    m! 

of  ?»l„*'''"?^''""^  '"'^  '='='"<'  ff-^y  discovered  larse  Batches 
tl  e  shS  ^"^f  -  """Jf^-s  P^celLia  and  albaSerabo 
observed  a?eef  of  m  l"'  ^"""^^y  *ey  made  the  island,  and' 
off  it7  souA":nd°'  '^^±ir!!:^,i"€  'f-q-rters  of  a'mile 
did  not  observe  any  oT-the^ig^S;'  oVr^uldr^L  ^l^  ^^^ 


.1,*.. 


174 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


they  had  anticipated.     They,  notwithstanding,  stood  in,  low- 
ered  a  boat  and  despatched  several  officers  to  put  up  the  sig- 
nal,"  make  experiments  and   collect   specimens.      The   boat 
approached  an  indentation  on  the  west  side,  too  open  to  be 
called  a  bay,  and  found  that  the  surf  was  running  high,  and 
beating  with  great  violence  agaiiist  the  rocks,  which  together 
with  the  kelp   rendered  it  dangerous  to  attempt   landing. 
They  made  for  several  oth'^r  places  which  looked  favorable 
at  a  distance,  but  on  appro,    hing  them  they  were  found  even 
less  accessible.     The  boat  then  returned  to  the  first  place  to 
make  another  attempt,  which  was  attended  with  great  diffi- 
culty.    The  boat's  anchor  was  dropped,  and  she  was  backed 
in  with  great  caution  to  the  edge  of  the  rollers ;  the  surf  was 
very  high,  and  rolled  in  with  a  noise  like  thunder,  breaking 
furiously  upon  the  rocks,  so  as  to  make  the  boat  fairly  trem- 
ble,  and  threatening  every  moment  to  overwhelm  her ;  once 
or  twice  she  was  prevented  from  getting  broadside-to,  by 
hauling  out  towards  the  anchor.     At  length,  after  a  dozen 
fruidess  attempts,  and  awaiting  a  favorable  opportunity,  Mr. 
Eld  and  a  quartermaster  succeeded  in  getdng  ashore,  but  not 
without  being  immersed  up  to  their  breasts.     It  was  found 
impossible  to  land  any  instruments ;  and  the  quartermaster 
was  despatched  to  erect  the  necessary  signals,  while  Mr.  Eld 
proceeded  to  visit  the  penguin  rockery  not  far  distant.     On 
approaching  the  island  it  had  appeared  to  be  covered  with 
white  spots:  these  excited  conjecture;  but  after  landing  the 
exhalations  rendered  it  not  long  doubtful  that  it  was  birdlime 
(guano). 

On  the  13th,  in  latitude  61°  30'  S.,  longitude  161°  5'  E.,  the 
first  ice-islands  were  seen. 

There  was  no  occasion  on  the  night  of  the  13th  to  light 
the  binnacle-lamps,  as  newspaper  print  could  be  read  with 
ease  at  midnight.  On  the  14th,  while  still  making  much 
progress  to  the  south,  and  passing  occasionally  icebergs  and 
brash-ice,  the  water  appeared  somewhat  discolored. 

On  the  15th  the  Peacock  passed  many  ice-islands.  Many 
whales  were  seen ;  albatrosses,  petrels,  and  Cape  pigeons 
were  frequent  about  the  ship.  At  four  p.  m.  the  mist  raised 
a  little,  and  to  their  surprise  they  saw  a  perfect  barrier  of  ice, 
extending  to  the  southwest,  with  several  large  icebergs  en- 
closed within  it.  Shortly  after  they  discovered  a  sail,  which 
proved  to  be  the  Porpoise. 


WILKES*    ANTARCTIC   EXPEDITION.         '  175 

'^^.YiT"?''%^"'^  Porpoise  were  left  near  the  lev  barrier 
separated  by  the  fogs  and  mists  that  prevailed  at  times    The 
Porpoise,  on  the  13th,  in  latitude  65°  8' S..  longitude  ! 6.°  E 
discovered   several   sea-elephants   on    the    icf.      From    the 
numerous  sea-elephants  and  the  discoloration  of  the  water 

befncl' ^n'^^7  " ''•   '''''l^^^  '"^^'''^'^  ^'^^  the  idea  of  land 
being   in    the  vicinity,   but  on  sounding  with  one  hundred 

Rnri  n.^°"°^  Tr  ^°""^'  i^ieLnant-Commandanl 
Ringgold  felt  convinced,  from  the  above  circumstances  and 
the  report  that  penguins  were  heard,  that  land  wa  nea  '  and 
thought  he  could  discern  to  the  southeast  something  \U^^  d^. 
.  tant  mountains.  A  nearer  approach  was  impossible,  as  they 
were  then  in  actual  contact  with  the  icy  barrier  ^ 

On  the  14th  two  sea-elephants  were  captured  and  broutrht 
on  board;  they  proved  to  be  the  Phoca  proboscidea.         ^ 

On  the  15th  the  Peacock  and  Porpoise  were  in  company 
and.  after  having  had  communication  with   each   otSthe 
vessels  again  separated,  standing  on  opposite  tacks. 
.n?"ll     -.v      '\^  three  vessels  were  in  longitude  157-46'E 
and  all  within  a  short  distance  of  each  othen     The  water  was 
much  discolored,  and  many  albatrosses.  Cape  pifreons   Tnd 
petrels  were  seen  about  th.  ships.     On  board  the^^Tncennes 
they  sounded  with  two  hundred  and  thirty  fathoms  and  found 
no  bottom ;  the  water  had  the  appearance  of  an  oHve-green 
color,  as  if  but  fdrty  and  fiftv  fathoms  deep.  ^ 

On  this  day  (i6th  of  January)  appearances  believed  at  the 
time  to  be  land  were  visible  from  all  the  three  vessels  and 
the  comparison  of  the  three  observations,  when  taken  in  con- 

Fi?2n^°p  "^  the  Peacock  it  appears  that  Passed-Midshipmen 
Eld  and  Reynolds  both  saw  the  land  from  the  mast-healand 
reported  it  to  Captain  Hudson:  he  was  well  satisfied  on  ex- 
amination  that  the  appearance  was  totally  distinct  from  th^t 

1  -^f  1''  u^"^./,  "^^^''•^y  °^  the  officers  and  men  were 

also  satisfied  that  if  land  could  exist  that  was  it 

On  board  the  Porpoise  Lieutenant-Commandant  Ringo-old 

ITrVn^d  V'^'.riJ'  ^^"^^  •"  '\'  ^^^^^"°°"'  ^he  weather  fen. 

o:rr^^'r.:t^^^^^^^  clouds  lofty ;  that  he  saw 

^1...  .^^  „„  ^bj^^^,  lai^c,  uark,  ana  rounding,  resem- 


176 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


5^^.,!^°""'^*"  '"  '^^  distance;  the  icebergs  were  all  lieht 
and  brilliant,  and  in  great  contrast."     He  goes  on  to  say  in 
his  report.  "I  watched  for  an  hour  to  see  if  the  sun  in  his  de- 
cline  would  change  the  color  of  the  object:  it  remained  the 
sanie,  with  a  white  cloud  above,  similar  to  that  hovering  over 
high  land      At  sunset  the  appearance  remained  the  same     I 
took  the  bearings  accurately,  intending  to  examine  it  closely 
as  soon  as  we  got  a  breeze.     I  am  thoroughly  of  opinion  it  is 
an  island  surrounded  by  immense  fields  otice.     The  Peaco-k 
m  sight  to  the  southward  and  eastward  over  the  ice  •  the  sun 
set  at  a  few  minutes  before  ten ;  soon  after  a  light  air  from 
the  southward,  with  a  fog-bank  arising,  which  quickly  shut 
out  the  neid-ice.  ^        .f       u«. 

On  the  22d  the  Peacock  and  Porpoise  were  again  in  sight 
of  each  other.  ^ 

On  that  day  the  Vincennes  passed  the  place  through  which 
the  Peacock  entered  on  the  23d,  and  found  no  opening  To 
judge  from  the  manner  in  which  the  ice  moved  during  the 
time  the  Peacock  was  enclosed  in  it,  he  was  inclined  to  as- 
cribe the  alternate  opening  and  closing  of  the  passage  into 
the  bay  to  a  tide  setting  along  this  coast.  In  support  of  this 
opinion  It  IS  sufificient  to  state  that  the  strength  of  the  winds 
experienced  on  board  the  vessel  was  at  no  time  sufficient  to 
account  for  the  manner  in  which  the  ice  was  found  to  move 

About  thirty  miles  to  the  westward  of  thfs  point  the  Vin- 
cennes passed  a  remarkable  collection  of  tabular  icebergs  that 
probably  were  attached  to  a  rocky  islet,  which  formed  a  rfucleus 
to  which  they  adhered.     It  was  quite  obvious  that  they  had 
not  been  formed  in  the  place  where  they  were  seen,  and  must 
therefore,  have  grounded,  after  being  adrift. 
^    On  the  23d  of  January,  after  passing  around  this  group  of 
icebergs,  the  sea  was  fpund  comparatively  clear,  and  a  laree 
open  space  showed  itself  to  the  southward.     Into  tliis  space 
the  course  of  the  Vincennes  was  immediately  directed    While 
thus  steering  to  the  south  the  appearance  of  land  was  ob- 
served on  either  hand,  both  to  the  eastward  and  westward 

Pursuing  this  course  the  Vincennes  by  midnight  reached 
the  solid  barrier,  and  all  approach  to  the  land  on  the  east  and 
west  was  entirely  cut  off  by  the  close  packing  of  the  icebergs 
The  commandor  was,  therefore,  reluctantly  compelled  to  re- 
turn, not  a  litde  vexed  that  he  was  a^-ain  foiled  in  hi«  ^nd^-avor 
to  reach  the  antarctic  continent.     This  was  a  deep  indentation 


WILKES'   ANTARCTIC  EXPEDITION. 


ation.    This  bay  was  callpH  rv    *"°.*<'  "ot  reach  its  cermin 

tinued  irc^„t>';  ?olet:?:ar '^  "^  °^  '"^  W  and  con- 

^.sro'f  FSr  arr„^'?  ''■^  Antarctic  sea  up  to  the 
fied  that  a  furt?;;ctt^„L;-4--t  Wilkes, fee.inV:^^! 
only  be  attended  with  peril  to  thllv  '"I'^S'on  would  not 
waste  of  the  time  whicrvvt'demand^' k"1-"°"'''  ^^"^^  a 
and  having  nearly  three  tho„=,„^  •,  ^^  ^'^  other  duties 
port  Bay  of  Islands)  made  ,mT-  '^''?  '°  ^^''  '«  the  next' 
the  vessel  northward!  ^  ^"'  '"'"'' '°  t"™  the  head  of 

fHe"mVllTrti?l'!;i:f  r„ro"oV^^^^  ^f'-  'Hanked 

ing  scenes  they  had  o-one  Phr^    f        conduct  during  the  trv 

success  that  h'ad  attfrd'ei'tS'knTf?'"'"^'^  *^^  «"  t^: 

o'r  td^'oft''^^^  "p  ^"^  -"-  -r  ^'  "'^■"  ">« "« 

Peacoclt^  a-„-d'  t^S  '&  the  Po       -  ..^^ 
weather  was  extremelvcolrlo^     °   ^^^    southwest     The 
n?^nutes  in, the  buc'et^n  ^e^k  '"s^^  ^^^^  -"  being  a  Tew 
The  water  at  three  p.  m.  wast uch  d^'  t'^J'  were^augh^ 
the  lead  with  two  hundred  fethoL^^l'"'' '  ^""^  ^  ^^^t  of 
current  south    by  east,   three  Wu    "r  ^°"°"^ '  ^^""^  the 
Later  they  passed  large  icebem/n     ""^c  \"^"^   P  '*   hour 
dark  horizontal  veins,  appar^^^^^^^^  had  several* 

quantities  of  floe  and  driScrto^h  ^''u'  '^''^^^^^  't.'  large 
smooth.  A  report  of  h  .h  land  tl  '"""'^f.^  '  '^'^  '^^  vefy 
deed    everything    indica'^tPH    ?K  ""^"^^  ^'^'^  mornincr-  j/ 

number  of  sealf  whales  tn^^•  ^'^i^'^^'^y  ^^  ^-"d.  "  The 
much  increased.  The  nure^;"vf "'"^.'  '^""^P«'  ^tc.  had  ver^ 
numbers.  ""^  ^"'^  ^^'^e  pigeons  were  also  seen  h 

Countless  icebergs  in  ^iicrht-.  ^u 
slifi:htest  motion  perceptible      a?''  '^^-jl"'^^  •''"^ooth;  not  the 

which  appeared  quite  imn/nU'l,^-'.^"^.  ^^^^^  ^o  the  barrier, 
reacii  irom  aloft,  to  the  nSrth  nnrT  ^'  '^' 1^^  ^^^  ^Y^  could 
-H  "-berless  '-ense^-^a^e^  -  -h.ort^^^^^ 


178 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


in  it  in  all  directions.  The  position  they  occupied  seemed  an 
inlet  of  elliptical  shape,  with  an  opening  to  the  north.  It  was 
needless  to  count  the  many  scattering  islands  of  ice  distinct 
from  the  vast  chain  ;  intermingled  with  field-ice,  they  studded 
the  gulf  like  so  many  islands  of  various  shapes  and  dimen- 
sions. At  2  hrs.  25  min.  on  the  following  day  a  sail  was  dis- 
covered on  the  lee-bow;  kept  off  to  communicate,  supposing 
it  to  be  the  Vincennes  or  Peacock. 

On  the  30th,  after  experiencing  a  severe  gale,  they  stood 
again  to  the  southwest ;  at  two  a.  m.  they  made  the  barrier  of 
field-ice,  extending  from  southeast  to  west,  when  it  became 
necessary  to  haul  more  to  the  northwest ;  the  weather  becom- 
ing thick  with  a  heavy  fall  of  snow,  at  four  o'clock,  the  wind 
increasing,  compelled  them  to  shorten  sail ;  at  7  hrs.  30  min. 
the  ice  in  fields  was  discovered  close  aboard,  heading  v/est ; 
at  this  time  hauled  immediately  on  a  wind  to  the  northeast, 
and  soon  passed  out  of  sight  of  the  ice  and  out  of  danger; 
during  the  day  blowing  a  gale  of  wind,  and  very  heavy  sea 
running,  passed  occasional  ice-islands ;  at  meridian,  being  clear 
of  the  barrier,  the  brig  was  hove  to  under  storm-sails  to 
await  the  clearing  of  the  weather.  In  the  afternoon  the 
weather  showed  signs  of  clearing;  the  sun  coming  out  again 
made  sail  to  approach  the  barrier;  no  ice  in  sight;  great 
numbers  of  black  petrels  about. 

At  four  p.  M.  they  discovered  a  ship  ahead,  and  shordy  after 
another  was  made,  both  standing  to  the  northward ;  the  brig 
hauled  up  to  the  northwest,  intending  to  cut  them  off  and 
speak  them,  supposing  them  to  be  the  Vincennes  and  the 
Peacock ;  shortly  afterwards  they  were  seen  to  be  strangers, 
being  smaller  ships ;  at  4  hrs.  30  min.  the  Porpoise  hoisted 
her  colors.  Knowing  that  an  English  squadron  under  Cap- 
tain Ross  was  expected  in  these  seas,  Lieutenant-Command- 
ant Ringgold  took  them  for  his  ships,  and  was,  as  he  says. 
"preparing  to  cheer  the  discoverer  of  the  North  Majrnetic 
Pole."  ^ 

"Later  in  the  day,  being  within  a  mile  and  a  half,  the 
strangers  showed  French  colors ;  the  leeward  and  sternmost 
displayed  a  broad  pennant.  They  concluded  now  that  they 
must  be  the  French  discovery  ships  under  Captain  D'Urville; 
desirous  of  spr  iking  and  exchanging  the  usual  and  customary 
compliments  incidental  to  navy  life  he  closed  with  the 
strangers,  desiring  to  pass  within  hail  under  the  flag-ship's 


WILKES'    ANTARCTIC    EXPEDITION.  ,7 

ciprocity  being  evinced,  he  ^aT^^.h^^^^^-^  t^i^'".^"^  ^- 
boardmg  the  main  tacit  on  board  the  ii,^*''  '?f,'5'"?  ^y 

=tr»e^t*^''''°-'^^"^^^^^ 

goa"hit^^;i:L':t^^^^^^ 

that  IS,  having  reached  longitSe KxTT  .n,f  mstruchons, 
15'  S.,  now  commenced  his  return  /n^  /'  *"'*  '^"'"''«  ^4° 

^  :^:^r  -^'^^'^^Xz^^  tni 

the°eastrd%\:i'^„lfr^^^^^^^  to  . 

Z  =^aul;t%:ni '9  ^"^  ^^^^o^ 
jt  was  of  a  light  :t;;:X"b^„/™7"-';;-«^^^^^  to  east; 
bank  was  at  an  elevation  of  w'  lfh"y  u  ^^ '  l^"  '"""nous 
was  most  distinct  radiating  f.^    '  ,  ''S*"  '"  *''«  northwest 

towards  the  enSl^  wh,  :^i/'?lt  ,""t"'  ^^,^?  ">«  horizon 
not  of  long  duration      Manv?rn  ^''^^"jf"'  ^alo.     It  was 

upwards  of  two  hundre^nLrly 'aut  a",^bnrarf '"  ^''^1'^ 
s.des  of  many  of  them  beautifully  6x41^^11"'* 
presenting  innumerable  Gothk  arches  ex^.i'^  ?  ™'"'^'' 
considerable  distance  into  thelody Ifthe  ice  ^'"^  °^'^"  '°  '^ 

iatSdT/;T;'i°yois''o?bi:ci^'°"^'^'^^  "4°  -rE.. 

but  not  near  enough  to  be  taken'       '""^  ""'^  ""'""'°'"^ 

the''."oth:h:rhad"bnrfe;&7'°  *?  -^'-^<^-  On 
were  seventy  miles  farther  «-^.k.k'''  '"  "?'"•  *'"'°"g''  'hey 
largest  numC  ever  ee^'bv  th'  ,"t°"  "'?  "'"'-  "^^  *e 
having  reached  the  Iong,"ude  ofT=o«  Th™"  ^"^  "'^''''^' 
south,  to  make  the  barrifrTl?.  E.,  they  agam  steered 

found.  '^'^-     ^""^  '=""<'"'  "-as  tried,  but  none 

sou'tllL't;  and^Tucl  sZlj'"-  ^'T^,''--«  from  the 
with  ice.  Field  ice  wis  l^„  K  '"j  "^"^  ~^^''^<*  'he  brig 
to  the  eastward,  iTng^^ude  bein.  A;o™''^"p*,^y-^8i=''"  ='°°^ 

du4"parr™"rhr.'d"  V"°  "?;•  -^e^e  i?';;m"aineS 
i.    pari   01   the  22d.     The   squalls  were  very  severe. 


i8o 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


accompanied  with  snow,  sleet,  hail,  and  heavy  seas ;  they  had 
now  reached  longitude  122°  E.,  and  latitude  64°  9'  S. 

February  2  2d,  being  Washington's  birthday,  the  colors 
were  hoisted,  and  the  crew  received  an  extra  allowance. 
Lieutenant-Commandant  Ringgold  took  this  occasion  to  ex- 
press to  them  his  satisfaction  for  the  manner  in  which  they 
had  performed  their  duties  during  the  present  cruise,  and 
that  their  conduct  would  be  duly  represented  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  expedition,  and  the  government. 

On  the  23d  the  weather  was  again  thick,  with  snow  and 
mist. 

On  the  24th  they  had  reached  longitude  126°  E,,  and  lati- 
tude 64"  29'  S.  On  this  day  they  again  sighted  the  barrier; 
when,  having  completed  what  he  deemed  a  full  execution  of 
his  instructions,  Lieutenant-Commandant  Ringgold  deter- 
mined to  put  the  brig's  head  north,  whicii  was  accordingly 
«^one. 

Strong  winds  and  gales  continued  for  the  next  three  days. 
On  the  27th  they  again  found  themselves  in  east  variation,  iii 
longitude  138°  E.,  latitude  60°  8'  S.  The  white  albatross  had 
now  again  become  common. 

On  the  29th  of  February  they  had  a  beautiful  display  of 
the  aurora  australis;  the  whole  southern  hemisphere  was 
covered  with  arches  of  a  beautiful  straw  color,  from  which 
streamers  radiated,  both  upwards  and  downwards,  of  almost 
a  lustrous  v/hite;  numbers  of  concentric  arches  would  occa- 
sionally sho  V  themselves,  of  a  width  of  a  few  feet,  uniting  to 
form  a  complete  canopy  for  a  moment,  and  then  vanish. 
The  arches  extended  from  east-southeast  to  west-northwest; 
the  display  continued  for  over  two  hours ;  the  stars  were  seen 
above  them.  Previous  to,  and  during  its  continuance,  the 
thermometer  indicated  a  change  of  four  degrees,  and  the  wind 
shifted  to  the  southward. 

On  the  I  St  of  March,  in  latitude  55°  S.,  and  longitude  140^ 
E.,  they  passed  the  last  ice-island. 

On  the  5th  of  March  the  Lord  Auckland  Isles  were 
descried.  Immense  numbers  of  albatrosses  were  about.  The 
aurora  was  again  seen  in  the  southern  hemisphere. 

On  the  7th  they  anchored  in  the  harbor  of  Sarah's  Bosom, 

twelve  fathoms  water.     During  their  brief  stay  here,  all 


m 


T,v,,  „  -.-.-.-.tvCij  viiipi-^-^v^  «uu"ut!i^  anu  uaiciiug,  lur  whicn  this 

harbor  affords  a  fine  opportunity. 


WILKES'    ANTARCTIC    EXPEDITION.  jSi 

On  the  9th  of  March  they  had  finished,  and  were  preoared 

neavy  m  putts.     Towards  noon   t  moderated-  laf^r  tul.r  H 
ur,der  way,  with  a  light  breeze  from  the  nolwlfsfandllS 

On  the  i2th  no  current  was   found ;   latitude  aq"  ■>-,■  <; 

the  whale-ship  Maryan'd  Martha^of  pUouth  Sffif  master 
who  informed  them  that  there  were  at  leait  nn»  K     J    j 

:  rtnl^^  ^^ti"^-,r  ^^  -'^hboHn^/sea's^rJf  thTse' s^vtal 
sels  emobvel  knT  ^'™  '"'""  "^''^■°^  *«  """"ber  of  ves- 
busineTs^^     •  '°"  ^''"  ^  "^P''^'  '«  «"g»ged  in  this 

1,.?,H  J^  '^?  t^l  ''^'^  ^  sale  from  north-northwest  which  • 

la" wde  Itof^'^l''"^;  "5^1f ^^r^  ^'  =""^-'-  They  ;ere  n 
latitude  43    2  S.,  longitude  by  chronometer,  171:°  j/f     Th^ 

barometer  sank  to  39.30  in.     A  current  wa    experienced  set 

ting  northwest,  in  the  direction  of  Cook's  Straits 

Un  the  20th  they  reached  and  anchored  in  the  river  K=w» 

Kawa,  in  the  Bay  of  Islands,  off  the  American  consuls  abom 

tliree  miles  above  its  mouth.     Many  vessels  were  passed 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


WILKES'  ANTARCTIC  EXPEDITION — {Continued). 

The  Vincennes— Departure  from  Sydney— New  Zealand— The  Bay  of  Islands— Tongata- 
boo— The  Feejee  Group— Rewa— Cannibalism  at  Somu-Somu- Death  of  Lieutenant 
Underwood  and  Midshipman  Wilkes  Henry— The  Squadron  parts  Company— Passage 
of  the  Vincennes  to  the  Island  of  Oahu— M'Kean's  Island— Arrival  at  Oahu— Arrival 
oi  ihe  Peacock  and  Porpoise  at  Oahu— Vatoa,  or  Turtle  Island— Visiting  the  Hawaiian 
Islands— Departure  from  Oahu— Expedition  up  the  Columbia  Ri\er,  Oregon— Nisqualiy 
— Loss  of  the  Peacock — San  Francisco  and  Manilla — Singapor'^-r-Table  Bay. 

Having  replenished  his  stores  of  provisions,  Lieutenant 
Wilkes  took  a  final  leave  of  his  friends  at  Sydney.  The  Vin- 
cennes weighed  anchor  on  the  19th  of  March,  and  bade  adieu 
to  these  hospitable  shores.  The  Peacock,  not  having  com- 
pleted her  repairs,  was  left  at  Sydney  for  a  few  days,  with 
orders  to  follow  to  Tongataboo. 

At  daylight  on  the  30th  he  made  Cape  Brett,  and  after 
groping  his  way  through  the  dark,  into  the  Bay  of  Islands, 
anchored  in  the  Kawa-Kawa  river,  opposite  the  residence  of 
Mr.  Clendon,  the  American  consul.  Here  the  commander 
had  the  satisfaction  to  find  the  Porpoise  and  Flying-Fish, 
and  received  the  reports  of  their  cruises. 

Having  completed  such  repairs  as  were  necessary,  the 
Vincennes,  with  the  Porpoise  and  Flying-Fish  in  company, 
sailed  from  the  Bay  of  Islands  on  the  6th"  of  April,  1840,  for 
Tongataboo. 

The  islands  of  Tongataboo  and  Eooa  are  the  two  southern 
islands  of  the  Hapai  Group  (the  Friendly  Isles  of  Cook) ;  the 
former  is  a  low,  level  island,  while  that  of  Eooa  is  high.  The 
highest  part  of  Tongataboo  is  only  sixty  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea,  while  that  of  Eooa  rises  .'bout  six  hundred  feet; 
the  strait  between  them  is  eight  lailes  wide.  Tonga  is  ex- 
tremely fruitful,  and  covered  with  joiiage,  while  that  of  Eooa 
is  rocky  and  barren. 

At  daylight  on  the  4th  of  May,  1840,  the  squadron  got 
under  way  from  the  harbor  of  Nuki  alofa,  and  passed  with 
(182) 


WILKES'    ANTARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


183 


safety  through  the  reefs.  At  meridian.  Honga  Tonga  and 
Honga  Hapai  were  to  the  north ;  these  are  both  high,  and  are 
distant  from  Tonga  twenty-seven  miles. 

At  6  A.  M.  Lieutenant  Wilkes  made  signal  to  the  Porooise 
to  part  company.  ^ 

On  the  7th  they  found  themselves  in  the  midst  of  a  number 
of  beautiful  islands,  viz. :  Goro.  Vanua-levu.  and  Somu-somu 
on  the  right;  Nairai,  Ambatiki.  and  Matuku  on  the  left; 
whilst  Ovolau.  Wakaia.  and  Mokungai  were  in  front;  thev 
were  all  girt  by  white  encircling  reefs. 

Each  island  had  its  own  peculiar  beauty,  but  the  eye  as 
well  as  mmd  felt  more  satisfaction  in  resting  upon  Ovolau 
which  had  more  of  the  appearance  of  civilization  about  it  than 
the  others ;  it  is  also  the  highest,  most  broken,  and  most  pic- 
turesque. ^ 

^  The  remarkable  peculiarity  of  these  coral  harbors  is,  that 
in  gaining  them,  it  is  but  an  instant  from  the  time  the  sea  is 
left  until  security  is  found  equal  to  that  of  an  artificial  dock: 
this  IS  particularly  the  case  with  the  harbor  of  Levuka.  The 
shore  was  lined  with  natives,  watching  the  ships'  progress 
with  their  usual  curiosity ;  and  it  was  amusing  to  hear  the 
shouts  of  applause  that  emanated  fro..;  the  crowd':,  on  shore 
when  they  witnessed  the  men.  dressed  all  in  white,  running 
up  the  riggmg  to  furl  the  sails.  ^ 

The  Peacock  left  Levuka  on  the  15th  of  May,  and  reached 
Rewa  at  noon  the  next  day,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  that 
town  and  inducing  the  king  of  Rewa  to  sign  the  Feejee  regu- 
lations, and  also  to  carry  on  the  surveys  in  that  quarter. 
^  ihe  harbor  of  Rewa  is  formed  by  two  small  islands,  called 
Wukalou  and  Mukalou,  with  their  attached  coral  reefs,  and 
has  three  passages  into  it.  The  two  southern  ones  are  safe, 
thoug..  narrow,  but  the  northern  one  is  much  obstructed  with 
cora  lumps.  The  port  is  a  secure  one,  and  the  anchorage, 
which  is  off  the  island  of  Nukalou,  is  about  six  miles  from  the 
town  of  Rewa.  which  is  situated  on  a  low  piece  of  land,  which 
tne  river,  passing  on.  each  side  of  it.  has  formed  into  an 
island. 

The  town  of  Rewa.  though  in  a  low  situation,  has  a  pic- 
turesque though  singular  appearance.  It  extends  about  a 
mile  along  the  river,  and  contains  from  five  to  six  hundred 
nouses  Oi  ail  sizes,  from  the  lofty  mbures  (temples)  with  their 
pomted  roofs,  and  the  barn-like  edifices  of  the  chiefs,  to  the 


1 84 


ANTARCTIC  EXPLORATIONS. 


rickety  shanties  of  the  kal-sis,  and  the  diminutive  y-m-houses 
perched  on  four  posts,  to  protect  the  yams  from  the  depreda- 
tions of  the  rats.     It  is  everywhere  intersected  by  narrow 
lanes,  closely  shut  in  with  high  reed  fences. 
,     On  the  7th  of  June  the  Vincennes  sailed  from  Vuna  Island 
bomu-somu,  although  one  of  the  chief  towns  of  Feeiee 
acknowledges  a  sort  of  subjection  to  Ambau.     The  town  of 
bomu-somu  contains  about  two  hundred  houses,  which  are 
more  straggling  than  any  yel  seen.     It  is  pardy  built  below 
a  bluif,_  which  affords  a  very  safe  retreat  and  strong  defence 
to  its  inhabitants,  and  is  divided,  therefore,  into  a  fiwer  and 
upper  town.     The  old  mbure  near  the  missionaries'  house  is 
nearly  gone  to  decay.     Here  was  found  the  only  carved  im- 
age that  could  be  seen  in  the  group ;  it  was  a  small  figure  cut 
out  of  solid  wood,  and  the  missionaries  did  not  seem  to  think 
that  It  was  regarded  by  the  people  with  any  reverence     The 
priest  appears  to  have  taken  up  his  abode  with  the  old  kin? 
and  was  apparendy  held  in  great  reverence. 

The  town  is  situated  on  the  northwest  side  of  the  island  of 
Vuna,  which  is  separated  from  the  island  of  Vanua-levu  or 
the  large  land,  by  a  strait  five  miles  wide  in  its  narrowest 
part,  which  Lieutenant  Wilkes  called  the  Strait  of  Somu- 
somu.     The  island  of  Vuna  rises  gradually  to  a  central  ridge, 
the  height  of  which,  by  several  measurements,  was  found  to 
be  two  thousand  and  fifty-two  feet.     The  summit  is  generally 
covered  with  clouds.     From  its  gradual  riF-  and  its  surface 
being  smoother,  it  is  susceptible  of  a  much  higher  state  of 
cultivation  than  the  other  islands;  the  soil  is  a  nch  reddish 
loam,  and  it  appears  to  be  considered  as  the  most  fruitful  of 
the  islands.     At  the  same  time,  its  inhabitants  are  acknowl- 
edged by  all  to  be  the  i.  ost  savage.     Cannibalism  prevails 
here  to  a  greater  extent  than  anywhere  else. 

The  length  of  Vuna  is  twenty-five  miles,  and  its  breadth 
nve  miles. 

Lieutenant  Wilkes  dined,  and  spent  the  afternoon  with  the 
missionaries  and  their  ladies,  and  heard  a  recital  of  some  of 
the  trials  they  have  been  subjected  to. 

On  the  nth  of  February,  1840,  one  of  their  servants  in- 
formed them  that  the  king  had  sent  for  two  dead  men  from 
Lauthala.  a  town  or  koro  not  far  from  Somu-somu.  On  in- 
quiring  the  reason,  he  knew  of  none  but  that  the  kine  was 
— s,'j  >  ""^  "oa  Buiiiuicni  lu  Know,  and  in  some  degree  pre- 


WILKES'   ANTARCTIC  EXPEDITION.  jge 

aries  MessrQ   Hi.rn-  o«^  t    Tu  piace.     ihe  mission- 

hJm  V;;  5    •  :  r        ^"^1  Lythe.  went  to  the  old  king-  to  ume 
him  to  desist  from  so  barbarous  and  hr^r^iA       ^'        ^^ 

.1.?i!i'^''  ''"J  °^  *?  ''^''"  ""^  '•'""^'-s  of  their  houses  were 

enTue'but  Mr"Hun^r^°"J  *"=  ^^^usting  smell  r^wZd 
ensue,  Dut  Mr.  Hunt  took  his  station  just  within  his  fencp  an^ 

along  the  ground  with  ropes  around  their  necks  hv  ^«. 
merciless  cannibals,  and  laid,  as  a  oreseni-  t«  ^uli-  ^  •  ?* 
front  of  the  missionaries'  house  ^l^crfsdiecWoppSiie  t 
king  s  square,  or  public  place  of  the  town.  The  cause  of  tl 
massacre  was,  that  the  people  of  Lauthala  had  kUled  a  Ltn 
for TJ"f-  '°  "'^  ^'"^''  '^°™'  "I'"  *a=  doing  some  business 
Ire  rdated^,;,  and,  notw  thstanding  the  pefple  of  UutJaS 
nffJ  i  the  king.  It  was  considered  an  unpardonab  e 
ottence,  and  an  order  was  riven  tn  =n,^i-  ^i,  •   T  ™  ^ 

.  Sleep,  they  rushed  in  upon  them,  and  clubbed  them  to  death^ 
fTte  whe'.h^  '•  ^'''^  ^"  '""'^'  "^^'  °'-  «^^-     All  shared  SiS^ 

on  tlTe  soot  '"n^'  "'  ^"^^^i'     ^  ^""'^^  ""'"ber  were  eat^n 
on  the  spot.     No  report  makes  this  less  than  thirtv    but 
others  speak  of  as  many  as  three  hundred.     Of  these  it^^  no 
our  intention  to  speak,  but  only  of  what  was  done  wth  H?. 
eleven  presented  to  the  king  and^pirit  ^''^  '^'^ 

Ihe  utmost  order  was  preserved  on  this  occasion  as  at 
their  other  feasts,  the  people  approaching  the  residence  of 
the  king  with  every  mark  of  respect  and  reverence  at  the 
beat  of  the  drum  When  human  bodies  are  to  be  shared  the 
king  himself  makes  a  speech,  as  he  did  on  this  occasion       n 

^<^!rl^  ^^ij^:--?^^  in?^^  thai  tl!e 
rain.  etc.    Tl^s^'tl^^n^^XS^SlS^^-:^.:^^ 


Ill 


186 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


after  which  the  herald  pronounced  aloud  the  names  of  the 
chiefs  who  were  to  have  he  bodies.  The  different  chiefs  take 
the  bodies  ahoitcd  lo  them  away  to  their  mbures,  there  to  be 
devoun  • 

The  chiet  of  Lauthala  was  giver,  'o  their  principal  ^od 
whose  temple  is  near  the  missionaries*  house.  He  was  cut 
up  and  cooked  two  or  three  yards  from  their  fence,  and  Mr 
Hunt  stood  in  his  yard  and  saw  the  operation.  He  was  much 
struck  with  the  skill  a  1  ac:,pdLch  with  which  these  practised 
cannibals  performed  their  work.  While  it  was  going  on  the 
old  priest  was  sitting  in  the  door  of  his  temple  giving  order« 
and  anxiously  looking  for  his  share.  Some  of  those  who 
joined  in  the  feast  acknowledged  that  the  people  of  Lauthala 
were  their  relations,  and  he  fully  believes  that  they  cooked 
and  ate  them  because  they  were  commanded  to  do  so 

After  all  the  parts  but  the  head  had  been  consumed,  and 
the  feast  was  ended,  the  king's  son  knocked  at  the  mission- 
aries door  (which  was  opened  by  Mr.  Hunt),  and  demanded 
why  their  windows  were  closed  ?  Mr.  Hunt  told  him  to  keep 
out  the  sight  as  well  as  the  smell  of  the  bodies  that  were 
cooking.  The  savage  Jnstandy  rejoined,  in  the  presence  of 
the  missionaries'  wives,  that  if  it  happened  again,  he  would 
knock  them  in  the  head  and  eat  them. 

The  Porpoise  and  the  Vincennes  next  made  surveys  of  the 
Espem  group,  and  arrived  off  Laxemba  on  the  15th  of  June 
A  lew  days  later  the  great  Argo  Reef  was  explored,  where 
the  brig  Argo  and  another  vessel  had  been  lost. 

At  Lakemba  there  are  about  fifty  resident  Christians,  nearly 
all  of  whom  are  Tongese,  of  whom  about  one-third  of  the 
population  is  composed ;  and  they  have  literally  taken  pos- 
session of  the  island,  for  they  never  work,  but  subsist  on  the 
-^uJ^l  ^^^  I^eejee  population,  who  hold  them  in  much  awe. 
Ihe  difference  betv/een  the  two  races  was  as  striking  here  as 
at  Ovolau. 

Lakemba  is  the  largest  island  in  the  eastern  group.  It  is 
five  miles  in  diameter;  its  shape  is  nearly  round,  with  an  ex- 
tensive encircling  reef. 

The  people  of  this  island  seemed  to  be  far  from  healthy 
pulmonary  diseases  were  common  and  often  fatal,  and  an  un-' 
^^^^^y  scrofulous  affection  appeared  to  be  quite  prevalent. 

This  island  is  the  principal  Jocation  of  the  Levukians.  the 
miiijau.      inGy  iive    ui   a   village  which  is 


fi^•et■ 


WILKES'    ANTARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


187 


denominated  Leyuka  and  have  the  character  at  Lakemba  of 
being  a  wandenng.  faithless  tribe,  addicted  occasionaUy  to 
piracy.  This  ,s  not  considered  the  case  else^vhere.  for  the 
Feejee  men  ,n  general  look  upon  them  as  a  useiul  class  and 

island!  ^^  '^''^  ""^  '^^  ''^"^^  ^"^'^^^"  ^^^  "^iffe^ent 

Lakemba  was  found^  like  the  rest  of  this  group,  to  be  of 
volcanic  formation.  The  soil  is  similar  to  that  of  Vanua 
composed  of  a  dark  red  loam.  The  fsland  in  pd,  t  of  ferXy 
will  compare  with  any  of  the  others,  and  exceeds  all  those  o? 
the  southeast  in  size  and  productiveness.     It  has  rich  valleys 

rLT^U  'wir'  l''"^"^"^  "^'"^  ^"d  contracting  until  they 
reach  the  hills  Extensive  groves  of  cocoanuti  cover  its 
shores  and  low  lands,  and  add  much  to  its  beauty 

K,l.  K?KP°''^iPTr^'?^'^/''  '^^  islands  of  Naiau  and  Ta- 
butha,  both  north  of  Lakemba. 

The  islands  of  Aro,  Chichia,  Mann^o,  Vekai.  Katafanga,  and 
the  reef  of  Malevuvu.  as  well  as  .  .e  other  exploring  islknds. 

tTL trtirr^a^uthi"^^^^^^^ '''' '-  ^"  --^'  -^  '^^ 

The  Peacock  and  the  Vincennes  also  visited  and  surveyed 
some  of  these  islands.  ^ 

On  the  17th,  in  company  with  the  Porpoise  and  boats,  the 
Vincennes  passed  over  to  Yendua  Island;  after  finishina  the 
Tr^^J.fV^^  stood  over  for  Round  Island,  the  most  north- 
ern  ot  the  Asaua  or  Western  Group. 

Lieutenant  Wilkes  continued  his  surveys  of  the  Asaua 
Group  consisting  of  the  islands  of  Ya-asaua,  Androna,  Yan- 
gata,  Naviti.  Eld.  Fox,  Agate,  Sinclair,  including  Malolo  and 
Underwood  Group.  These  islands,  excepdng  the  latter 
q:roup,  are  all  high,  and  broken  into  many  volcanic  peaks 
iorming  many  picturesque  islands.  They  were  inhabited  by 
a  very  wild  set,  who  were  even  looked  upon  with  -reat  dread 
by  the  rest  of  the  group,  from  the  frequent  excursions  they 
make  upon  the  larger  islands.  ^ 

Linthicum  Island,  one  of  the  Underwood  Group,  Lieutenant 
Wilkes  occupied  as  a  principal  and  last  station,  on  the  24th. 
towards  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

While  he  was  congratulating  himself  that  he  had  now  fin- 
ished the  survey,  it  was  reported  to  him  that  the  three  boats 

were  in  Sip-ht.  rnmmrr  rir»wn  Kof.-v-^  *U«  1 c 1 

=    "•  ■" t>  -"""■  '-•viv.-iT_  isiv:  o-icciic.    j-o  unusual  an 

occurrence  at,  once  made  him  suspect  that  some  accident  had 


i88 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


occurred ;  and  on  ihe  first  sight  he  jjot  of  them  he  found  that 
their  colors  were  half-mast  and  Union  down.  He  learned 
that  a  horrible  massacre  had  but  a  short  hour  before  taken 
place,  and  saw  the  mutilated  and  bleeding  bodies  of  Lieuten- 
ant  Joseph  A.  Underwood  and  Midshipman  Wilkes  Henry. 

The  boats  were  taken  in  tow,  and  as  the  night  closed  in 
they  anchored  in  its  eastern  Bay  of  Malolo. 

On  the  22d  of  July  the  first  cutter  of  the  Vincennes,  Lieu- 
tenant Alden  and  Midshipman  Henry,  and  the  Leopard,  Lieu- 
tenant Underwood,  left  the  station  at  Eld  Island,  and  pro- 
ceeded along  the  right  side  of  Waia,  for  the  purpose  of 
surveymg  the  small  islands  lying  north  of  Malolo.  This  don<- 
they  had  instructions  to  join  the  tender,  or  Porpoise,  on  the 
western  side  of  that  island,  and  survey  such  islands  as  they 
might  fall  in  with  on  the  way.  After  passing  Waia,  the 
boats  anchored  for  the  night  under  one  of  the  small  islands. 

The  next  day  they  were  employed  in  the  survey  of  the 
small  islands,  and  in  the  evening  anchored  in  the  bay  on  the 
east  side  of  Malolo,  formed  by  it  and  Malolo-iai-lai,  or  Little 
Malolo. 

On  reaching  this  place.  Lieutenant  Alden,  being  desirous 
of  ascertaining  if  the  Porpoise  was  at  the  anchorage  on  the 
west  side,  directed  Lieutenant  Underwood  to  land  near  the 
south  end  of  Malolo,  and  to"  ascend  a  small  eminence  to  get 
a  view  of  that  anchorage.  Lieutenant  Alden,  it  appears, 
cautioned  Lieutenant  Underwood  to  go  well-armed,  and  to 
be  on  his  guard  with  the  natives,  as  on  his  former  visit,  about 
SIX  weeks  before,  he  had  been  led  to  doubt  their  friendly  dis- 
position, and,  in  consequence,  had  avoided  having  any  com- 
munication with  them.  He  also  directed  Lieutenant  Under- 
wood to  return  before  sunset. 

Lieutenant  Underwood  landed,  and  went  up  the  hill  with 
one  of  his  men.  After  a  few  minutes.  Lieutenant  Alden 
observed  some  suspicious  movements  among  the  natives  near 
the  point,  and,  in  consequence,  hoisted  a  signal  of  recall. 
Lieutenant  Underwood  was  soon  seen  returning  to  the  boat 
with  his  man  and  a  native.  Before  leaving  the  beach  he  had 
some  talk  with  the  natives. 

On  joining  Lieutenant  Alden,  he  reported  that  there  was 

no  vessel  in  sight,  and  mentioned  that  on  his  way  up  the  hill 

u  ^^f^^^y^^^^  ,"PO"  a  '.lative  carrying  an  armful  of  clubs, 

w«o,  the  ijioment  he  perceived  hini,  threw  down  his  load  and 


WILKES    ANTARCTIC   EXPEpiTION. 


189 


attempted  flight  but  Lieutenant  Underwood  detained  and 
made  him  go  before  them  to  the  boat.  When  they  reached 
the  beach  a  party  of  natives  joined,  and  appeared  to  him 
much  disconcerted  at  finding  the  lad  a  prisoner  and  wiUiout 
arms. 

They  passed  the  night  at  anchor  in  this  bay,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  24th  discovered  the  tender  at  anchor  to  the 
eastward.  At  nine  o'clock  Lieutenant  Emmons  joined  them 
in  the  Peacock  s  first  cutter,  having  passed  the  night  at  one 
FmmL'7  ^.^"d-islands  in  the  neighborhood,  lieutenant 
bmmons  found  them  waiting  breakfast  for  him.  They  antici- 
pated that  he  had  some  more  provisions  for  them,  as  he  had 
recently  parted  with  the  tender,  and  hoped  to  procure  some 
yams  pigs  etc.,  from  him,  or  from  the  tender  herself,  which 
WO"  d  in  all  probability  reach  Malolo  during  the  day 

When  Lieutenant  Emmons  arrived,  several  of  the  natives 
some  of  whom  were  armed,  were  on  the  beach  where  the 
boats  crews  had  cooked  their  breakfast. 

Many  inducements  were  offered  to  them  for  pigs.  yams, 
etc..  with  very  little  success,  each  offering  some  excuse,  and 
thm  "f        "^c^ssity  of  the  boats  going  to  their  town  for  such 

It  appears  that  Lieutenant  Underwood  now  volunteered  to 
go  to  the  town  for  provisions.  He.  in  consequence,  shoved 
off.  leaving  the  other  boat  to  follow  him  as  soon  as  the  tide 
would  allow  It  to  cross  the  r5ef  between  the  islands.  Lieu- 
tenant  Emmons  then  pushed  his  boat  for  the  shore,  and  landed 
with  three  armed  men  on  Malolo-lai-lai,  in  order  to  obtain 
some  angles  from  the  top  of  a  hill.  On  his  approaching  the 
beach  the  natives  waded  off  to  his  boat,  but  he  ordered  them 
off,  and  directed  the  officer  with  him.  Midshipman  Clark,  to 
keep  his  boat  afloat,  and  not  suffer  them  to  approach  her 
during  his  absence.  ^^ 

On  landing  they  found  no  more  than  two  pigs,  tied  to  a 
tree,  for  sale  instead  of  the  four  they  had  been  promised  as 
presents.  These  the  natives  declined  selling  until  the  chief 
who  was  out  upon  the  reef  fishing,  should  return/ 

Lieutenant  Alden  entertained  some  uneasiness  at  the  num- 
ber of  natives  that  had  crowded  around  the  Leopard,  and 
proceeded  to  join  her.  but  was  detained  near  the  reef  about 

twenty  minutes  before  the  Hrlp  wnnlrl  oli«,„  «.i,^  u^«. . 

over,  the  first  cutter  drawing  mqre  water  than  the  Leopard. 


^fjm 


190 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


On  entering  the  bay  he  found  the  Leopard  at  anchor  about 
2,000  feet  from  the  shore,  in  just  sufficient  water  to  enable 
his  boat  to  get  alongstde.  He  was  informed  by  the  boat's 
crew  that  Lieutenant  Underwood  had  gone  on  shore,  leaving 
a  hostage  in  the  Leopard,  whom  Lieutenant  Alden  immedi- 
ately took  into  his  own  boat.  Lieutenant  Underwood  was 
accompanied  to  the  shore  by  J.  Clark,  armed  with  a  rifle  and 
sheath-knife;  J.  Dunnock  and  J.  M'Kean,  armed  with  cut- 
lasses ;  William  Leicester,  who  had  the  trade-box,  unarmed ; 
John  Sac,  interpreter,  unarmed ;  Jerome  Davis  and  Robert 
Furman,  unarmed.  The  rest  of  his  men  remained  in  the 
boat,  armed  with  cutlasses  and  two  rifles. 

After  this.  Midshipman  Henry  asked,  and  Lieutenant  Alden 
gave  him  permission  to  land  in  the  c^noe  and  come  off  with 
Lieutenant  Underwood.     A  few  moments  after  a  small  canoe 
came  alongside  Lieutenant  Alden's  boat  and  exchanged  some 
words  with   the  hostage,  who  displayed  a  little  anxiety  to 
return  with  them  to  the  shore.     As  the  canoe  shoved  off  he 
attempted  to  leave  the  boat,  when  Lieutenant  Alden  took  him 
by  the  arm  and  directed  him  to  sit  down,  giving  him  to  under- 
stand that  he  must  keep  quiet.     Lieutenant  Emmons  now 
joined,  and  the  Leopard  was  ordered  to  drop  in  as  near  to 
the  party  on  shore  as  possible.     The  tide  had  by  this  time 
risen  sufficiently  to  allow  her  to  go  most  of  the  way  on  the  reef. 
While  Lieutenant  Alden  was  relating  the  circumstances  of 
the  hostage's  desire  to  escape*  to  Lieutenant  Emmons  from 
the  starboard  side  of  the  boat,  the  hostage  jumped  overboard 
from  the  larboard  quarter,  and  made  for  the  shore  in  two  and 
a  half  feet  of  water,  looking  over  his  shoulder  so  as  to  dodge 
at  the  flash  if  fired  at. 

Lieutenant  Underwood,  M'Kean,  and  Midshipman  Clark 
were  standing  near  the  beach,  when  they  saw  the  chief  escape 
from  the  boat  and  heard  the  report  of  the  musket.  The  old 
chief,  who  was  standing  near,  immediately  cried  out  that  his 
son  was  killed,  and  ordered  the  natives  to  make  fight.  Upon 
this  two  of  them  seized  upon  Clark's  rifle,  and  tried  to  take 
it  from  him.  One  of  these  he  stabbed  in  the  breast  with  his 
sheath-knife,  the  other  Mr.  Underwood  struck  on  the  head 
with  the  butt-end  of  his  pistol,  upon  which  both  relinquished 
their  hold.  Lieutenant  Underwood  then  ordered  the  men  to 
keep  close  together,  and  they  endeavored  to  make  their  way 


T   :«..* .<L   1T„J 1     -1_'_ 


WILKES'   ANTARCTIC   EXPEDITION.  igj 

called  upon  Midshipman  Henry  to  assist  in  covering  the 

lu  ?u  u  }-^  "'^"  *°  '?^  ''^^^"'  *°  ^^>ch  Mr.  Henry  replied 
that  he  had  just  received  a  blow  from  the  club  of  a  native  and 
woufd  first  have  a  crack  at  him.  He  then  pursued  thTnktive 
a  few  steps,  and  cut  him  down  with  his  bowie-knife  pistol,  and 
had  again  reached  the  water's  edge,  when  he  was  struck  with 

and  shot.  n1-'^'  ^TU  V'^  ^'^^' J"^^  ^^  h^  fi--^^  ^'^^  P'^tol 
and  shot  a  native.     Ihe  blow  stunned  him.  and  he  fell  with 

his  face  m  the  water,  when  he  was  instandy  surrounded  by 

r  ?n.  ^r"''  ''^°  ''"?P'u  ^^^-  ^^^  natives  now  rushed  out 
trom  the  mangrove  bushes  in  great  numbers,  some  of  them 
endeavoring  to  get  between  Lieutenant  Underwood  and  the 

"^u  X  t  ?^]^?  *''''':''^^''  "P^"  ^'^  P^'-ty,  throwing  their 
short-handled  clubs  and  using  their  spears.  Lieutenant  Un- 
derwood, having  received  a  spear-wound,  fired,  and  ordered 
the  men  to  do  the  same ;  and  after  he  had  fired  his  second 
pistol,  was  knocked  down  by  the  blow  of  a  club.  Clark  at 
the  same  time  was  struck,  and  had  no  further  recollection 

On  seeing  the  attack  Lieutenants  Emmons  and  Alden 
pushed  for  the  shore  with  both  boats.  The  former  had 
already  started  to  endeavor  to   retake  the  hostage      The 

appeared  to  be  waamg  out  to  meet  them.  As  soon  as  the 
boats  took  the  bottom,  all  jumped  out  except  two  boat- 
keepers,  and  waded  in.  occasionally  firing  at  the  natives  who 
now  retreated,  carrying  off  their  deid  and  wounded,  and  soon 
disappeared  among  the  mangrove  bushes 
!  Before  reaching  the  beach  J.  G.  Clark  was  met,  badly 
wounsled  and  was  taken  at  once  to  the  boats.  On  th;  beach 
lay  Lieutenant  Underwood  partly  stripped,  and  Midshipman 
Henry  quite  naked,  with  a  native  close  by  the  latter  badly 
wounded,  who  was  at  once  despatched.  ^ 

The  party,  picking  up  the  bodies,  bore  them  to  the  boats 
On  che  first  inspection  some  faint  hopes  were  entertained  thai 

d'^SfeL'^S  "^^ ""  '^^'•' '"  ^  -'^^'  ^---- 

The  boats  now  hauled  off.  and  made  sail  to  join  the  tender, 
where  they  had  seen  her  in  the  morning  at  anchor 

Lvery  attention  was  paid  to  the  wounded  and  dead  bv  the 
ofticers  that  affection  and  regard  could  dictate. 

The  natives  afterward  received  an  ex«rnnlar'  "unish— ^-* 
at  the  hands  of  Lieutenant  Wilkes  and  his  men! ^  i^«»«."".-iu 


IQ-*} 


ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 


The  reunion  of  the  several  vessels  of  the  squadron  did  not 
give  nse  to  the  feeling  of  pleasure  which  had  attended  such 
meetings  on  other  occasions.  A  deep  gloom  on  the  contrary 
was  spread  over  the  minds  of  all  by  the  melancholy  fate  of 
their  comrades,  who  had  been  the  victims  of  the  butchery  ab 
Malolo.  In  honor  of  their  memories  a  funeral  sermon  was 
preached  on  the  loth  of  August  by  the  chaplain,  before  the 
assembled  officers  and  crews.  It  was  likewise  voted  at  a 
meeting  of  the  officers,  that  a  monument  be  erected  at  Mount 
Auburn  to  the  memory  of  Lieutenant  J.  A.  Underwood  and 
Midshipman  Wilkes  Henry. 

After  their  departure  from  the  Feejee  Group,  signal  was 
made  to  the  Porpoise  to  part  company,  and  the  tender  was 
despatched  to  run  along  the  sea-reef  as  far  as  Round  Island 
before  shaping  her  course  for  Oahu  in  the  Sandwich  Islands  ' 
All  the  necessary  arrangements  with  Captain  Hudson  bein^ 
complete  by  this  time  Lieutenant  Wilkes  determined  that  the 
vessels  shov  ,u  part  company.  By  pursuing  separate  tracks 
there  wouk  bt  a  better  opportunity  of  searching  for  some 
doubtful  islands,  and  of  obtaining  information  in  ^relation  to 
the  currents  and  winds.  The  vessels  therefore  parted  com- 
pany on  the  evening  of  the  14th  of  August. 

On  the  19th  the  Vincennes  made  an  island  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  position  assigned  to  Kemins'  or  Gardner's  Island. 
This  is  a  low  coral  island,  having  a  shallow  lagoon  in  the 
centre,  into  which  there  is  no  navigable  passage,  but  the  reef 
on  the  western  side  is  so  low  that  the  tide  can  flow  into  the 
lagoon. 

At  ten  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  breakers  were  discov- 
ered from  the  mast-head,  and  by  noon  a  small  island  was 
seen,  to  which  was  given  the  name  of  M'Kean's  Island.  In 
the  afternoon  boats  were  despatched  to  survey  it. 
^  M'Kean's  Island  is  composed  of  coral  sand  and  blocks,  and 
IS  three-fourths  of  a  mile  long  by  half  a  mile  wide.  It  rises 
twenty-five  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  has  upon  it  no 
vegetation  except  a  scanty  growth  of  coarse  grass.  It  lies 
about  north-northeast  sixty  miles  from  that  of  Kemins. 

On  the  23d  of  September  the  Vincennes  made  the  island 
of  Oahu,  and  by  four  o'clock  we  saw  the  town  of  Honolulu, 
which  is  very  conspicuous  from  the  sea,  and  has  more  the 
appearance  of  a  civilized  land,  with  its  churches  and  spires. 

roiynesia. 


i.U«- 


uthcf  island  in 


WILKES'   ANTARCTIC  EXPEDITION. 


193 

On  the  mornincr  of  the  5„fT,  cl,o 
road,  and  fo„„d  .he  -de.  ?,tltXU°  ^fb^ Ce  t^ 

Jatrsrb1^„c:^°te'&^^r  H'"^^  '*  ^^ 

other  of  the  Polynesian    sLh?       ?  J'  °^  ^""  "«n  any 
little  appearance  of  cuTt"va  ion    Th.''  ^'^"«''.  «nd  has  as 

a.  first  "^ight  barren  a;:d'™k7''^TheTa?d"°"!^'^^'^^'"^'' 
much  broken,  and  rises  into  h.v;!,    ■  ,    '"  P'^'^^s  is  very 

vided  by  deep  and  Tarrow  Ss  wS'littl^  "''  "?^^^ '"■ 
cept  on  the  mountain  ranges  ^  vegetation,  ex- 

t^r  ^^' tf;i«rsoTod;xr;^^^^^^^^^^^  ra  p- -^^ 

scribe  their  dress  or  aoDearanrt  -r?  ^  "'"''^"'"o  de- 
places  where  so  great  tTZT^^in  d'e^a^d'^',;'"'^^*  '"'=" 
ists  as  at  Honolulu.  The  maiori  v  Z  ■  ,^"S"»ge  ex- 
pean  clothing,  put  on  in  theSt  E,  r  f  '"  ^^'l-"''--"  Euro- 
the  whole  he  si  ould  sav  harT,!  ^"'  "'^""'^''  •  ^ut  upon 
some  being  hairdressecm,„!  h?":''"'"''^  ^'=^"'ily 'covered, 
and  numbe'-rsofthem  wTth  rtKfn^^'hfM;""'^  ''""y -'"^hed." 
been  led  to  expect  a  greater  appei°ance  of''"-  T°-  ""  ''^<* 
women  were  41!  clad  in    ont^^!f  °'^  civilization.    The 

dresses,  and  many  of  them  w^erl  S?™?"'^'  'i^e  bathing, 
it  had  been  theirnarive  eSnt'^T^  '"  '''f '^="«'- "^  'f 
wore  the  simple  <apa,  thrown  over'hefr  sT^ou!l"'"^?.?^''^«=' 

bli^d^-^^'^KeriftXf^^^^ 

some  places,  oftensive  sink  folentike",!™'"  °"'^-  ^"''- '"" 

tain  Swain,  in  loncrftude  .^S"  °"J^=';g?«d,  '<>  a  reef,  by  Cap- 
seeing  anything  of  it  and  con.?m„^\^'?'''=  9°  55'  S.,  without 
the  line  on  the^/th  of  August     ^  northward,  crossed 

wen."%KH^  Sr/i'.O^'h"  on  the  8th  of  October,  all' 
Turtle  lsland,-which  wa^s  l^undTre'kSirfon'g"^;'  „" 


«94 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


and  a  quarter  mile  wide.  The  reef  extends  all  around  the 
island,  and  is  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  miles  wide.  The 
island  contains  about  fifty  inhabitants,  who  have  native  mis- 
sionaries, and  are  Christians. 

They  met  with  a  warm  reception  at  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 
The  governor,  Kekuanaoa,  kindly  placed  at  his  disposal  the 
large  stone  house  belonging  to  Kekauluohi,  in  the  square 
where  the  tomb  in  which  the  royal  family  are  interred  is  situ- 
ated. The  tomb  was  at  that  time  undergoing  some  repairs. 
The  state  coffins,  which  are  richly  ornamented  with  scarlet  and 
gold  cloth,  and  in  two  of  which  the  bodies  of  the  late  i^ing, 
Liho-liho,  and  his  wife  were  brought  from  England,  in  the 
frigate  Blonde,  were  deposited  in  the  house  Lieutenant  Wilkes 
was  to  occupyo  The  governor  had  them  at  once  removed  to 
the  tomb,  and  in  two  days  he  was  comfortably  established, 
and  engaged  in  putting  up  his  instruments,  and  getting  ready 
to  carry  on  their  shore  duties. 

From  October  to  the  5th  of  March,  1841,  Lieutenant  Wilkes 
and  his  squadron  were  anchored  at  the  Hawaiian  Island,  and 
this  time  was  spent  in  making  observations.  The  volcano 
Mauna  Loa  and  eruption  of  one  of  the  craters  were  observed. 
From  there  the  Vincennes  set  sail  for  the  island  of  Mani. 

O'l  the  5th  of  April,  1841,  Lieutenant  Wilkes  had  com- 
pleted his  repairs,  and  made  arrangements  for  the  transporta- 
tion of  his  stores  to  the  Columbia  River.  Towards  sunset  he 
took  leave  of  his  friends,  and  the  same  night  they  made  sail, 
and  steered  to  the  westward,  in  order  to  pass  between  the 
islands  of  Oahu  and  Kauai. 

On  the  28ch  of  April  he  made  Cape  Disappointment,  which 
he  soon  came  up  with.  A  heavy  sea,  caused  by  the  strong 
winds  that  had  prevailed  for  several  days,  was  running.  He, 
notwithstanding,  stood  for  the  bar  of  the  Cc'.:mbia  River, 
after  making  every  preparation  to  cross  it;  but  on  approach- 
ing nearer  he  found  breakers  extending  from  Cape  Disap- 
pointment to  Point  Adams,  in  one  unbroken  line. 

All  who  have  seen  the  bar  of  the  Columbia  have  spoken  of 
the  wildness  of  the  scene,  and  the  incessant  roar  of  the 
waters,  representing  it  as  one  of  the  most  fearful  sights  that 
can  possibly  meet  the  eye  of  the  :>5ailor.  The  difficulty  of  its 
channel,  the  distance  of  the  leading  sailing  marks,  their  un- 

r.ai-^'^'tntxr    i-r\    nna     itnonr:tin\OtpA    liuit-h     tllir^tTI      the    WAIlt   of    knOW!" 

and  direction  of  the  currents,  with  the 


edge  of  the 


strength 


-.m. 


WILKES'   ANTARCTIC  EXPEDITION.  •  ,^^ 

."S  t:r^:^^^,^^JJ^'^  dangers,  the 
mistrust.  ^^^^'^^  all  cause  doubt  and 

.he°r  f ftS,^~^^  -o  co„side..ion 

to  cross  the  bar.  and  aft^  Xe  reflmbr';'"^  ^"  opportunity 
fion  that  it  would  be  better  to  n,^r»ii  """  '°  ""=  <=°"':'"- 
of  Juan  de  Fuca,  and  the^e  beg?„To'rk  o    thi?  '"  ""=  ^'""^ 

The  weather  was  very  thick  anHH.l     •  j  '^  '=?*''• 
At  ten  o'clock  the  Porpoise  w«^l  T''  f°"'h-southwest 

On  the  morning  Zhe  ,  St  of  m'  T'^V  ""'^  "ee-quarter. 
into  the  sti^its;  a1,d  a,  le  propol^  1'    "und  himself  well 
this  part  of  them  until  his  retnr?  i,     i    °  '''='^''  *«  ^^^ey  of 
Discovery,  where  he  ancho  fdon  ^lelTj^  '°  "^*/°" 
nine  years  after  Vancouver  had  viJf  i    i        ""^y'  J"s'  forty- 

The  Strait,  of  Juan  de  Fuca  arrhnW      Z  '""T  ''^^^°'-- 
found  in  but  ,ew  i^laces     He  couTa  „m'l"   .^"^ho^age  is  to  be 
places  with  sixtv  fathoms  of  C"  .  •?•'"  ''°-'°"' '"  some 

of  the  shore.     '  '"'=•  ^''«"  ""hm  a  boat's  length 

thaT\'ur  bakt'J\r  ^nd1u°J  P^'P^f-'-  -ndy  cliffs, 
with  a  forest  of  various  species  J^'  ^'f ''  ^""^  ''^  =°vered 
the  highest  points  of  the'^ranrof'^^':''  !''?'  "%'  ^'"'°"  ^ 
points  themselves  are  covere^^wi^l  "'°""'='"s-  The  highest 
Mount  Olympus  was  conspicuorT  i'sin",7o''  ""1  -^T"^  ^em 
thousand  one  hundred  and  thJJlie  S°  ^^  ^''''"'^'=  °f  eight 
The  nortli  ;:  lore  is  rockv  ^.r.ri^!^''  . 

examine  it.  of  conllomerL  IT'''''^''''''/^'' ^^"« -^""M 
reddish  granite       ^'°"'^'^^^'  ^nd  in  some  few  places  of  a 

can:e.tith7nS;t!'X""al^'^^  "^"'f'  'y  ^  '-«« 
principal  man  of  the  party '^.asXsedTn'  "^  ^"^^''^-  ^Ke 
doth,  with  the  Hudson  Bavrl„,„?  ?  '"  *  ''"'"■^^  coat  of  red 
trovvse.,.     He  had  „either^^frt  To^'  '  ''""'!"''•  ^"^  ^"'''"^X 

nir  «■,-.  'ailing  fast,  te  o  Sst::^".^  "i':!''"?-'?''  "'' 
sk  '73.  and  wore  conical  £rra<;«  Jmfe  ^-o  ted  m  blank^^t.s  or 

of  the  Chinese.  ^      '  ^'^'''  ^^^^'^blmg  in  shapt  .hose 


i:    I 


.-_r.  .  -  -    , . 

-„  anchoredin  WrrT™^^^nd.'ritl  ^otS^r'  ^^^ 


II 
{11 

In 


196  ANTARCTIC    EXPLORATIONS. 

On  the  nth  of  May  they  again  weighed  their  anchors,  and 
sailed  through  the  narrows. 

Twelve  miles  more  brought  them  to  the  anchorage  off  Nis- 
qually,  where  both  vessels  dropped  their  anchors  about  eight 
o'clock. 

Nothiig  can  exceed  the  beauty  of  these  waters,  and  their 
safety ;  and  not  a  shoal  exists  within  the  Scraits  of  Juan  de 
Fuca,  Admiralty  Inlet,  Puget  Sound,  or  Hood's  Canal,  that 
can  in  any  way  interrupt  their  navigation  by  a  seventy-four 
gun  ship. 

The  shore  rises  abruptly  to  a  height  of  about  two  hundred 
feet,  and  on  b>e  top  of  the  ascent  is  an  extended  plain,  cov- 
ered with  pine,  oak,  and  ash.  Fort  Nisqually,  with  its  out- 
Imildings  and  enclosure,  stands  back  about  half  a  mile  from 
the  erge  of  the  table-land. 

The  P«-)rpoise,  with  two  of  the  Vincennes'  boats,  took  up 
the  survey  of  Admiralty  Inlet;  the  launch,  first  cutter,  and 
two  boats  of  the  Vincennes,  the  ;  vey  of  Hood's  Canal. 
The  land  parties  intended  to  exploit  the  interior  were  allowed 
eighty  days  for  the  explorations. 

Drayton  and  Waldron  of  the  Vincennes,  Lieutenant  Wilkes, 
and  two  servants,  proceeded  to  the  Columbia  to  visit  Astoria, 
then  Fort  Vancouver  and  the  Willamette  setdement,  and  to 
proceed  up  the  river  as  far  as  Wallawalla.  From  Astoria 
they  proposed  to  send  parties  from  the  Peacock  into  the 
interior,  and  to  set  on  foot  the  survey  of  the  Columbia  River 
by  means  of  her  boats. 

Fort  Nisqually  is  constructed  of  pickets,  enclosing  a  space 
about  t'vo  hundred  feet  square,  with  four  corner  bastions. 
Within  this  enclosure  are  the  agent's  stores  and  about  half  a 
dozen  houses,  built  of  logs  and  roofed  with  bark.  This  fort 
was  considered  quite  large  when  it  was  first  established,  but 
since  it  has  become  an  agricultural  post  as  well  as  a  trading 
one,  it  is  found  to  be  too  small.  Its  locality  is  also  ill  chosen, 
on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  water,  which  has  to 
be  brought  from  a  distance  of  nearly  a  mile. 

Having  seen  the  partie  all  off,  or  ready  to  start,  the  party 
set  out.  It  was  a  strange  cavalcade,  for  most  of  them  were 
but  sorry  horsemen,  and  they  had  every  variety  of  accoutre- 
ments, from  the  saddle  and  bridle  to  the  bare  back  and  halter. 

rr>x  •      1    .     "   .     1 .      hAr_„»_«      'P^.-n^.^-^^.A      Wfoly-lfy-vrt     onrt 

mey  were  eigne  in  nuinucr  ;  incr^sis.  ^^i^y^^i^,  rr  =i-^-,i--ii, -.=:.^.^ 
Lieutenant  Wilkes,  two  servants,  two  Indians,  and  a  Cana- 


WILKES'    ANTARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


dian  guide,  with  four  pack-horse.  All  .1,  ,. 
gu.de  were  kindly  furni^shed  by  the  ^2t  ^  ^""^^  ^''^  *e 
carry  us  as  far  as  Cowhtz  Firm,  S^"'!*"'.^"  "  the  fort  to 
where  we  intended  taking  ca„o«'        "'  '"'^  '""«''  distant. 

^'^^r^Z'^:':i^±-^^Co.,,.  Far.s.  on 

Range  near  IVIount  Rai^fer  and  h»,        "'\'"  '^^  Cascade 

tsba„k,,„„ti,itapp,oach,s^heCoumhl7      °".'""=  '"  '''• 
It  .s  not  navigabie  for  barges  moS'ttCe  '^l^^'t 

in  Ie^Sl":'^)'tRrr  ifa^r""'  '^  ^°"^  ■""-  -^e.  but 
a  few  feet  of  water  onTand  at  tllT'"^,  '^"^-'«"-  ^"h  only 
J-hanne.  is  very  narr^w^t^^J^SVnT^t'^^To^i 

Co^^^:rU'Va°ptnl:nt  E"'-''-  between  the 
rugged,  with  numerous  streamfof  '  .  S^^^r^^^'y  "-ough  and 
a  rich  soil;  it  is  extremdv  weH  /^r*  T'""  "'^"y Vces 
when  cleared,  of  .-ingt^ LT^^  arrfcutsfc' 

at  "^^iJ^:.  Vs7  s  t[,5;r"i  '"i"^"^^  °f  ">^  -- 

gigantic  forest  trees,  wUse  immeni  ^'  ^'^"'"^  ^'°"g  the 
chips.  They  frequently^  ™for  a  rim'."-'"'  u-PP""  '''"'^'^ 
are  speedily  caugh.  hy  tliem  wh.Vh  if' '"  '^^"^''  «»=«  o'hers 
the  water,  form  fapids  S'bv  a  t'  ^'''"'''^"S  the  flow  of 
borne  off  to  the  ocean,  and  in  tLe  loi!?^"'',!  ""^  ^'b°'e  is 
some  remote  and  sara-^e  "land  fi/''i''y  J''*  <="'■'•'="'=  o" 
canoes.  """  '*'^"<'.  to  supply  the  natives  with 

It  would  be  difficult  to  p-Ivp  fl,„ 
anxieties  that  beset  LieuteSnt  wll^^^V  ^"  '^'^  °f  the 
Vincennes  once  more  o,'  the  ?6th^  i"''  ?'"="  ''^  i<"'"ed  the 
had  passed  in  the  anxious  exntl-l"'  '.**'•  Day  after  day 
the  Peacock  and  Flyre-FisK  M  °"  °f  .'"eceiving  news  of 
era,  with  both  officJi^arf crew  that T"'"" ''^^^'"«=  S^"" 
had  occurred  to  one  or  both  of  TL  '"  ^""^"^  accident 

coral  reefs  and  islands  thwhaHh.        """""^  ">*=  dangerous 


1 98  ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 

of  the  Columbia,  but  that  all  hands  were  saved.  This  news, 
although  bad,  was  a  great  relief  to  him ;  for  he  had  feared 
not  only  the  loss  of  the  vessels,  but  had  serious  apprehensions 
for  the  lives  of  the  persons  on  board. 

Captain  Hudson  had  attempted  to  enter  the  Columbia  with 
the  Peacock  at  a  time  which  in  his  judgment  was  propitious 
to  incur  the  dangers  of  the  bar.  Soon  the  ship  struck  a  shoal 
and  with  every  sea  lifted  and  struck  heavily. 

The  lighter  spars  were  now  sent  down,  and  the  pumps  were 
rio-ged  ;  every  exertion  was  made  to  save  the  masts  and  lower 
yards,  by  which  the  launch  might  be  hoisted  out  as  soon  as 
the  sea  would  permit  it. 

Captain  Hudson,  finding  that  the  ship  was  leaking  badly, 
ordered  the  watches  in  gangs  to  the  pumps,  which  were 
thenceforward  kept  in  action  until  the  vessel  was  abandoned. 
Every  possible  exertion  was  made  to  bring  the  ship's  head  to 
the  sea,  but  without  much  effect. 

At  last,  by  heaving  the  shot  overboard,  and  starting  the 
water,  the  ship  was  so  much  lightened  that,  by  means  of  the 
lar.  \rd  anchor,  which  had  been  cast  free  of  the  ship,  she  was 
hovt  ")und  with  her  head  to  the  sea.  At  low  water,  which 
occurr^  d  about  dark,  there  was  only  nine  feet  depth  of  water 
alongside.  At  8h.  45m.  the  chain-cable  parted,  the  ship  was 
again  thrown  broadside  to  the  sea,  and  began  again  to  strike 

heavily. 

At  II h.  30m.  it  was  high  water;  at  i  p.  m.  the  sea  was 
rapidly  increasing ;  and  at  2  A.  m.  the  breakers  were  making 
a  continued  breach  over  the  vessel,  by  which  the  bulwarks 
were  stove  in  and  the  spar-deck  flooded.  The  water  vyas 
knee-deep  on  the  gun-deck,  and  the  shot-lockers  were  buried 
in  it.  The  night  passed  heaviiy  with  little  hope  of  the  ship's 
holding  together  till  morning.  At  last  the  day  dawned,  and 
with  the  coming  light,  and  at  the  extreme  fall  of  the  tide,  the 
sea  providentially  abated. 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  a  large  canoe  boarded  the 
vessel  manned  by  a  crew  of  Chinook  Indians,  and  having  on 
board  old  Ramsey,  the  pilot,  with  a  colored  boy  belonging  to 
the  Vincennes  of  the  name  of  John  Dean.  The  latter,  who 
had  been  left  with  Mr.  Waldron  at  Astoria,  had  persuaded 
Ramsevand  the  Indians  to  come  off  for  the  purpose  of  render- 
ing assistance.  Th-  1  .unch  and  the  boats  were  also  hoisted 
out,  a  few  provisions  put  iu  them,  and  a  part  of  the  men  and 


WILKES'    ANTARCTIC    EXPEDITION 

otticers  embarked,  with  as  Ii>fl«  .1  1 

they  stood,  for  feaV  of  oveHoadlnt  h^K  P""''*^"  ''"''  J"»'  =«» 
the  loss  of  all.  In  th^IL  t  -^  "'*  ''°»'^  »"<)  thus  causin<. 
Spieden,  .he  sick,  the  ^MT^nTheV  "'?  P""- 
ship's  papers  were  sent  off  i-„  K  i  ^^  .'''^'■'s>  ''°oks  and 
The  boats  landed  all  "n  safetv  lll'"'^^^  !,"  '^^''^"  B^X- 
second  trip,  in  which  al"  who  Ld  "  .  ^"?'=^^''«d  '"  making  a 
taken  to  the  shore  excem  rL  f^'"^S^<\  °"  board  wire 
Walker,  the  boatswTin,  thePL^nt.'"  ^"u'""'  lieutenant 

Towards  noon  the  breakersT„ '■"^'•*"''  ^''°'"  *'«y  men. 
was  making  a  breach  In  all  diX  "  '""«»^«d;  and  the  sea 
was  filling  fast,  the  wate^,aving  risen"lh ^''  ^,='"P-  "^ich 
berth-deck.    The  masts  werlctt  awav  ,3  '^  '""^'  "^  ">« 

Stair^  '^""  -"'"^  -^'^C''th'e^!trm»: 

^^"Hj.^'rs-L^rri:;!  t^tos^fbre/t*'-  "-'^^  -• 

out  being  able  to  Xvelhose  on  ZrfT  °^  '^•^'''P'  ™"h- 
situation.     They  persevered    L?        ^  '^'?"'  '''«"■  Perilous 
aborious  endealo'^rtu  „i  one  of^hrh  '",  "'.^'■^f™itless  and 
Lewis,  the  gunner,  ;as    hrovvn  en^  '' '"  <^harge  of  Mr. 

crew  engulfed.  Lieutenant  De  Hatr"'  ""/'  ^"^  *'*  ''^'■ 
at  hand,  and  succeeded  in  savins  thl"  I'  fortunately  dose 
were  injured,  and  one  of  t^3  P".''°*''^  ^  ""  of  "horn 

his  hip-bone.  '  "'^'"  '^"'^'-'^'y  by  the  breaking  of 

aga^n  ap'^oSlg  theS" bftT""'  """  '"«  ''-'=.  -« 
to  venture  near  her  and  it  J,  ''•,? ^  "^^^  =""  '0°  rough 

succeeded  in   gettlL  ^ln„'  -^  "°', ""  ^^^  o'clock  that  he 
were  distributeTamon^  Zt^'  ™''^''.  "''=  W.aining  men 
order.  Captain  Hudso."bert*  ti^V  f  !'^:, «mJja*ed  in^good 
The  Peacock  anH  Si  ,fv''f  '?«  tojeaye  the.ship. 

December?, 840,  from&'^^trd  V'T  ^'^''f^"^  "'^^d  of 
York,  Duke  of  Cl^r^nii   r  and  had  vis.ted  Jarvis,  Duke  of 

Ellices  Island  KinismmTlT''"?'  Swain's  Island,  Opoh, 
Columbia  RfJer  oT  he'  fh'of  fut  'T'l  "'>^  ^^'  °f  ''"e 
the  Sandwich  Islands      ^  •'    *^'  ''^'^''  ''^""S  '°"<:hed  at 

On  the  2^<^'->  /^rr\-»_i 

turned  to  Sa'n'F;ancis"co";nd'^n;*"  ^"P'ori"?  parties  had  re- 

for  Manilla,  which  war^rdfed'oX'lTtf  T?  """"'  '°  ■■'«" 

-^cnea  on  the  13th  of  January,  1841 


200 


ANTARCTIC   EXPLORATIONS. 


After  visiting  Santa  Anna  on  the  Pasig,  the  mountains  of 
Maijaijai  and  the  volcano  Ae  Taal,  as  well  as  the  hot  springs 
at  Bannos,  the  expedition  sailed  south  for  the   Straits  of 

Mindoro.  ^  ,     ,t.  „u 

On  the  evening  of  the  21st  of  Jaiujary  the  Vincennes,  witn 
the  tender  in  company,  left  the  bay  of  Manilla. 

On  the  2 2d  they  passed  the  entrance  of  the  Straits  of  San 
Bcrnadino.  It  would  have  been  the  most  direct  route  to 
follow  these  straits  until  they  had  passed  Mindoro.  Lieuten- 
ant Wilkes'  object,  however,  was  to  examine  the  ground  for 
the  benefit  of  others,  and  the  Apo  Shoal,  which  lies  aV>out 
mid-channel  between  Palawan  and  Mindoro,  claimed  his  tirst 

attention.  ,  it         j    • 

Calavite  Peak  is  the  north  point  of  Mindoro.  He  made  it 
two  thousand  feet  high.  This  peak  is  of  the  shape  of  a  dome, 
and  appears  remarkably  regular  when  seen  from  its  western 
side.  Mindoro  is  a  beautiful  island,  and  is  evidently  volcanic ; 
it  appears  as  if  thrown  up  in  confused  masses. 

The  highest  peak  of  the  island  by  triangulation  was  found 
to  be  three  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  feet.  ■ 

From  there  Lieutenant  Ringgold  visited  the  Sooloo  Islands, 
Necker  Island,  and,  after  calling  at  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
arrived  at  Singapore  on  the  19th  of  January,  1842,  which 
they  left  on  the  26th  of  February,  and  anchored  at  Table 
Bay,  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  on  the  13th  of  April.  After  call- 
incr  at  St.  Helena,  and  passing  the  magnetic  equator  on  May 
9th,  the  Vincennes  with  Lieutenant  Wilkes  on  board  arrived 
off  Sandy  Hook  on  the  loth  of  June,  1842. 

The  Porpoise  and  Oregon  had,  in  the  meantime,  proceeded 
to  Rio  Janeiro,  where  they  executed  their  instructions,  and 
havincr  obtained  the  necessary  sypplies  sailed  for  the  United 
States.  After'  leavific-{he:*et|uatbr*tlifeir  route  differed  but 
little  from  that  pur*sue(J  fy'the  Vi'rtteHnes.  They  arrived  at 
New  York  on  tlie  •3C#i  fqf  :'Ji>i^^'  ^ 84  2: 


of 


B'  wmiwimmniiii^j 


